I have been doing this long enough that i could tell this is a Chinese production just by the runtime alone, as it barely 80 minutes, like most of the stuff you can find on Chinese streaming platforms like YOKOU, or their equivalent channel on Youtube.
Well, i was half right, this is a Chinese-American production by a company called Flame Node (which just has this and something called “Clutch Shot” listed on IMDB) with mostly chinese or cino-american actors in the cast, and is also streaming on Amazon Prime Video (alongside other platforms) in some territories, and it has beloved social media comedian Steven He (aka the “EMOTIONAL DAMAGE” guy), whom also did star in a tokusatsu parody series called GINORMO, apparently.
Immediatly though i had a familiar feeling with the opening scene seeing people fight off dinosaurs with blaster rifles in sci-fi corridors… like didn’t Jurassic Games did the same maze as an activity mid way through the film?
The answer is yes, and immediatly after the title splash screen, it becomes obvious that this IS another copy of Jurassic Games, just this time done with the framing of “Dinosaur World” being a VR videogame coming off of its alpha stage and putting up a 5 million prize for partecipants to the closed beta, who will be picked randomly.
Usually there would be the added complication of the partecipants dying in real life if they die in the game like in .Hack or SAO, but NOPE, that would give the narrative some stakes, we want none of those, no siree. Heck, at least Jurassic Games had the reality show set up, stolen as it was.
I think it’s the first time i’ve seen a movie outright refuse to have any stakes for its own plot, and this one decides explaining shit its for weenies, so we’re not gonna have answers to the many, many questions viewers are gonna have due to the lack of any real setting beyond the set up of “people beta-testing a dinosaur VR game”.
They make the contestant enter a room full of pcs and VR helmets, they strap it on, we’re in the videogame without any real explanation, aside a video telling that the last surviving 4 people will share the prize, and if there is just 1 guy standing, he will take all the moolah.
Zero explanation of how this work, as in, either the videogame itself rules and gameplay, or the real life-VR thing, as somehow the players feel pain despite them just having a normal VR headset on..
I’d ask how the avatars look like them, but it’s obvious they never bothered to even think about it because budget wouldn’t allow Ready Player One style avatars that didn’t look like ass anyway.
Speaking of which, the dinos don’t look that bad, they also look like they sourced the same models used by Jurassic Games…. which they probably did.
But there’s no getting around the fact that there’s absolutely no real reason to care about anything that happens in the game, again, there’s no stakes, no IRL effect to losing the game, so no reason to care about any of the character’s fates either.
I think the most incredible thing in the film is companies paying millions to randos for beta testing their game, when often is the contrary, as they give you beta access only if you splooged for the ultra digital bigdick edition that costs 120 bucks or more.
Even weirder, you might think these decisions could be explained with its 2020 release, but nope, since there are scene of people hanging out at the arcade like normal, guess it was shot in Oklahoma months or days prior the nationwide pandemic shutdown affected the state.
Even more egregious, is that i didn’t realize this is also directed by Ryan Bellgardt, whom did direct Jurassic Games…. so i guess why not, he might as well direct the Chinese rip-off of his own movie.
And the sequel, there’s a Jurassic Games sequel, yes.
We’ll get to that, but i’ll just say it in case it wasn’t clear: Dinosaur World is an impressively shameless, no effort rip-off of Jurassic Games, like, it’s way worse, it’s subpar even by its own merits, it’s just senseless, mindless, utter nonsense as they didn’t bother to even consider worldbuilding, nor they bothered to have any stakes, as there’s no “you die in the game, you die forreal” shenanigans, who wins in the game beta testing gets 5 millions (or the sum split among 4 survivors tops), who doesn’t goes home to lament its fate on Reddit or something.
There’s actually no reasons to care about these characters or any of the action, even if they had more than stock characterization to them, plus, the casting of internet comedian Steven He is pointless as he acts ok but – like other characters that are played by English speaking asian actors– is dubbed in post like it’s a spoof…. yet it’s not a parody or anything like that, quite the opposite.
Quite odd to see a renowed actor like Xing Yu, who was in Ip Man and Kung Fu Hustle (just to cite the more known of his) here just to shaolin kick the raptors and fight gwailos, but at least he gets a lot of screentime to kick ass and look badass, he’s surprisingly kinda the main character, which does help make the thing more enjoyable, as do some funny deaths, like how at one point the script has nothing else for the actress’ character (the lady who loves more than others to PUNCH these fuckin things) to do, so she is abruptly eaten by a T-rex in 3 seconds flat, literally just to off her. XD
At least it is mercifully short, in line with the Mainland China produced web movies (which this almost is) about killer mutant crocs or sharks, and yet isn’t even the most unwatchable thing ever for a dino flick (that clumsy knife dino kill was cute, for one), but it’s unbelievably awful and i have to re-iterate that yes, it has the same director-writer of the movie it’s ripping off, with Ryan Bellgardt committing basically a self-rip off, letting some randos cook up a Cannon Films style level of shameless rip-off of his own film with his approval for reasons i honestly don’t get.
As i don’t get who okayed the unfitting music selection, just bafflingly random.
As is the ending, actually, feeling so tacked on with its message because there is no setup for this type of “moral lesson” it allegedly waffles on, there is barely any explanation of how the game or the experience works, so fittingly the whole “it wasn’t about the money” spiel is the hollow asspull it feels like.
I’m kinda confused because this isn’t that bad if you want dino trash, i’ve struggled through far worse, but given how shamelessly this is a “rom hack” of Jurassic Games for the Chinese market, being creatively revolting on so many aspects it’s noteworthy…. i’m surprised it has some entertaiment value to it, just for the dino trash obsessed, though.
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