Upon Further Review

"The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control." — Simon Masrani, "Jurassic World"

Most of the time, no matter how I feel about a movie, I see it once in the theater. Of course, there have been some rare exceptions, but I'm not typically one of those people that goes over and over again. But with "Jurassic World," apparently I've become like those 12-year-old girls that helped "Titanic" make a mint back in the day, as I've seen the movie three times already.

But the one advantage to seeing a movie you've already seen again is that you notice different things. Or in my case, re-notice things I'd forgotten by the time the film ended the first time. So below are a couple of additional thoughts on "Jurassic World" after multiple viewings.

1. A Christmas movie? At the beginning of the film, when their parents are seeing Zach and Gray off at the airport, the movie plays "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in the background. I remember noticing that the first time I saw the film, but of course you don't remember a tossed off Christmas song after two hours of dinosaur excitement. But on re-watch, it came back to me. Was this supposed to be a Christmas movie? You can't help but wonder. The first part of the film sees Zach and Gray leaving the snowy confines of home. And they're not missing school, seemingly, so could this have been a Christmas trip? Was that originally going to be a focus of the film that was later abandoned? It's an odd addition to the film, and one that poses questions on re-watch.

2. It's about our perception of these creatures. A big thread through the film is the view of these dinosaurs — are they assets, property, or living creatures? Hoskins sees them as property and tools, and it colors the way he approaches the animals. Claire refers to the creatures as it, while Owen uses personal pronouns — she — when discussing the creatures. It's a fascinating dynamic that appears in several scenes as Owen tries to get Claire to see these creatures for what they are. You notice more of the subtle syntax when you're not on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens.

3. Finally, it's still about control. One of the key ideas of "Jurassic Park" was the idea we can control our world, we can be the creators. "Jurassic World" isn't as tied into that idea, but some of it remains. Masrani talks about control. Claire tries to exert control and fails. Dr. Wu still thinks he can control the creation process. But that control is an illusion, as Michael Crichton always meant it to be.