Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

[mpstjohn]

Originally Posted by NegaScott128

Similarly, if Jake Johnson or Irfan Kahn died instead of Zara, it would have raised the stakes because the film established those characters beforehand.

Irfan Kahn's character did die though earlier in the film so to say they could've done that, they did do that already. We have about as much a sense of the assistant's personality as the security guard who gets eaten, actually even less so with him. At least with the assistant we can gleam she has a life outside of the park, she is getting married after she leaves the island. We can see her death will have an impact outside of Claire since we know she has a fiance. That's still character development, most of the characters dying didn't even get that. There are a lot of characters to juggle here though, we know about as much about the assistant as the girl Jake Johnson's character hits on in the control room. Aside from her saying she has a boyfriend at the end I can't recall a single line of hers.

Even if you did develop the character of Zara further I can't imagine coming up with something expository to feel she deserved what she got, but then that's not the point of her death. The point is to show you anyone can die and in ways even worst than with Hammond's Jurassic Park. You could've either developed a minor character more, made her likable and thusly the death appear even crueler (and kind of ruin the movie for most of the audience) or try to make her an antagonist but even then make Hoskin's getting his arm ripped off seem even less cathartic by comparison.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

I just meant at least one person in every film so far has been eaten, right?

It would be totally unbelievable to me if no one was eaten/killed in a dinosaur movie. In fact, there should be a lot of fatalities.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

It would be totally unbelievable to me if no one was eaten/killed in a dinosaur movie. In fact, there should be a lot of fatalities.

No one else is going to be...
Eaten?

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by JEDGAR1000

Stark had nearly a 3 minute long death scene in the Lost World, 30 seconds is nothing in comparison.

jurassic park lost world stark death scene - YouTube

That's the way John Hammond died in the original book. He wasn't some cuddly old grandpa. I do wish we had gotten Cameron's vision instead of Spielberg's kid friendly version.

Maybe one day we will get a proper release of the source material so everyone can cry, "Remake?! Remake?! What's wrong with the Jurassic Park?"

Question: What's wrong with the original J.P.?

Answer: Nothing and everything.

[NegaScott128]

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

Even if you did develop the character of Zara further I can't imagine coming up with something expository to feel she deserved what she got, but then that's not the point of her death. The point is to show you anyone can die and in ways even worst than with Hammond's Jurassic Park.

Again, the decision to use Zara for that purpose doesn't work because she is not important enough to the story or other characters. Some barely-heard dialogue off-screen is not character development. Sean Bean dying in Game of Thrones establishes that anyone can die, because he's an important character and also a big-name actor. For him to die so quickly firmly establishes the brutality of the world and how dangerous it can be. Not even major characters are safe. Zara is not a major character, is not played by a big-name actress, and her death doesn't even seem to matter to anyone in the story. And as you said, they already established that anyone can die by having Irfan Kahn's character die, so why does Zara need to die?

[AaronJ]

I don't know why it can't just be thought of as funny.

[NegaScott128]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I don't know why it can't just be thought of as funny.

You can think of it as funny, but I'm not arguing about that. I'm arguing whether it's effective as a means of raising the stakes, of demonstrating that "no one is safe," that "anyone can die."

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by NegaScott128

You can think of it as funny, but I'm not arguing about that. I'm arguing whether it's effective as a means of raising the stakes, of demonstrating that "no one is safe," that "anyone can die."

But what's the indication that the point of the scene was ever to be "raising the stakes" in the first place?

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by NegaScott128

Again, the decision to use Zara for that purpose doesn't work because she is not important enough to the story or other characters. Some barely-heard dialogue off-screen is not character development. Sean Bean dying in Game of Thrones establishes that anyone can die, because he's an important character and also a big-name actor. For him to die so quickly firmly establishes the brutality of the world and how dangerous it can be. Not even major characters are safe. Zara is not a major character, is not played by a big-name actress, and her death doesn't even seem to matter to anyone in the story. And as you said, they already established that anyone can die by having Irfan Kahn's character die, so why does Zara need to die?

I really think you're over thinking it to the point where it's become an obsession.

[MovieKing101]

Originally Posted by Rincewind78

Agreed -
I did read a great article about the death scene around the time after Jurassic World came out - the character just didn't deserve a death like that. If the character killed that way was a cruel horrible person or if the dinosaur who ate her was the evil dinosaur it would of been different. The Mosasaurus was a hero at the end and Zara wasn't a bad character really.

I also watched a little video about the enormous size of the Mosasurus featured in the film - comparing to the great white shark it ate at the beginning it would be the same size as the Seattle Space needle tower !!

HAHAHAH like animals care what sex is of the prey. Like holy moly thats a female better not kill it. Its like oh food there you are - dead.

Kills happen in movies all the time.

[NegaScott128]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

But what's the indication that the point of the scene was ever to be "raising the stakes" in the first place?

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

Even if you did develop the character of Zara further I can't imagine coming up with something expository to feel she deserved what she got, but then that's not the point of her death. The point is to show you anyone can die and in ways even worst than with Hammond's Jurassic Park.

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Zara's death shows no one is safe, and you don't have to be a grown man, preferably armed or of questionable moral character, to be killed by a dinosaur.

^These were the posts I was replying to.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by NegaScott128

^These were the posts I was replying to.

Well, people can have whatever opinion they want, of course. But watching the sequence itself, it seems fairly evident that there was no underlying purpose to it or anything beyond a character gets picked up and dropped around by pterodactyls, and just when it looks like she might actually get out of it, she gets eaten. The end.

If people want to read more into it than that, go ahead. But like I said before, to me it just was funny.

[RalphoR]

Although I completely feel bad that Zara went out that way I look back at that scene and can't help but think it was a clue (or foreshadowing?) of the endgame.

[MovieKing101]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Although I completely feel bad that Zara went out that way I look back at that scene and can't help but think it was a clue (or foreshadowing?) of the endgame.

It was a cool kill.

[Sean B.]

Originally Posted by jayman3

Trailer premier is December 13th.

I can't wait to see it .

[Gamma_Winstead]

The biggest problem with Zara's death isn't that she dies the way that she does. It's that literally no one in the film cares that she dies. The kids? Don't mention her once. Claire? I legit don't know if she knows her assistant is melting in the stomach acid of a giant Dino. Owen? Well, meh. Owen had no ties so expecting him to do anything would be a stretch.

It's just like... This poor woman, on the verge of her wedding or whatever it was, is dissolving or suffocating and dying a horrendous death, and literally no one cares. The deaths to the main group of characters in the previous films actually mattered. People reacted to them. Even if it was for a few seconds, some acknowledgement would have gone a long way to have it not feel like "dis character died cuz dumbo with his popcorn needed a kill."

[MovieKing101]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

The biggest problem with Zara's death isn't that she dies the way that she does. It's that literally no one in the film cares that she dies. The kids? Don't mention her once. Claire? I legit don't know if she knows her assistant is melting in the stomach acid of a giant Dino. Owen? Well, meh. Owen had no ties so expecting him to do anything would be a stretch.

It's just like... This poor woman, on the verge of her wedding or whatever it was, is dissolving or suffocating and dying a horrendous death, and literally no one cares. The deaths to the main group of characters in the previous films actually mattered. People reacted to them. Even if it was for a few seconds, some acknowledgement would have gone a long way to have it not feel like "dis character died cuz dumbo with his popcorn needed a kill."

Who cares.

Thats what happens when you eat something - the stomach acid starts to dissolve whats in there.


Why are ppl so offended over a death?

[RalphoR]

Good question. Maybe because it's a woman and such an exaggerated, over-the-top death? To me the guard who gets horribly attacked and eaten when the I-Rex breaks free is much more disturbing (and completely realistic based on the circumstances).

[MovieKing101]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Good question. Maybe because it's a woman and such an exaggerated, over-the-top death? To me the guard who gets horribly attacked and eaten when the I-Rex breaks free is much more disturbing (and completely realistic based on the circumstances).

"Maybe because its a woman"

Stupid excuse to have for an argument.

[Riddhi2011]

This would have been enough -

Claire: Where's Zara?
Kids shake their head softly.
Cut to medium angle shot of Claire - a subtle, blank expression on her face.
Owen: Gotta go!

Just a few more seconds; would have showed us that Claire cared for her employees and the kids felt bad about Zara's death. That's it!