Floating into the film on the wings of a hang-glider, a child and stepfather force an emergency landing on a restricted island inhabited by dangerous dinosaurs. The child's mom and real dad trick Dr. Grant into what was supposed to be an aerial tour of the island. Soon enough a four-story reptile picks at the occupants of the plane as if they were popcorn kernels in a bag. And so begins a race for life, limb and son that unfolds like an amusement park ride.

If you like those motion flicks at Universal Studios, you'll love this. Dialogue is cut to bare minimum as not to detour the sharpened claw-pounding pace. Though it's a bit disappointing when an interesting discussion on passive vs. active scientific study gets truncated, the writers do take the time to blend subtle and not so subtle humor nicely into the rest of the film. Additionally, the motivation and setup are both clever and appropriate.

Aptly cast, Tea Leoni and especially William H. Macy give us entertaining, potential dino-feed to empathize with and enjoy as they seek their son and dodge disaster. Two awesome Jurassic attacks (of the many impressive encounters) include a fantastic onslaught of winged Pteranodon and a spooked stampede of herbivores. Both sequences are simply breathtaking ... solid movie making.

The faults pale in comparison to the biting action; they include imperfectly tied (or ignored) loose ends, which result in a less than sock-knocking climax.

In sum, take your intellectual needs elsewhere, but if you want a movie you can ride, then sit back and enjoy this well paced audio/visually saturated adventure. (Scary with some blood splatter, but not painfully gross.)