While I enjoy the first Jurassic Park and the Jurassic World movies, I wouldn't consider myself that deep of a fan. This show kept popping up in my recommendation list on Netflix, so I decided to just give it a shot out of boredom.
It took a bit to get past the first few episodes, but I did become very invested and found myself nearly bitting my nails in tension. The group of teens each have their own quirks and weakness, and while they can be annoying and make dumb decisions at times, I can't fault them given the setting and the fact they are... well teens. It reminded me a lot of "Race to the Edge" in portraying a solid, engaging group dynamic and it wasn't til I went online that I found out DreamWorks had also produced this show! Everyone gets a chance to shine and the show isn't afraid to mix up character pairs, allowing the audience to see new sides to everyone. There are the obvious friendships and dynamics, and then there's the ones ya didn't realize ya wanted to see until it happened.
It's great to see the teens working together to overcome obstacles and remain positive, even when Murphy's law meets the Jurassic Park incompetence that we all secretly enjoy as it gets the story going. Could totally see these events happening concurrent with the Jurassic World movies as the creators took a lot of care to blend all of the movie elements together without resorting to just rehashing them outright.
The dinosaurs are also really neat to see. They are a bit out of place animation wise compared to the human characters, but I did grow to love the choice as it allows the viewer to really appreciate the detail and creativity of the dinos. There's numerous times the creatures act like one would expect dinos to act. That includes predators acting like predators and the teens trying not to get eaten. The graphic blood and gore is absent from the show, which honestly suites me fine as it's pretty obvious what's happening. A lot of the weight is carried through the scene set ups, angles, cut offs, character tensions, etc. If you're into graphic blood and gore you'll be disappointed, but it's great for those like me who want to enjoy a show without being bombarded with all that imagery.
All in all, it's a good show for even non-fans to get into. Like able characters, fun setting, dinosaurs being dinosaurs, and a simple goal: survive and get off the dangerous island.
May scare some really young viewers, but if they like Jurassic Park/World as it is then they should be fine.
