While we may never again experience the wonder and awe of seeing a brachiosaurus grazing in a gorgeous, sun-drenched valley for the first time, this movie proves that it is possible to recapture the fun of the past without banking completely on sepia-toned nostalgia.

Jurassic World is without a doubt, the best of the sequels. (Although, Lost World will always be my personal favorite, howyoudoing Dr. Malcolm?) While there isn’t much competition, Jurassic World manages to be a straight sequel that, despite the subplot of raptors possibly being trained for military applications, turns out to be the most realistic. Where the first movie is about the failed attempt of a theme park, the fourth is about a fully functioning resort, complete with its own Starbucks and Margaritaville locations.

This is not by any means a GREAT movie. There are plot holes and cliches, mostly within the characters but the cast does what it can to make it believable. Chris Pratt handling a group of raptors with clicker training? Of course he can, he has Star-Lord abs and looks damn good on a motorcycle. Bryce Dallas Howard as the cold workaholic park manager running through this entire disaster in heels? By the end, I’ve declared that she’s killing it and I make a personal commitment to one complete full night out in heels without switching to flats. The supporting cast is fine, Jake Johnson is the one standout with his most subtle comedic performance I’ve seen thus far but that’s mostly because he’s always yelling in “New Girl”. However, let’s go ahead and agree that Judy Greer should never EVER play a hysterical mother of two EVER again. Such a waste.

The things I found the most grating and annoying about this film, were admittedly the most realistic. When I bristled at the moment cameras were strapped to the heads of raptors I found myself incredulously saying, “Of course we strapped GoPros to raptors in 2015!” I then felt defeated as I said the words since yes, of course we would. The sulky teenager who would rather be glued to his phone than look out the window to living, breathing, walking dinosaurs? Of course, the little @#$%&?! would.

If any brilliance is to be found in Jurassic World, it’s in its own self-deprecating commentary. The impetus of the plot is the creation of the park’s first genetically modified “asset”, the Indominus Rex. Nobody in the film can say the name without either a scoff or a justification of focus groups and marketing. Many conversations are had throughout the film about the current state and future of the park, most ending at an impasse of “These are living creatures!” vs. “The customers want to see more teeth.”

The ridiculous lengths that some characters are willing to go to in order to keep the park (read: movie franchise) relevant to today’s market are grotesque, absurd and foolhardy. At one point, B.D. Wong gives a great speech to the park owner that he and the park guests don’t want reality, but monsters and those monsters come with the price of an uncontrollable creation that will bite you in the ass, figuratively and literally. The movie is so self-aware that at any point Chris Pratt could’ve given us a pointed Parks & Rec look into the camera and we would’ve rolled with it.

What arises from this mashup of self-deprecation and popcorn flick is a solid summer blockbuster that knows it will never be able to come close to its original predecessor. With that knowledge, it does something that I’ve never seen a reboot/sequel do: it intentionally goes too far so that we can’t help but look back to the old park with a new appreciation.

However, that does ultimately leave us with a possible franchise-killing proposition: Perhaps the customers don’t need bigger and shinier novelties but a respect for the original model.