Jurassic World (4 Stars)

"The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control".

This is the third film that I'm watching this week to remember Irrfan Khan. Interestingly, I could hardly recall his performance in this film, unlike the first two films, "The Life of Pi" and "Slumdog Millionaire". It's not because he has a smaller role. He definitely has more screentime than in either of the other films. Somehow he fades into the background as such an essential part of "Jurassic World" that he's taken for granted.

He plays Simon Masrani, the owner of the Jurassic World theme park, the eighth richest person in the world. Despite his wealth, it isn't all about money for him. He's a complex character with different conflicting goals. He has respect for the animals, even if he doesn't forget that their ultimate purpose is to make money for him. He rejects the militarisation of the dinosaurs, even if that means giving up the possibility of even more money. He has red lines that he won't cross. Added to that, he enjoys fun. He insists of flying helicopters himself, even though he's not a very good pilot. And finally, he's philosophical, as we can tell from the wisdom that he imparts to the passengers in his helicopter. Listen to his words carefully. He's not saying that we have to give up control to have a happy life. If that were the case, it would mean that until now we've spent time in control of our lives. He's saying that none of us have ever had control of our lives. In itself, that's a typical existentialist statement, but the idea of becoming happy by accepting it goes one step further than existentialism.

Unfortunately, he doesn't survive to come back in the sequel. I would have welcomed his pensive but determined driving force in "Fallen Kingdom". He's a good counterpart to Chris Pratt, who plays Owen Grady as an all-out action hero. Simon Masrani disappears in a ball of flames when his helicopter crashes.

Here's a gratuitous dinosaur photo, in case that's the reason you're reading this review.

Irrfan Khan
7 January 1967 – 29 April 2020

But it's not the reason I'm writing this review. It's about the magnificent actor who passed away unexpectedly three days ago. We can bring dinosaurs back to life by splicing DNA strands, but we can never bring back Irrfan Khan.

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