On screen, as Luke darted into the bushes, the film cut to a city scene.
The middle-aged couple playing his adoptive parents, desperate to rescue him from his uncertain fate, organized a rescue team and flew to Isla Sorna.
By this point, the movie had been running for almost ten minutes—yet not a single clear shot of a dinosaur had appeared.
In the original *Jurassic Park III*, this slow-paced opening had been widely criticized. Many viewers felt the beginning dragged, and by the time the credits rolled, their first impression had already soured, leading to plenty of bad reviews.
But with Luke's intervention this time, the opening gained an action stunt sequence—his breathtaking leap from the tree. That moment went a long way toward offsetting the sluggish start.
The audience's reaction confirmed his instincts. Most viewers stayed patient and kept watching, willing to see where the story would go.
The first real thrill of the film arrived when the rescue team landed on Isla Sorna.
The main villain, the Spinosaurus, made its debut—destroying the team's plane and swallowing the satellite phone they needed to call for help.
The creature's sharp teeth, the bloody attack—everything was designed to get hearts racing, adrenaline pumping.
But Luke noticed most viewers only found it mildly entertaining, not truly thrilling.
He sighed. It wasn't that director Joe Johnston had done a poor job—it was simply that by the third movie, audiences were already desensitized. The shock factor of dinosaurs had worn off.
Given the limits of special effects at the time, there wasn't much more they could have done. No wonder *Jurassic Park III* had flopped in both reputation and box office in his previous life.
Still, even if the crowd wasn't all that excited, the young couple sitting beside Luke was clearly swept up.
When the Spinosaurus attacked, the woman let out a scream and clutched the man's hand.
He froze for a second, then grinned and held her hand tighter. "Don't worry. It's not real."
"It's so scary—look, my hand's all sweaty."
"It's fine. I'm here."
He couldn't help but notice her hand was perfectly dry.
He knew she wasn't really scared.
And she knew that he knew.
But who would call her out?
Only a fool destined to die alone.
Thanks to a tense moment on screen, the pair tested and confirmed their feelings for each other. That's one of the hidden purposes of thrillers: giving people the excuse to get closer.
Luke smiled at the two of them. Whatever happened between them in the future, whenever they thought of their relationship, *Jurassic Park III* would always come to mind.
For them, the movie now had a special meaning.
The story pressed forward. The rescue team was hunted down by dinosaurs, scattered, and forced to flee.
Dr. Alan Grant—an important character across the series—was soon cornered by a pack of Velociraptors.
Just as he seemed doomed, homemade smoke bombs rolled out from the bushes, throwing the raptors into confusion.
A figure burst out, grabbed Dr. Grant, and sprinted away.
It was Luke, who had been surviving alone on the island for eight weeks.
They reached a pile of rocks. Luke shouted, "Stay here a sec."
Then, with a dazzling parkour display, he vaulted upward, reached a cave at the top, and tossed down a rope for Dr. Grant to climb.
"Whoa! That's insane—better than Jackie Chan in his prime!" a white guy in the audience exclaimed.
"See? I told you Luke would blow your mind!" the woman beside him replied.
Normally, the man might have been too jealous to admit his admiration.
But now, with his love life on the rise, he felt more generous. Besides, Luke's performance really had won him over.
He nodded. "Honestly, watching people run from dinosaurs over and over was getting boring. But now? I'm actually excited. If it's the dinosaurs chasing Luke, that'll be something worth seeing."
"I saw the teaser on IMDb—there's a chase scene with him. You won't be disappointed," she said.
"Good. Then I'm really looking forward to it."
He slipped his arm naturally around her shoulders, and she leaned against him without hesitation.
Meanwhile, on screen, Luke and Dr. Grant rested briefly in the cave, exchanged information, then set off again.
They reunited with the others, and Luke saw his adoptive parents again.
Watching his "emotional" reunion face on the big screen, Luke couldn't help sighing to himself. *That acting's pretty awkward.*
He'd never had formal training, so when it came to dramatic scenes, his weaknesses showed.
"If only the system would hand me an acting skill upgrade," he thought.
Luckily, the audience's focus was elsewhere, so his wooden delivery didn't draw much criticism.
From there, the group continued to be hounded by Spinosaurus, raptors, and pterosaurs.
No matter how many terrifying dinosaurs the film threw at them, the hollow script was still the film's biggest flaw.
Luke had only joined the project late, adding a few connecting scenes, so he couldn't fix those weaknesses.
But then came the sequence where Luke himself was chased by three raptors.
"That backflip into a rebound jump—how is that even humanly possible?" the man whispered, suddenly riveted.
"The teaser showed this part! I came just to see it, but the full scene is even better!" the woman gasped as Luke performed four long-distance diving rolls in a row.
"I'm saying it right now—Luke is my idol. Oh my God!" the man declared.
But before he could finish, Luke plummeted from a tree nearly sixty feet tall, snapping branches before slamming into the ground.
"Was that… real?"
"It has to be. The dust cloud when he hit—that's not CGI."
"This kid's as reckless as Jackie Chan. Is he okay?"
The theater filled with murmurs.
"Shh! Quiet—there's behind-the-scenes footage in the credits," someone called out, and the noise died down.
"That was unbelievable. I broke into a cold sweat watching it," the woman whispered.
The man nodded. This time, both of their hands really were slick with sweat.
One thought rose in their minds at the same time:
Those action scenes alone made the whole ticket worth it.