Jurassic World ruled the 2015 summer box office and has grossed well over $1.6 billion globally. The fourth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise also served as a soft reboot of the series - giving rise to its own trilogy in the process, with stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard set to return for the sequel.
Despite its massive success one small detail in the film certainly riled audiences: Bryce Dallas Howard's character Claire spends the movie outrunning dinosaurs in stilettos. Director Colin Trevorrow actually addressed the issue before - immediately after the arrival of the Jurassic World trailer showing Claire outrunning a T-Rex in her heels. He said that Howard insisted on wearing the heels.
Now Howard has once again addressed this Jurassic World controversy, saying it was a character choice (via Yahoo! Movies):
"This is someone who's going to be eaten by a dinosaur...[Claire] is ill-equipped to be in the jungle. This person does not belong in the jungle. From a logical standpoint, I don’t think she would take off her heels. I don’t think she would choose to be barefoot. I don’t think she would run faster barefoot in the jungle with vines and stones."
Beyond it being relevant to the character, she also considers the decision purely practical as she herself feels better in shoes:
“I’m better equipped to run when I have shoes on my feet. So that’s my perspective on it. I don’t think she would carry flats around with her. I think she’s somebody who could sprint a marathon in heels."
Howard has been consistent in defending her choice to wear those heels throughout Jurassic World. Not only does she believe that Claire would have kept them on, but also thinks that heels are symbol of her femininity and surviving the movie wearing them was a symbol of strength. Howard has pointed out before that "Chris’ character says a line like, 'in those ridiculous heels, no less' and something that was perceived as her handicap ultimately is her greatest strength is something that was important to me."
There you have it all over again. No matter how ridiculous it may look wearing heels in the jungle, the park, or running for her life, doing so is a character choice and one that Howard stands by for Jurassic World.
It's worth noting that the majority of movie reviews agree that Jurassic World's strong points lie in the visuals and action - not the characters. So, even if you were one of the viewers throwing up their hands in exasperation and screaming at the screen to take off those heels - ridiculous two-dimensional characters is what this movie is made of, and it's (arguably) a lot of fun.
In this most recent interview, though, Howard also goes on to say that "the conversations around it are valuable and important and are going to push us forward." Whether or not you disagree with her decision to wear the heels, according to Howard, she thinks starting the "dialogue" is what's the most important.
NEXT: Jurassic World Director Teases 'Open Source' Dinosaurs in the Sequel
Jurassic World will be made available on Blu-ray starting October 20th, 2015. The currently-untitled Jurassic World sequel opens in U.S. theaters on June 22nd, 2018.
Source: Yahoo! Movies