STARRING: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni and Alessandro Nivola

"Jurassic Park" was by no means a classic, but it certainly had the distinction of being first. Steven Spielberg’s dino opus broke records and used CGI technology to bring prehistoric behemoths to life. It was remarkable — not for great acting or gifted storytelling — but for showing us something we’d never seen before. Being one of the most successful flicks of all time, a sequel was a no-brainer.

Too bad the sequel, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2," was so lame. It rehashed the first movie and did it with no story and too many effects. Stop motion photography of strategically placed action figures could have done a better acting job. Watching the movie, you felt that Spielberg was directing at gunpoint. It had none of the first film’s sense of wonder and all the passion of a prison work-release program.

The film is stocked with characters whose sole purpose is to serve as dino chow.

But moviegoers responded like lemmings, bounding over cliffs and falling into theaters. "The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2" was the first movie to ever make $100 million over an opening weekend. A third installment was inevitable. So eight years after first witnessing ripples in a water puddle, audiences are now returning to a mysterious island off the coast of Costa Rica.

Spielberg has handed over the reins to director Joe Johnston ("Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "The Rocketeer") with Sam Neill reprising his role from the first movie as cranky paleontologist Alan Grant. "Jurassic Park III" is a pretty average movie. Some decent effects, but no real thrills. Likable actors, but serviceable performances. A few smart moments, but overall, a fairly predictable storyline. That said, it’s still better than the second movie. And really, how many third installments can you say that about?

The movie starts out on a lame note with two people lost while illegally parasailing over Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park’s Site B (from the second film). This bit has all the cinematic splendor of an episode of "Fantasy Island" and makes about as much sense. Thankfully, it isn’t very long. We’re soon back stateside where Grant is visiting former flame Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern from the first film). She’s now comfy in suburbia after marrying a bureaucrat and squeezing out a few pups.

Sam Neill reprises his role as cranky paleontologist Alan Grant.

Instead of juicing this scene with a little tension — after all, Ellie WAS Grant’s girlfriend and she dumped him for a desk jockey — director Johnston has staged everything just so Grant can share his theories about the heightened intelligence of Velociraptors. I know the big priority for Johnston and his writers is just to get Grant in front of some rampaging beasts, but a little conflict might have been fun here.

If I were hanging out with an old girlfriend who dumped me for a government wonk and turned her back on the career I loved, I might be just a little testy. But instead of a scene that resembles human relationships, we get exposition about the idea that raptors might have been smarter than primates . . . hmmm, something tells me that Grant’s going to get to test out his new theory. What do you think?

Grant soon returns to his dig in Montana, which is about to be shut down for lack of funds. He is approached by the Kirbys, a wealthy couple (played by William H. Macy from "Fargo" and Tea Leoni from "The Family Man"), who hire him to be their guide during a sightseeing plane ride over Isla Sorna. He and his protégé, Billy (Alessandro Nivola from "Love’s Labours Lost"), go for the bucks to save their jobs. Soon everyone’s on the plane and — no big surprise here — they land on the island. Seems the Kirbys’ son was the kid lost parasailing and they’ve come to find him.

It’s not long before people start being eaten by very large prehistoric creatures. But don’t worry, no one of consequence gets munched. The filmmakers have stocked the film with plenty of characters whose sole purpose is to serve as dino chow. Soon it’s just Grant, Billy, the Kirbys and their plucky son Eric. Oh come on! You knew the kid would survive. I’m not spoiling anything. Our heroes face danger at every turn as they try to escape the island before getting digested.

While the other movies were overrun with dinos, this flick uses them sparingly. You get the prerequisite scenes where our crew is chased by raptors, but overall, everything seems on a much smaller scale. I get the vibe that Universal wanted to makes some quick dough with a sequel, but didn’t want to splurge on a Jurassic-sized effects budget.

Spinosaurus has a head like a crocodile and a personality like my great Aunt Edna.

Maybe things don’t look as smooth because Johnston isn’t as accomplished a filmmaker as Spielberg. Even when Steve is making junk, it’s still amazing visually. Or perhaps we’re just viewing the latest example of a cash cow being quickly rushed to market. You can almost hear the studio suits in the background. Don’t worry about making it good — just make sure it’s ready by summer!

"Jurassic Park III" does gets points for being funnier than the other two. There’s a running gag about a lost cell phone that’s good for a few yuks. Plus, William H. Macy as a schlemiel trying to play hero is always entertaining. Credit for the film’s more clever moments probably goes to Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (Oscar-nominated scribes of the brilliant black comedy, "Election"), who wrote the script with Peter Buchman.

While there’s nothing here too original, "Jurassic Park III" does have its thrilling moments. There’s a wonderfully creepy encounter with flying Pteranodons on a fog-enshrouded bridge and a night attack while our heroes try to escape on a boat in the rain. We meet the latest badass, the toothy Spinosaurus, which usurps T-rex as this film’s mondo dino. Spinosaurus is the designated villain — showing up at key moments to goose the audience. It’s a big nasty thing with a head like a crocodile and a personality like my surly great Aunt Edna.

You could do worse for your entertainment dollar this summer than spend it on this movie. It’s not as groundbreaking visually as the first flick, but it’s also not the high concept swill of the second film. It’s par for the course for what’s quickly becoming an extremely mediocre summer.