Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

photo courtesy of stupiddope.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom picks up three years after the collapse of the Jurassic World theme park on Isla Nublar, with dinosaurs roaming free on the abandoned island. When a once-dormant volcano on the island threatens to wipe out the remaining species, the former park operator Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and velociraptor trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) join a last-ditch expedition to rescue the animals. But as they discover—while the island crumbles apart around them—there’s more to this mission than meets the eye.

     Watching a Jurassic Park movie nowadays is like hearing somebody sing “Don’t Stop Believin’” on karaoke night. “Don’t Stop Believin’” is a classic song for good reason, and even when some loser is singing it, it’s easy to appreciate that fact. Still, because “Don’t Stop Believin’” is everyone’s go-to karaoke track, you’re also always mildly annoyed to hear it, and it’s never as interesting or as expertly performed as you remember. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is like that: enjoyable in a nostalgic sense, but way, way overdone.

photo courtesy of cosmopolitan.com

     Look, there’s a very real possibility that Fallen Kingdom is the best Jurassic Park sequel to date, but that’s too low of a bar to mean much (it’s a club that includes The Lost World, III, and Jurassic World). At least in this case, the movie has real style, complete with a darker, more menacing visual palette and equally dark, retro rich-guy villains. And though director J. A. Bayona still crams in an overdose of action, Fallen Kingdom smartly keeps its scope more contained than its immediate predecessor, which makes the whole thing feel a bit more intimate and meaningful.

     Plus, there are several genuinely cool scenes. One (from the trailers) sees the main characters fleeing from volcanic ash and stampeding dinosaurs, showcasing the movie’s most impressive CGI. The ending takes a fairly bold stance, positioning the franchise to reach new places in the sequel. What’s more, a few scenes (including a very spooky opening) feature some surprisingly effective scares. A velociraptor-type creature chasing a character in relative darkness is always going to be somewhat scary, no matter how many times we’ve seen it.

photo courtesy of slashfilm.com

     The main problem, of course, is that most everything in Fallen Kingdom has been done before—often more than once—so the filmmakers have a hard time building audience interest. Sure, some scenes are pretty frightening, but their effectiveness is limited, localized. As a whole, the film has no way to create (much less sustain) the kind of tension, suspense, or awe that made the Jurassic Park franchise a titan in the past. Even the title is derivative (Fallen Kingdom is only a few Thesaurus-steps away from Lost World).

     On the character front, Fallen Kingdom spices things up with the addition of Daniella Pineda as a paleo-veterinarian and Justice Smith as a techie/the comedic relief. Isabella Sermon also joins the cast as Maisie Lockwood, a young girl who gets swept up into the action. This supporting cast does well enough, but Jurassic World still has a problem when it comes to main characters. Neither Howard’s Claire nor Pratt’s Owen are exceptionally likeable in the first place, and Fallen Kingdom doesn’t go to any expense to develop them.

photo courtesy of movieweb.com

     It all boils down to this: if you just want to watch dinosaurs eat people, look no further. There are all kinds of dinosaurs eating all kinds of people in Fallen Kingdom. If you’re looking for a movie that recaptures the heart-pounding excitement and adventure of the Jurassic Park… watch Jurassic Park.

     FINAL VERDICT: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom would amount to the substantive end of the franchise, except that the substantive end of the franchise was at least two movies ago.

TRAILER

Watch the trailer here.

photo courtesy of gurutechzone.com