Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Entertains But Shows The Series Is Running Out Of ideas

The summer 2018 box office season has hit it's peak with blockbusters such as Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool ll, Incredibles ll, while also surprising with box office flops such as Solo: A Star Wars Story. With June, the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the anticipation was high that it would continue the upward box office trend of the season while delivering a strong sequel to Jurassic World which not only became a huge box office success, but surprised audiences by being a strong sequel and reboot to the iconic dinosaur movie franchise. While no sequel can reach the cinematic heights of the first Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World came the closest to retaining some of the magic of that film while playing off it's nostalgia and introducing a unique scenario to audiences, that questioned what if a park full of dinosaurs was opened to the public and proved to be successful. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hopes to build upon the concept of Jurassic World, but instead feels like a step downward while also feeling like a remake of Steven Spielberg's lackluster sequel to the first film The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

      The plot for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom picks up three years after the events of Jurassic World with the island's active volcano beginning to erupt, forcing the survivors from the first film Owen and Claire played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard to mount a campaign to save the remaining dinosaurs from extinction. On paper, the plot for Fallen Kingdom sounds interesting but the overall execution of the film despite being overall entertaining feels like a live action version of Disney's 2000 forgotten animated classic Dinosaur which also dealt with the plot of dinosaurs fighting to avoid extinction, mixed with what looks and feels like a remake of The Lost World: Jurassic Park with a touch of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes brought into the mix. It's not that Fallen Kingdom is a weak follow-up to the first Jurassic World that surprised audiences largely with it's quality, it's that it doesn't feel like the sequel to that film you would expect. Perhaps it's because Jurassic World much like JJ Abrams The Force Awakens did a very good job of creating a reboot for their franchises that relied heavily on people's nostalgia of the previous films to not only make them remember why they loved Star Wars or Jurassic Park in the first place but also to bring them into the future. Jurassic World wasn't as expertly directed or written as the Spielberg film nor matches it in terms of being innovative and impactful with it's audience, but it honored the legacy that came before it while proving to be an entertaining, thrilling, and visually stimulating popcorn blockbuster. It also helped that it's director Colin Trevorrow is a fan of the series, giving the audience exactly what they wanted to see with the film while finding a way to continue the franchise through a different lense. Despite some of that films flaws, the movie largely succeeded as being the true sequel to Jurassic Park while opening doors for future sequels to explore the aftermath of what's essentially an amusement park gone bad.

      Directed by J.A Bayona who helmed The Impossible and The Orphanage taking over the directorial reigns from Trevorrow, Fallen Kingdom proves to be a darker and more intense sequel to it's predecessor that poses ethical questions regarding whether dinosaurs should be saved from extinction or left to be doomed as human and dinosaurs are not mean't to co-exist. The first half of Fallen Kingdom proves to be stronger than the second half despite the retreat back to the island gives a strong been there and done that feel to it. The plot for the film feels like The Lost World with the main lead character going back to the island to not save his girlfriend this time but the dinosaurs that inhabit the island from being exterminated with his ex gf being the person that helps him. Much like that film, the subplot involving taking the dinosaurs off the island and bringing them back to the mainland to be poached is nearly identical except Fallen kingdoms plot packs a more powerful punch to it. The movie contains intense and visually breathtaking moments such as the volcano erupting, and the dinosaurs running to escape extinction with our main characters attempting to guide them along the way. One of the films most powerful yet disturbing moments is a sequence involving the Brachiosaurus being left on the island to die from the volcano's eruption that comes full circle with the first Jurassic Park as they were the first dinosaurs the main characters saw on the island with them now being the last ones as the island is destroyed. That sequence is not only symbolic and serves as a sign for the audience saying that the franchise is cutting loose the binds of being connected to the timeline of the previous Jurassic Park films and creating a newer one that embraces the concept of the Jurassic World series in which the dinosaurs will now roam free on the mainland.

      The second half of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom feels like a horror type monster movie mixed in a Jurassic World film with the dinosaurs being held captive by corrupt scientists with the intentions of being sold on the market. Fallen Kingdom's problem is that it feels like a cut and paste type sequel in which it's story feels scattered with a relatively uneven narrative. Besides the desire to save the dinosaurs from being killed on the island from the volcanic explosion, there is no real reason for the humans to return to the island as the dinosaurs are roaming free and taking control of the park. As Jeff Goldblum's character Ian Malcom brilliantly puts it in his surprise cameo in the film, wouldn't it make more sense to let the dinosaurs remain on the island and let nature run it's course so that the threat of dinosaurs running rampant across mankind doesn't become a reality. As far as performances go, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard deliver strong performances as their characters remain likeable and developed enough for the audience to care about in the sequel while virtually everyone else feeling like cardboard cutouts of previous side characters and villains seen in previous films. The subplot however featuring the clone later revealed in the story proves to be useless and out of place in this films story as it holds virtually no relevance to the situation in the story involving the dinosaurs. Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith deliver likeable performances in supporting roles despite their characters having little to no depth at all with James Cromwell and Rafe Spall churning out serviceable performances with the latter playing a sleazy businessman role that's been done to death in the series. The real shame however is seeing talented actors such as Toby Jones, Ted Levine, and B.D Wong have their talents wasted in what are essentially pointless roles (B.D Wong's character despite getting an unusual upgrade in Jurassic World compared to the first film in terms of screentime is completely wasted here as his character could've made for a terrific villain in the Jurassic Park universe. Instead he rather comes off as being a misguided scientist that's more concerned with breakhroughs rather than seeing the error of his ways. Even that aspect of his character is underdeveloped).

      As far as technical aspects go, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a visually breathtaking film with impressive sound and special effects that's become custom with any Jurassic Park film (It is especially nice to see that animatronic dinosaurs have made their return here). The cinematography is stunning with the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World's island being destroyed by the volcano delivering some truly beautiful imagery with moments such as the original Jurassic Park jeep flipped over from the first movie when Dr. Grant saved Tim from the tree being shown here destroyed by the volcano hitting hard with the audience in an emotional level. The score by Michael Giacchino feels like a letdown this time around compared to his surprisingly emotional score from the previous film that carried with it a mixture of a homage to John Williams work in the first Jurassic Park while creating Jurassic World's new theme. While today's visual effects are more advanced than they were when the first Jurassic Park movie premiered, nothing can ever touch the inventiveness and shock the first carried when audiences first laid eyes on the Brachiosaurus, the Triceratops, The T-Rex, and the Velociraptors.

      Overall Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is not a terrible film nor the worst Jurassic Park movie ever made (That honor goes to The Lost World: Jurassic Park as Spielberg has reportedly stated that he became bored with the film through production), it also doesn't live up to the cinematic heights of Jurassic Park nor the sheer popcorn entertainment quality that Jurassic World provided audiences. There will never be a Jurassic Park sequel that reaches the heights of the original but one certainly feels that the filmmakers behind Fallen Kingdom certainly could've worked harder to provide a more satisfactory sequel to the previous film, which surprised in being a solid reboot for the franchise. One of the questions that Jurassic World left open was where could the story go now that the dinosaurs have taken over Jurassic World and drove the humans off the island. If Fallen Kingdom's storyline was any indication, perhaps it's best that the resurrection of the franchise ends with the next chapter, hopefully with a much stronger script. The films climax while impressive that the writers took the franchise to newer heights with that twist feels like an attempt to channel the successful modern Planet Of The Apes trilogy with Blue feeling like a dinosaur type Ceasar. While the films ending certainly leaves the audience feeling a tad optimistic about the next film, the real shame is that this sequel could've been more epic but instead feels like one last attempt to cash in on the whole lets go back to the island subplot for no other reason than to generate a few genuine thrills before moving the franchise into a different direction. While that direction is certainly one that will leave people curious as to where the story goes from here now that the dinosaurs are off the island, one hopes that the third and what will most likely be the final chapter in the Jurassic World trilogy is more creative and thought-out than this film. Fallen Kingdom serves as being a resonably entertaining popcorn thriller but as a sequel to Jurassic World, it falls short of it's full potential. If you're a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, see it once in theaters then retreat back to the original film. You're honestly not missing much if you choose to wait for redbox. It doesn't hold the same kind of impact that Jurassic World had when you watch it.

P.S, The new hybrid dinosaur is cool but he is shown so little in the films second half that he doesn't have enough time to really leave an impact on the audience. It's great to see the original T-Rex again even if he feels underused in this one as well.

                                                                                                     VERDICT : See It