Written by: Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, BD Wong
Rating: [2/5]
Taking a franchise in new directions certainly requires bold moves made by the creative team, especially if a particular tried and true formula exists that fans enjoyed for the most part. Big swings deserve appreciation for that, which in some way Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom sought to do with the way the plot moves, but when done in such an ugly and ridiculous manner it just loses any sort of quality, leading to this lackluster film.
Following the impact of the Indominus rex, the dinosaurs in the Nublar island face eradication from an impending volcano eruption. Left to die by the government, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) seeks to save as many of them as possible, therefore going back to Owen (Chris Pratt). As they arrive at the island tracking the dinosaurs, they find an island in disarray and supposed allies with different intentions than originally thought.
When trying to shake things up in this franchise, bringing a director that has their own style surely looks like a step in the right direction but it ultimately proved to be the only good one in this film. Bringing on J. A. Bayona to direct this film allowed for some of his flourishes to stand out here. We see this mainly in the opening scene that really set the stage for something potentially awesome, where these specialized agents get tracked down by these dinosaurs in almost a horror short at the very beginning of the film. Starting off at such a high peak, however, makes the rest of this film feel all that worse because we had to get back to these characters and a plot that goes in the most uninteresting directions. Again, they certainly tried to do something different but when it’s this bad, perhaps they should have stuck close to the well.
While remaining somewhat independent of the previous dinosaur films in Jurassic World, this film panicked and brought back Jeff Goldblum for a glorified cameo as he reprised his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. A scene where he testified in front of Congress in one of the most hilariously obvious situations where an actor steps in for a singular day of filming, collects their check, and just leaves, which really just summarizes much of what transpires in this film. Nothing in it has any real juice other than the opening scene, which could be branched out as its own little excellent piece of filmmaking if it did not have to be saddled with the rest of this project.
At its core, the film has a very sympathetic approach to the dinosaurs spearheaded by Owen and Claire as they will risk their lives in order to get as many as they can from an erupting island and somewhere safe, as promised by their supposed allies. However, this scene on the island only takes up some of the runtime, which meant they needed to include something else for these characters to take on. A set of scenes that involve these dinosaurs taken to an island for auction that just continually gets worse as it goes along that made the third act borderline unwatchable in moments. The film wants to have these grand reveals about the science behind these dinosaurs and the value they carry biologically perhaps beyond just those animals themselves that can carry some intrigue but just felt like a continual slog to get through because of how it gets presented and how we must continue to carry on with Owen and Claire.
The further we deviate from the original Jurassic Park, the more it proves that this franchise just needs to be put to bed. Truly a difficult decision to make considering just how much money these films make as they serve as good spectacle tagged along with humanity’s obsession with dinosaurs and creatures before our time. However, time and time again it proves these follow-ups cannot escape the very conclusion made by the first film of the difference between whether they can or should in the recreation of these dinosaurs. Similarly, we can ask the question that yes, Universal can certainly continue to pump out more films like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to cash in on millions but should they? My review states my answer loud and clear but it will most likely land on deaf money-filled ears.
Films with Josh 
