New Release Birb: Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Starring: Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard
Directed by J.A. Bayona
US Release Date: 22nd June 2018
My First Viewing: 21st June 2018
image credit: movieposter.com

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return for the sequel to 2015's Jurassic World in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, directed by J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls).

After the events that took place in the first series, a once-dormant volcano on Isla Nublar has erupted, and a military team is trying to evacuate as many dinosaurs off the island as possible. The plan is to relocate them to a self-sustaining new island where the dinos can roam free. Owen (Pratt) and Clarie (Howard) are summoned by Jurassic Park co-creator Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) and Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) to track down Blue, a Velociraptor that Owen trained on the island. Once there, a double-cross occurs and the true reason they are summoned to the island begins to take shape. Mills wants to auction off the remaining dinosaurs to the highest bidder while using Blue's DNA to splice with the Indominus Rex from World to create the ultimate dino-weapon, the Indoraptor.

One huge thing this film lacks from its predecessor is action. Taking out the third act where the Indoraptor is on the prowl in the Lockwood Mansion, it's an awful lot of backstory, meetings, and no real surprises. The escape sequence on Isla Nublar is well shot and has exciting moments, but you never questioned what was going to happen. Pratt and Howard give it there all, and newcomer to the series Zia (Daniella Pineda) has a few moments to shine. However, Justice Smith's techie Franklin starts out as the cliched obnoxious Jurassic character but becomes more bearable as the film progresses.

Overall, this is a film where the parts can't make up for the whole. Even if you're only paying half-attention you can still see where this film is going by the one hour mark. The story with Lockwood's granddaughter is interesting but obvious, and there are some fun bits sprinkled in for levity, but even Jeff Goldblum's return as Ian Malcolm is unnecessary to the overall story of the film. Stay through the credits, because there is a button at the end that hints toward a third film. If that is the case, hopefully, they can get it back on track and give us more of the wonder of what we got from the original.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is rated PG-13 for action violence and terror/peril. What are your thoughts on the film? Follow me on facebook and instagram and leave a comment.

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