Skip to main content

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. 

-birb

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Release Birb- A Fantastic Woman

A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica) Starring: Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes Directed By Sebastián Lelio US Release Date: November 17, 2017 My First Viewing: March 2, 2018 A nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, A Fantastic Woman stars Daniela Vega as Marina, a woman who is dealing with grief and the prejudice of those around her life after the death of her older partner.  This is a beautiful movie that is carried by Vega. She makes this movie so profoundly powerful that you feel with her through her journey, even if this is not something a lot of people can directly relate to. Marina has a difficult enough time in her life dealing with the death of her partner Orlando (Francisco Reyes), but with this being a relationship with a much older man and a trans woman, there are added layers. Between the police, doctors, and Orlando's family, Marina has a lot to deal with, but she is strong and isn't afraid to fight for what she believes ...

New Release Birb- A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place Starring: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski Co-Written and Directed by John Krasinski US Release Date: April 6th, 2018 My First Viewing: April 2nd, 2018 John Krasinski and Emily Blunt try to protect their family from an unknown entity in A Quiet Place, a title that not only perfectly describes the film, but also your theater-going experience while watching it as well.  Taking place in the not-too-distant future in Little Falls, New York, an alien race only known as the Dark Angels live in hiding. If you make a sound, they find you and kill you. Evelyn and Lee Abbott (Blunt and Krasinski) live on a farm with their two children Regan and Marcus (Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe), to do whatever they can to stay alive. When one night they stoke the ire of the Angels by accident, it's a race against time to use what they can to defeat the Angels.  Being a married couple with young children in real life, you can tell the both Krasinski and Blunt bri...

New Release Birb: I, Tonya

I, Tonya Starring: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, and Allison Janney Directed By: Craig Gillespie US Release Date: December 8th, 2017 My First Viewing: September 16th, 2017 Image Credit: Movieposters.com Underneath the surface of the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan story lies the movie I, Tonya. Harding, played by McKenna Grace (child) and Margot Robbie (age 15 and older), is one of many unreliable narrators in this saga of wanting to be perfect at something because that is all you know, and it is a release from her everyday life.  Shown in a pseudo-documentary interview style, we see the story of Harding, the abuse she had to deal with, whether it be more mental from her mother (Allison Janney), which turned into psychical once she began dating, and marrying, Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan). All three can not be trusted as to whether or not their side of the story is the truth, which makes this film all the more compelling. Even though you think you know how Harding's story...