Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Film Review

Fallen Kingdom is the much anticipated sequel to the insanely successful Jurassic World from 2015, a film that alone grossed an estimated 1.6 billion dollars at the world-wide box office. It’s no wonder then that the Colin Trevorrow-directed film received a new chapter.

For our return visit,  Trevorrow writes and produces, but hands the directing reigns over to J.A. Bayona, the eccentric Spanish director best known for A Monster Calls, The Impossible and The Orphanage. Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum and BD Wong all play their recurring characters, and we are treated to a few fresh faces played by James Cromwell, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Ted Levine and Toby Jones. Newcomer Isabella Sermon is also introduced as the granddaughter of one of the creators of Jurassic Park (not named Hammond).

Taking place four years after the events of Jurassic World left the original location on Isla Nublar deserted by humans and ruled by dinosaurs, a once dormant volcano on the island has become active and is threatening to destroy the previously extinct animals all over again. This has sparked congressional hearings on whether the US should rescue the dinosaurs from the island, preserving this round of history for generations to come.

When the government decides not to do this, dinosaur activist Claire Dearing (Howard) is hired by Benjamin Lockwood (Cromwell) and his righthand man Eli (Spall) to assist in an illegal rescue attempt of the endangered beasts. The beloved raptor Blue is one of the creatures they’re trying to rescue, so Dearing reconnects with Owen Grady (Pratt) to help her catch the animal he once trained. Claire brings her two colleagues Zia (Pineda) and Franklin (Smith) to assist her, and together with a group of mercenaries led by Ken Wheatley (Levine) they set out on their rescue mission. Trying to get a handful of incredibly dangerous prehistoric animals off an island that’s about to explode, assisted by a para-military organization, what could possibly go wrong?

Jurassic World 2 is a very well-crafted film. The effects are astonishing per usual, the scenes on Isla Nubar are especially very well done. The skillful combination of CGI and practical effects worked its magic in the first film, which continues here, creating a much more realistic and immersive atmosphere than when the dinosaurs are fully CGI.

Even though the film is slightly over 2 hours long, it has a nice steady pace to it. There are several good action set pieces with the kind of amped-up tension one can expect from a filmmaker like Bayona. These high-octane sections are complimented with plenty of humorous moments and clever in-jokes like the camera focussing on Claire’s sensible jungle boots as a nod to the criticism of the first film where she managed to escape a T-Rex in high heels. The chemistry between Claire and Owen is still present and they are consistently fun to watch. This is especially highlighted in a scene involving a sedated T-Rex. Bayona even manages a Nosferatu homage later in the film, which is insanely cool to behold.

What is bugging me about the film is the central conceit – should the dinosaurs be rescued yes or no – and the decisions that some characters make. I’m of the opinion that these creatures never should’ve been created in the first place, and should therefore go down with the volcano. How many more disasters involving these dinosaurs do we subject the world to before we realize that? Yet they still go through with it, proving that no one has learned from past mistakes…again. Granted, we wouldn’t have much of a film if they decided to let them die, but it all begins to feel a bit repetitive.

We have all seen these character types and greedy motivations before. It’s Bayona’s directing and mastery of tension however, that makes this a far superior sequel than Lost World or Jurassic Park III. The finale obviously sets up another sequel rich in potential, even if the way it is set up I have a few issues with. When all the tickets are counted and the universe has ultimately weighed in, this conclusion I predict will end up proving a bit divisive amongst mainstream audiences.

All-in-all, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is definitely not a bad film, and especially younger viewers will love the rambunctious nature and steady pace. If you can look past the repeated mistakes of our characters, yet again, you will leave the theater having witnessed a fun and well-directed popcorn summer movie.

Just don’t think too deeply about it afterwards.