The dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise serve three specific and distinct purposes. First, they are meant to make viewers stare in wonder, awestruck at the idea that dinosaurs could walk among us in today's world. John Williams' iconic score is wondrous for a reason, and the films all want us to marvel at the possibilities of both CGI and this fictional technology. Second, they are supposed to be spectacularly cool, the kind of unique creations that make young children go "Wow, that's awesome!" Watching dinosaurs fight and destroy things is one of the simple pleasures of the Jurassic Park series, and it has been one of the few constants since Steven Spielberg's original in 1993. Finally, the third and most important purpose is terror. The dinosaurs are supposed to scare the living daylights out of us, a violent and vicious reminder of the power of science and the danger of playing God.
In this area, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom makes a catastrophic miscalculation. The core concept of this sequel is that we should feel an emotional connection to these dinosaurs, that we should weep for their demise and cheer for their triumph. The sequel to Colin Trevorrow's divisive 2015 smash hit expands on the recognizable personalities and traits of these dinosaurs, making philosophical arguments in favor of their survival. And I suppose this is something that will work on the youngest of audience members- the nearby elementary schoolers at my screening were audibly rooting for the prehistoric creatures at every turn.
But in broad terms, this idea is a major mistake. The J.A. Bayona-directed sequel frequently wades into silly, preposterously stupid territory, but it also seems to misunderstand the appeal of this iconic franchise. It's a disastrous chapter for a series that can only get dumber from here. And honestly, we should have expected nothing less. Jurassic World was a low-key remake of Spielberg's original classic, but what it portended for the future of the series was enough to make any viewer raise an eyebrow. In Fallen Kingdom, we learn what has happened in the three years since the horrifying events at the dino amusement park. A once-dormant volcano on Isla Nublar is active again, a dangerous development that threatens the lives of every creature on the island. Former Jurassic World exec Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) now works for an animal rights group, hoping to save what's left of the dinosaurs.
The government is struggling to accept that animals created in a lab deserve protection, and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) doesn't help matters by recommending that we allow the volcano to wipe them out. But salvation arrives in the form of Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), an assistant for billionaire and John Hammond partner Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Mills reveals the existence of a dinosaur sanctuary, and he wants Claire to help with the rescue of a few species from the island. For the mission, Claire brings two assistants from her advocacy group (Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), ex-boyfriend and famed raptor trainer. But if you've ever seen a Jurassic Park movie, you know things won't quite go as planned on Isla Nublar.
Jurassic World gets a lot of hate, but for my money, it's one of the best pure popcorn blockbusters of the last few years. It's a theme park ride masquerading as a movie, a funhouse of gloriously ridiculous action and grisly thrills. However, it does adhere pretty closely to the template of the original film, only with a much more expansive sense of scope. But at least it's pretending to be a movie, keeping up the pretense that there are characters with actual arcs, even if the script itself is paper thin. Fallen Kingdom can't be bothered to do that, throwing narrative and development under the bus in favor of its increasingly outrageous ideas. Did you care at all about Owen and Claire in the last film? Forget it. This time around, it's the businessmen vs. the activists, and that's just about all that matters.
Instead of focusing on the humans that are being chomped and chased by the T-Rex and his friends, Bayona and screenwriters Trevorrow and Derek Connolly decide to place all their chips on the dinosaurs. Characters aren't defined by who they are or what they do, rarely finding even the briefest of moments to interact with one another. They're defined by how they feel about dinosaurs, whether they believe the creatures should be saved or used, protected or destroyed. Fallen Kingdom moves at a mile-a-minute, barely giving the audience a second to breathe, but the one sequence where it does slow to a halt finds the characters performing a blood transfusion on the dying Blue (the raptor with whom Owen has a special bond). In a sequence designed to make the viewer cry, this is juxtaposed with Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the granddaughter of Benjamin, watching videos of Owen interacting with tiny raptors. Ugh.
And don't get me started on the character of Maisie herself, who runs around Lockwood Mansion like a younger Nancy Drew before the filmmakers unveil the baffling truth about her character. It was a reveal so funny that I had to cover my mouth as I burst out laughing, terrified that I would disturb anyone around me who was still taking this seriously. Fallen Kingdom is a mixed bag throughout its first half, a mixture of dumb decisions (dinosaur rights activists) and engaging action setpieces (the dynamite opening scene, SOME of the stuff on the island). But it really, truly goes off the rails in the second half in astounding fashion, spiraling out of control and never recovering. Characters make the worst choices imaginable, plot twists generate accidental belly laughs, the ending causes a gigantic eye roll- it's an unmitigated disaster.
In its strongest moments, Fallen Kingdom offers small pleasures. One tiny little dinosaur uses his head as a battering ram, slamming into walls and helping Owen on his mission. He's the best character in the movie, and I don't even know what his name is. The main villainous dino, a creation of Dr. Wu (BD Wong) known as the Indoraptor, unleashes a playful smile whenever he dispatches a baddie, which is both hysterical and a little terrifying. Bayona has fun playing with shadows, using lightning flashes and bursts of artificial light to show off where the dinosaurs are located in relation to their food.
Speaking of Bayona, when I heard that the director of A Monster Calls and The Impossible was taking on a Jurassic World movie, I was fascinated to see if there would be more of a horror touch. It's unfortunate that those moments are few and far between, drowned out by a cavalcade of loud noises and visually cluttered special effects. Bayona even struggles to make some of the major action pieces work in an effective way, and there's little here that would make a crowd go wild. The impact is non-existent.
Fallen Kingdom is built on a faulty premise, and it's never able to overcome that fatal misstep. I don't care about the dinosaurs, nor will I ever be inclined to do so. If that makes me heartless, so be it. Trevorrow (who will be back at the wheel for the third installment) has admitted that this movie is basically a vessel to get to the next chapter, which is the movie he wanted to make all along. That's fine........but just make that movie. Fallen Kingdom is unnecessary and illogical, a never-ending series of laughable reveals, unexplained twists, and non-existent character arcs. For all of the Spielbergian musical swells and fast-paced visuals, this is the kind of blockbuster that barely qualifies as a movie. My brain honestly struggled to process how stupid it gets. Fallen Kingdom gave me a splitting headache.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (4.9/10)
Images: Universal/IMDb
Poster courtesy of Universal
In this area, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom makes a catastrophic miscalculation. The core concept of this sequel is that we should feel an emotional connection to these dinosaurs, that we should weep for their demise and cheer for their triumph. The sequel to Colin Trevorrow's divisive 2015 smash hit expands on the recognizable personalities and traits of these dinosaurs, making philosophical arguments in favor of their survival. And I suppose this is something that will work on the youngest of audience members- the nearby elementary schoolers at my screening were audibly rooting for the prehistoric creatures at every turn.
But in broad terms, this idea is a major mistake. The J.A. Bayona-directed sequel frequently wades into silly, preposterously stupid territory, but it also seems to misunderstand the appeal of this iconic franchise. It's a disastrous chapter for a series that can only get dumber from here. And honestly, we should have expected nothing less. Jurassic World was a low-key remake of Spielberg's original classic, but what it portended for the future of the series was enough to make any viewer raise an eyebrow. In Fallen Kingdom, we learn what has happened in the three years since the horrifying events at the dino amusement park. A once-dormant volcano on Isla Nublar is active again, a dangerous development that threatens the lives of every creature on the island. Former Jurassic World exec Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) now works for an animal rights group, hoping to save what's left of the dinosaurs.
The government is struggling to accept that animals created in a lab deserve protection, and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) doesn't help matters by recommending that we allow the volcano to wipe them out. But salvation arrives in the form of Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), an assistant for billionaire and John Hammond partner Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Mills reveals the existence of a dinosaur sanctuary, and he wants Claire to help with the rescue of a few species from the island. For the mission, Claire brings two assistants from her advocacy group (Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), ex-boyfriend and famed raptor trainer. But if you've ever seen a Jurassic Park movie, you know things won't quite go as planned on Isla Nublar.
Jurassic World gets a lot of hate, but for my money, it's one of the best pure popcorn blockbusters of the last few years. It's a theme park ride masquerading as a movie, a funhouse of gloriously ridiculous action and grisly thrills. However, it does adhere pretty closely to the template of the original film, only with a much more expansive sense of scope. But at least it's pretending to be a movie, keeping up the pretense that there are characters with actual arcs, even if the script itself is paper thin. Fallen Kingdom can't be bothered to do that, throwing narrative and development under the bus in favor of its increasingly outrageous ideas. Did you care at all about Owen and Claire in the last film? Forget it. This time around, it's the businessmen vs. the activists, and that's just about all that matters.
Instead of focusing on the humans that are being chomped and chased by the T-Rex and his friends, Bayona and screenwriters Trevorrow and Derek Connolly decide to place all their chips on the dinosaurs. Characters aren't defined by who they are or what they do, rarely finding even the briefest of moments to interact with one another. They're defined by how they feel about dinosaurs, whether they believe the creatures should be saved or used, protected or destroyed. Fallen Kingdom moves at a mile-a-minute, barely giving the audience a second to breathe, but the one sequence where it does slow to a halt finds the characters performing a blood transfusion on the dying Blue (the raptor with whom Owen has a special bond). In a sequence designed to make the viewer cry, this is juxtaposed with Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the granddaughter of Benjamin, watching videos of Owen interacting with tiny raptors. Ugh.
And don't get me started on the character of Maisie herself, who runs around Lockwood Mansion like a younger Nancy Drew before the filmmakers unveil the baffling truth about her character. It was a reveal so funny that I had to cover my mouth as I burst out laughing, terrified that I would disturb anyone around me who was still taking this seriously. Fallen Kingdom is a mixed bag throughout its first half, a mixture of dumb decisions (dinosaur rights activists) and engaging action setpieces (the dynamite opening scene, SOME of the stuff on the island). But it really, truly goes off the rails in the second half in astounding fashion, spiraling out of control and never recovering. Characters make the worst choices imaginable, plot twists generate accidental belly laughs, the ending causes a gigantic eye roll- it's an unmitigated disaster.
In its strongest moments, Fallen Kingdom offers small pleasures. One tiny little dinosaur uses his head as a battering ram, slamming into walls and helping Owen on his mission. He's the best character in the movie, and I don't even know what his name is. The main villainous dino, a creation of Dr. Wu (BD Wong) known as the Indoraptor, unleashes a playful smile whenever he dispatches a baddie, which is both hysterical and a little terrifying. Bayona has fun playing with shadows, using lightning flashes and bursts of artificial light to show off where the dinosaurs are located in relation to their food.
Speaking of Bayona, when I heard that the director of A Monster Calls and The Impossible was taking on a Jurassic World movie, I was fascinated to see if there would be more of a horror touch. It's unfortunate that those moments are few and far between, drowned out by a cavalcade of loud noises and visually cluttered special effects. Bayona even struggles to make some of the major action pieces work in an effective way, and there's little here that would make a crowd go wild. The impact is non-existent.
Fallen Kingdom is built on a faulty premise, and it's never able to overcome that fatal misstep. I don't care about the dinosaurs, nor will I ever be inclined to do so. If that makes me heartless, so be it. Trevorrow (who will be back at the wheel for the third installment) has admitted that this movie is basically a vessel to get to the next chapter, which is the movie he wanted to make all along. That's fine........but just make that movie. Fallen Kingdom is unnecessary and illogical, a never-ending series of laughable reveals, unexplained twists, and non-existent character arcs. For all of the Spielbergian musical swells and fast-paced visuals, this is the kind of blockbuster that barely qualifies as a movie. My brain honestly struggled to process how stupid it gets. Fallen Kingdom gave me a splitting headache.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (4.9/10)
Images: Universal/IMDb
Poster courtesy of Universal
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