I know that it's not cool to like Jurassic World. Even though it made $1.67 billion dollars worldwide and received generally positive reviews and buzz upon its release in Summer 2015, the general consensus quickly turned negative. Jurassic World became the embodiment of Hollywood's soulless blockbuster machine, and Colin Trevorrow became the poster child for the elevation of privileged mediocrity. But if I'm being completely honest with you, I still love Jurassic World. It finished in the #11 slot on my Top 20 Films of 2015 list, and I truly do stand by that. It is blockbuster trash of the highest order, a theme park ride of a movie that manages to be impeccably precise in the execution of its crowd-pleasing, dinosaur-chomping setpieces. While it shares more kinship with Michael Bay's original Transformers than the Steven Spielberg film that kick-started the prehistoric franchise, Jurassic World is, simply put, why we go to the movies in the summer. It's big, it's loud, it's dumb, and it's a whole lot of fun. With that in mind, it's safe to say that I'm pretty excited for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. As long as it delivers the same kind of delightful spectacle as its predecessor, I'm all in. Earlier today, Universal released the first trailer for the hotly anticipated sequel- check it out below!
So this isn't the best trailer I've ever seen. That's not to say that Fallen Kingdom looks bad or that my excitement has been completely crushed, but I think it's worth noting that this is a poorly cut, often inconsistent first look. Early plot details have already been nitpicked online, and yet I'll admit that those things don't really interest me. What concerns me is how drab this looks, how the trailer throws out a bunch of intense, effects-heavy shots without really conveying a sense of flow to the proceedings. Crafting a good trailer is an art of its own, and this one just didn't work for me. The film looks simultaneously bland and visually busy, and I'm pretty sure that's not a great combination. Nonetheless, there's still plenty of intriguing material on display here. Director J.A. Bayona is a talented storyteller and a great visual stylist- he can make you cry (as in A Monster Calls) or scare the hell out of you in a visceral, punishing manner (The Impossible). He's versatile and a skilled craftsman, and I trust him to do some interesting things, maybe even amplifying aspects that were weaker in the original film. I like the new additions to the cast, particularly Justice Smith, Rafe Spall, James Cromwell, and Toby Jones (they're not all in the trailer, so don't go looking). And of course, who isn't excited to see Jeff Goldblum return as Dr. Ian Malcolm?
Jurassic World established some strange, massively ambitious narrative elements that were clearly setting up future sequels. Weaponized dinosaurs were controversial among fans, but they provoked discussion and excitement in critical ways. It'll be compelling to see how Fallen Kingdom expands on that, and even though this isn't a great trailer, I'm giving Bayona and his team the benefit of the doubt. This is still likely to be one of the biggest and most thrilling blockbusters of the jam-packed 2018 summer movie season.
Fallen Kingdom debuts on June 22, 2018.
Image: IMDB/Universal
So this isn't the best trailer I've ever seen. That's not to say that Fallen Kingdom looks bad or that my excitement has been completely crushed, but I think it's worth noting that this is a poorly cut, often inconsistent first look. Early plot details have already been nitpicked online, and yet I'll admit that those things don't really interest me. What concerns me is how drab this looks, how the trailer throws out a bunch of intense, effects-heavy shots without really conveying a sense of flow to the proceedings. Crafting a good trailer is an art of its own, and this one just didn't work for me. The film looks simultaneously bland and visually busy, and I'm pretty sure that's not a great combination. Nonetheless, there's still plenty of intriguing material on display here. Director J.A. Bayona is a talented storyteller and a great visual stylist- he can make you cry (as in A Monster Calls) or scare the hell out of you in a visceral, punishing manner (The Impossible). He's versatile and a skilled craftsman, and I trust him to do some interesting things, maybe even amplifying aspects that were weaker in the original film. I like the new additions to the cast, particularly Justice Smith, Rafe Spall, James Cromwell, and Toby Jones (they're not all in the trailer, so don't go looking). And of course, who isn't excited to see Jeff Goldblum return as Dr. Ian Malcolm?
Jurassic World established some strange, massively ambitious narrative elements that were clearly setting up future sequels. Weaponized dinosaurs were controversial among fans, but they provoked discussion and excitement in critical ways. It'll be compelling to see how Fallen Kingdom expands on that, and even though this isn't a great trailer, I'm giving Bayona and his team the benefit of the doubt. This is still likely to be one of the biggest and most thrilling blockbusters of the jam-packed 2018 summer movie season.
Fallen Kingdom debuts on June 22, 2018.
Image: IMDB/Universal
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