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Film: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Year: 2018
Director: J.A. Bayona
Writer: Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Rafe Spall
Review:
This film is continuing on the Jurassic Park franchise. This takes place a few years after the previous film. The official synopsis is when the island from Jurassic World’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life; Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
Now I have to lead off stating that I’m a sucker for the Jurassic Park franchise. I remember seeing the original in the theater and it sparked my love for dinosaurs that went on for awhile. Something I like about this film is that it continues the continuity set up in the previous film and actually harkens back to the original as well. This film begins with a group of men coming to the island from the previous film and finding the bones of Indominus Rex. This is interesting though how he meets his demise in the previous film, but I like that they are continuing on with the genetic engineering angle. We also get to meet the man that worked with Dr. Hammond in the first film, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). We get the issues of cloning and the dangerous side of science, which leads me to what else I really like about the story.
There is a legal battle going on. As the synopsis alludes, the volcano on the island is going to erupt. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is working with a group of people to get money raised to get the dinosaurs off the island before it is too late. Even Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) makes an appearance as he is testifying before the committee to let them die. What I enjoyed about this is that it fits with our current climate in politics. There are rational arguments on both sides. For this film we are dealing with letting cloned creatures survive or should we stop playing God and letting them go extinct again when they should have never been alive. It is an interesting argument. The film does an amazing job at portraying this and it actually pulled at my heartstrings.
This film also features Lockwood wanting to save the animals with a new sanctuary island. Claire is called in and meets with the man who runs Lockwood’s foundation, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall). Their goal is to save as many dinosaurs as they can, but Mills makes a point that Blue, the lead raptor from the previous film, is the last of its species and should be the focus. Claire and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) have broken up, but he is needed since he trained Blue. He is quite reluctant though.
Much like from the previous film, there is a new species of dinosaur that is created. Where the previous one, the Indominus Rex, they went more for trying to combine the Velociraptor with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, focusing more on later to make a creature that is more of a show. This time around they’re working on what is dubbed the Indoraptor. I did like the practical applications they have in mind for this species.
The editing for this film I would have to say is really good. It has to jump between the island that and back to the Lockwood Estate. It does really good at building tension as time runs short on the island, but there is also something going on back in the US that is also driving the tension. I like the shift once they get to the mansion and what is going on. It actually has a feel of an animal run amock/slasher combination type feel from that point. The ending is quite interesting as well and what it is setting up. I didn’t mind it at all. I will say that it does a few things that have been done in previous Jurassic Park films and it came off as a little cheesy for me.
The dinosaurs are the star of this film, but it also has some really good acting. Pratt and Howard’s characters are established in the last film, but they just build on that. Their relationship has once again strained, but we see that once they are together again there are sparks. Spall is great in this film. I think he plays this type of role really well. Going to the island was also Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda and Ted Levine. The two former are helping with Claire’s cause and they bring their own flair to the film. Levine was amazing. He is the big game hunter in charge of capturing the dinosaurs. Cromwell, Toby Jones and Goldblum are all solid in their small roles. I really wish we got more Goldblum though. I thought the rest of the cast round out the film well.
As I stated earlier, the dinosaurs are the stars. I have to give this film a lot of credit, because it is a CGI-fest. It actually looks really good though. They move and act so natural; even though we don’t really know how they would act. I would assume this would be spot on. I did have issues with the lava in the film though. I don’t know if the filmmakers didn’t do their research, but they couldn’t get as close to it as they do. The temperature of it would be unreal and things would start to melt. This was a big issue for me.
To get back on things that were good was the soundtrack. I have to give all the films credit in this series, they also go so grand with their score and it is fitting for the films. It is very orchestra based. Having dinosaurs, which are naturally bigger than humans I think it really needs to go grand. This film does that and I think it fits.
Now with that said, overall I found this to be a fun film. I really like when a film can continue on a storyline that has already been presented without violating continuity and I think that’s what this one does. It does have some cheesiness to it, but I come to expect that being that it is geared toward families. I do like how it plays out and what it is could be setting up as well. I thought the editing of the film was good. For a film that runs over two hours, it doesn’t feel like it. We get a couple different storylines moving concurrently and I liked it. I thought the acting of the film was good across the board. I didn’t have any complaints except I wanted more Goldblum. The CGI looked great aside from a couple things here and there. I thought the score of the film was really good as well. Overall I would recommend it. This is a solid series of films and I think this one fits right in there with the rest of them.
My Rating: 8 out of 10