Spoiler-Free Review - Read On!
Director: J.A. Bayona
A surprisingly grim, dark entry into the typically fun "Jurassic" film series, this movie didn't completely seem to know what to do with itself.
I'll admit right off that I'm not a particular fan of dinosaur flicks. Sure, I was dazzled by the original Jurassic Park back when I saw it as a 17-year old in 1993. The effects were amazing, and it was vintage "fun" Steven Spielberg fare, with a great cast and perfect balance between tension and humor. But I never felt any great allegiance to the series itself. If I ever saw the sequel, I can't recall it. And I'm quite sure that I never saw the third film. Still, when my family wanted to check out the revival movie Jurassic World a few years ago, I joined in. I found that movie fairly fun, but ultimately I thought it devolved into a CGI scramble resembling a lame shooter video game during most of the third act. When I saw trailers for its follow up, Fallen Kingdom, I had little interest, which waned even further when I saw the tepid reviews flow in. My instincts were correct.
Picking up in "real time," three years after the disastrous events depicted in the previous movie, the island home to the now-free dinosaurs is about to literally explode into a volcanic inferno. The lone surviving person who had a hand in creating the original Jurassic Park is attempting to spearhead an illegal rescue operation which will bring as many of the dinosaurs as possible to a new, safe island preserve. To do so, his estate enlists Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to aide by bringing in former raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to the island during the extraction. The two go along, but things soon turn both highly dangerous and very sinister. The island's volcano begins erupting not long after Claire and Owen's arrivals, and it also becomes clear that the military units ostensibly sent to rescue the dinos are really there to bring them back to the mainland to be sold as commodities to the highest bidders.
This movie was simply very little fun to watch, and this is the one thing I hope to get when seeing a dinosaur movie. It's what the original film gave us all, and any subsequent movies in the series are foolish to think that they can do otherwise. There is a little bit of banter that Chris Pratt's expert comic chops help to sell, but these are very few and far between. No, instead, this movie features a lot of genuinely upsetting moments. Dinosaurs drowning to death. More dinosaurs getting roasted alive by lava. The surviving dinosaurs getting tortured and carted off to be sold. Those dinosaurs being further tortured, and then nearly gassed to death. There is a lot of animal pain and suffering on display in this movie, and it's simply unpleasant to watch. I can only imagine how upset I would have been had I been a young child, thinking I was going to see a followup to Jurassic World, the previous movie which had much of the fun of the original film. It's as if the filmmakers had actually wanted to do a documentary warning us against animal cruelty, but decided to fold the message into a Steven Spielberg franchise.
As if the tone of the movie weren't dark enough, much of the film is visually very dark. Aside from roughly 30 minutes on the island, the movie takes place at night, in the rain, and in a dark, imposing mansion. It truly is more of a suspense/horror movie for much of its length, rather than the action/adventure films that all of the previous entries have been. On top of that, Fallen Kingdom takes a stab at some profound commentary about man meddling with nature. To do so, the filmmakers decided to bring back Jeff Goldblum's highly memorable Dr. Ian Malcolm, but merely as a bookend to highlight the unoriginal idea that "if man meddles, he should be ready to face the consequences." And the consequences in this movie have rather dire implications.
The follow-up movie is already in the works, and Fallen Kingdom sets it up in rather grim fashion. I was happy to take one for the team and join some of my family for this last one, but I'll be skipping out on this franchise's next adventure.
Director: J.A. Bayona
A surprisingly grim, dark entry into the typically fun "Jurassic" film series, this movie didn't completely seem to know what to do with itself.
I'll admit right off that I'm not a particular fan of dinosaur flicks. Sure, I was dazzled by the original Jurassic Park back when I saw it as a 17-year old in 1993. The effects were amazing, and it was vintage "fun" Steven Spielberg fare, with a great cast and perfect balance between tension and humor. But I never felt any great allegiance to the series itself. If I ever saw the sequel, I can't recall it. And I'm quite sure that I never saw the third film. Still, when my family wanted to check out the revival movie Jurassic World a few years ago, I joined in. I found that movie fairly fun, but ultimately I thought it devolved into a CGI scramble resembling a lame shooter video game during most of the third act. When I saw trailers for its follow up, Fallen Kingdom, I had little interest, which waned even further when I saw the tepid reviews flow in. My instincts were correct.
Picking up in "real time," three years after the disastrous events depicted in the previous movie, the island home to the now-free dinosaurs is about to literally explode into a volcanic inferno. The lone surviving person who had a hand in creating the original Jurassic Park is attempting to spearhead an illegal rescue operation which will bring as many of the dinosaurs as possible to a new, safe island preserve. To do so, his estate enlists Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to aide by bringing in former raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to the island during the extraction. The two go along, but things soon turn both highly dangerous and very sinister. The island's volcano begins erupting not long after Claire and Owen's arrivals, and it also becomes clear that the military units ostensibly sent to rescue the dinos are really there to bring them back to the mainland to be sold as commodities to the highest bidders.
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| One of a few lazy story elements, the introduction of a "newer, even scarier" dinosaur - the "Indoraptor." And there are Pratt and Howard, taking part in the horror movie that the film becomes for its entire third act. |
As if the tone of the movie weren't dark enough, much of the film is visually very dark. Aside from roughly 30 minutes on the island, the movie takes place at night, in the rain, and in a dark, imposing mansion. It truly is more of a suspense/horror movie for much of its length, rather than the action/adventure films that all of the previous entries have been. On top of that, Fallen Kingdom takes a stab at some profound commentary about man meddling with nature. To do so, the filmmakers decided to bring back Jeff Goldblum's highly memorable Dr. Ian Malcolm, but merely as a bookend to highlight the unoriginal idea that "if man meddles, he should be ready to face the consequences." And the consequences in this movie have rather dire implications.
The follow-up movie is already in the works, and Fallen Kingdom sets it up in rather grim fashion. I was happy to take one for the team and join some of my family for this last one, but I'll be skipping out on this franchise's next adventure.
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