Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Review
What Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom tries to do is admirable, however, continuing with what didn't work in Jurassic World, and expanding upon it in a semi-Lost World remake, leaves the viewer with a piece that is conflicted, dark yet campy, and a set of ideas that are interesting, but to get to them you have to dig through a movie that feels like a, at times delightful, mess.
What I found interesting about the opening of Fallen Kingdom was the fact that this franchise seems to be going in real time. Jurassic World came out in 2015, and the beginning of this movie has the world talking, and debating, on whether Dinosaurs should have rights and should they interfere with mother nature. They explicitly say that the events of the park catastrophe from the first movie happened in their time three years ago too, and while it's a small aspect of the film to focus on it made me think how this franchise is being treated like an alternate reality to our own, which probably means that once Jurassic World 3 comes out it will take place three years from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. This doesn't impact the franchise in anyway, maybe people will be disappointed when the third movie doesn't immediately pick up from Fallen Kingdom's pseudo cliffhanger, but I found it as a delightful footnote nonetheless.
The first half of this movie is essentially The Lost World where the military is going in and trapping Dinosaurs to sell. There are clear homages in the cinematography and certain Dino cages that you'll recognize. Only difference now is that the characters are working against the clock with the island about to erupt from a ferocious volcano. Then we get to the second half of the movie, the half where you learn about the Dinosaur auction and the new species they spliced together, and it is a mixed bag.
I really enjoyed the first half of the film. With J. A. Bayona in the director's seat he's clearly trying to set a horror tone for these Dinosaurs, their modern monsters, to live and breathe. The action sequences were pretty good, and deliciously suspenseful. My favorite of these would be the Dinosaur coming down the tunnel, lava everywhere, trapping Claire and the new character Franklin. Another great scene is when Claire and Franklin are trapped inside one of the travel orbs from the first Jurassic World underwater.
Unfortunately, my biggest problems with the film arise out of its script written by Derek Connelly and Colin Trevorrow, who is spearheading this trilogy. My favorite scenes in Fallen Kingdom are the ones that have action and very little dialogue, and that's because this story is tackled in a way that you have to continually suspend your disbelief in this world. Yes it's a fantastical setting, but the characters are caricatures that don't make logical decisions. Dinosaurs are acting out of character, more human qualities, and at one point a Dinosaur was literally acting like a cartoon character. With all the problems I did have with Colin Trevorrow's writing I did appreciate the continuation of the themes he explored in the first Jurassic World, and built upon them in this one. With that in mind I think he successfully connected the two movies in a natural way and once he's done with the third movie I believe he would have created a trilogy that felt cohesive and stayed true to itself.
Overall, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a mixed bag. It looks great, and I loved what J. A. Bayona was able to infuse into this franchise while also utilizing a good balance of practical effects and CGI. The suspenseful scenes were awesome and óscar Faura shot the hell out of this movie. The human characters are once again not the most interesting thing about the movie and even though Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are great actors I still find myself looking toward B. D. Wong for the best character in this franchise as a modern mad scientist. While the first half of this film was a fun horror toned catastrophe, it was the second half where the writing was campier, and it felt more like a fifties monster movie which seriously clashed with J. A. Bayona's tone. There are scenes and elements to love in this movie, but it takes a lot of suspension of disbelief.
C+
