Jurassic World is, to me at least, one of the most distinctly average movies of the last decade. It did a decent enough job of kicking off this new set of Jurassic films and there are a bunch of fun moments in it, but there's no denying that it's a flawed film. Still, that didn't stop it from becoming one of 2015's biggest financial hits and making the possibility of a sequel a near certainty. Whilst Fallen Kingdom suffers many of the same pitfalls as it's predecessor, it's certainly an improvement from the last one and is a film that I had a really good time with.
As a volcanic eruption threatens to wipe out the remaining life of Isla Nublar, Claire (Howard) and Owen (Pratt) are enlisted to assist a rescue operation to evacuate the dinosaurs from the island. However, more sinister motivations are at play that result in some good old fashioned dino-madness to ensue.
One of the strongest elements of Jurassic World was the dinosaurs. Thankfully, they are still the main attractions in the sequel. There's a strong blend of returning and new breeds which are all very entertaining. The new big bad 'Indoraptor' is suitably terrifying. The Stygimoloch (look, I had to google it okay - it's the one with the big dome on it's head) is a bit of a breakout star. The creatures are used in some innovative ways and are at the centre of the movie's two best scenes.
As hinted at by the promotional material, the standout set pieces are the chaotic escape from the volcano and the mansion sequence. J.A Bayona does a terrific job with both of these moments. He has expressed in recent interviews his desire to use the third act in the mansion to emulate the horror elements of Jurassic Park, which he has certainly achieved. It's not scary as the original, but the gradual building of tension is used well and there are plenty of effective scares. The escape from the island is also great and a welcome burst of action after a fairly slow start.
However, this movie is another example of overexposure in marketing having a detrimental effect on a film. With only a few exceptions, all of the best moments are in the trailers. The impact of certain action beats, jokes and 'twists' in the story is significantly lessened by the fact you've already seen them, which is a real shame.
Whilst the dinosaurs are used very well throughout, the human characters still aren't really up to scratch. I'm a fan of both of the lead actors, but the charisma of Howard and Pratt only goes so far. A lot of the writing for their character's dialogue is stilted and cheesy. I often find my self struggling to identify any defining trait or motivation of their's, or any other character for that matter. The new cast members over little more, with the new sidekicks Franklin and Zia offering annoyance rather than the intended levity. Rafe Spall does a solid job as the antagonist, but he's just a handlebar moustache away from being the most clichéd of movie villains. Even the painfully brief return of Jeff Goldblum as Dr Ian Malcom can't save the human roster. The saving grace is young Isabella Sermon, who does a great job.
Fallen Kingdom is on the whole a really solid movie. It has issues - the plot suffers from pacing issues and the human characters are pretty poor. But let's face it, we aren't there for them. We're there for the dinosaurs and they really shine.
3/5 Stars
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