Review of JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM: Falling Franchise

June 15, 2018

Three years ago, the original 1993 "Jurassic Park" film franchise was reborn as "Jurassic World" introducing us to new characters like dinosaur park manager Claire Dearing, dinosaur trainer Owen Grady and his dearest pet and trainee, a velociraptor named Blue. These three are back again this time for a new adventure, without the park. Frankly, I went into theater not expecting too much based on the trailer.

Three years after the events of the last movie, the very existence of Isla Nublar and its dinosaur residents are under threat by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. Claire, now a dinosaur rights activist, was convinced by lawyer Eli Mills (representative of Benjamin Lockwood, estranged business partner of Jurassic Park originator John Hammond) to help them save some dinosaurs from extinction. 

Passionate to save the dinosaurs, Claire sought the help of her old friend Owen to embark on the rescue mission with her, together with her paleo-veterinarian Dr. Zia Rodriguez and IT specialist Franklin Webb. Of course, the specter of human greed would again wave its arms in more sinister ways than ever, as the science of dinosaur genetic engineering was being pushed to serve megalomaniac pursuits of business and warfare. 

After going over-the-top on the amusement park concept in the last film, this new sequel goes into darker ethical issues which were only hinted at in passing in previous installments. Here, the various dinosaurs were captured and were being sold on the black market for mega-bucks for all sorts of underhanded purposes. With all the firepower around now, I seriously doubt the practicality of having a dinosaur as a weapon of mass destruction in the modern world. Dr. Ian Malcolm offered philosophical insights about this technology when he served as resource person in a Senate inquiry. 

In place of the departed Indominus Rex from the last time, there is a prototype of a more vicious, more intelligent hybrid between Indominus and a Velociraptor called the Indoraptor, to give the major dino scares. Honestly, it was just more of the same thing we have seen over and over already in all the past episodes of this franchise. They really did not show much innovation in the dinosaur department this time around. 

Chris.Pratt's Owen is still the same likable chap, with his amusingly expressive face. Howard's Claire was less annoying now without her stilettos. Daniella Padilla's Zia was supposedly a paleo-veterinarian, but despite her degree, she said she'd never seen a real dinosaur before. I wonder how she learned her dino surgery skills in the university? Justice Smith's nerdy Franklin was the token nervous wreck character and the main comic relief. They all led charmed lives apparently, so there was no sense of real danger whenever they tangle with dinos.

With Steven Spielberg as one of the producers, a major child character is expected, and there was one here, in the person of spunky Maisie Lockwood, played by Isabella Sermon in her film debut. Despite her tender age, little Maisie was no shrinking violet. Like a mouse, she could fearlessly scale the window ledges and run across narrow beams from the top levels of their mansion. She had presence of mind even in the face of mortal danger, which we had no doubts she would survive every time. 

The villain characters played by Rafe Spall, Ted Levine and Toby Jones were obvious from the get-go and we knew they were all going to end up as dinosaur fodder, as all the bad characters in the past all ended up. It was just a question of how they will go into the carnivorous dino's mouth that kept us riveted on the screen during those tense moments. 

However, there is nothing really new here anymore. They've stretched the material too much already and the strain is showing. It was actually repeating dino fight scenes from previous films. Spanish director J.A. Bayona did his best to keep things entertaining and engaging, so we all still had fun with the thrills and scares he served up (especially in the first 15 minutes). The very short extra scene at the very end of the closing credits teased a curious scenario which surely will make us return to watch the third, and hopefully final (for now at least), chapter of this franchise, scheduled for release in 2021. 6/10.