Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
(C or 2/4 stars)
The 2nd installment in this Jurassic World trilogy, 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' (directed by J.A. Bayona, of The Orphanage, The Impossible) features more dinosaurs than ever. There are stolen moments that are fun or invigorating. But yyyyeah, the script for this latest film is pretty uneven, preposterous & eye-roll inducing. The story picks up some 3 yrs. years following the catastrophe of the Jurassic World theme park on Isla Nublar. The remaining dinosaurs have been living in the vast island jungle, but now, because of an imminent volcanic eruption, they face extinction once again. Billionaire co-creator of the original park - Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) - and his weasely asst., Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) have a secret mission.
They plan to have said dinosaurs caught & safely transported via enormous sea vessel to a nearby island sanctuary. Mills contacts Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard returning to her role, but playing her character quite differently than from the 1st film) - who works for the Dinosaur Preservation Group {um, whatever} - for this mission, & she compels Owen Grady (Chris Pratt once again) - her now ex-boyfriend - to come along so he can search for his beloved Velociraptor, Blue. Unfortunately, things are not as they seem, as Claire, Owen, their team, Blue (the Velociraptor), a T-Rex & the other dinosaurs find themselves in grave danger; not only with the volcano ... but with duplicitous humans. Mayhem ensues.
Well. 'JW: Fallen Kingdom' should please many a fan looking for dumb, brainless fun. I did not actively hate this film while watching it {I was, perhaps, too distracted by my horrendous screening thanks to a theater full of screaming babies, misbehaving children & unconcerned parents ... but that's a whole other story, haha}. No, I didn't hate this film. But boyyy, is it disappointing. I can talk about the strengths of the film: that tense under water/in the rain opening sequence; crisp cinematography; some of the creature design; a suspenseful moment here; a cool death there; Michael Giacchino's heart-thumping music; and there are more than a few artful moments ... where you see the effort put-in to create a meaningful and/or unique shot.
But my goodness, most of the film's 2nd half {once they escape Isla Nubar} is just ... STUPID. Much of what occurs not only defies logic, but logic within the logistics of the stupid plot, lol. I couldn't believe my eyes when realizing exactly what was occurring at Sir Lockwood's estate. To delve into one particular spoiler, there's an ... auction. Dinosaur breeds were NOT saved and brought to a nearby island, but to the northern Californian mainland to Lockwood's mansion - unbeknownst to him! - to be auctioned-off to other rich human beings. Like ... WHAT!? AND. They're paying a pittance for them. You'd think that each DINOSAUR would be sold for, say, hundreds & hundreds of millions ... not $8 mill. That's ridiculous and STUPID.
Other things that bugged include the characterizations ... there are none. Bryce Dallas Howard is fine -- but gone is the "character" she honed in the previous film. She's just a badass heroin, here. And don't get me STARTED on a moment when she pops-up out of nowhere - and severely injured - to try and save the day. Chris Pratt is Chris Pratt. He's physically fit for the role. But wasn't Sam Neill enough in the 1st film? Why does every action hero have to be built & buffed for the Gods? I liked the wide-eyed performance of Isabella Sermon, who plays Lockwood's adorable granddaughter, Maisie. But there's a HUGGGGGGGE plot twist dropped about her that is wild with implications -- but then -- it's dropped for the rest of the film. Like, what!?
Other performances include: Justice Smith as a young tech-nerd with a fear of flying {he's a member of the team assembled to help Claire & Owen with the initial transport of dinosaurs}; Daniella Pineda as another feisty member of the team; Geraldine Chaplin as Sir Lockwood's housekeeper ... who just disappears from the film at one point, never to be seen again; Toby Jones as the auctioneer {a nothing role}; B.D. Wong returns as Dr. Ian Malcolm {who cares?}; and Jeff Goldblum - shown prominently in trailers, yay!!! - is in the film for roughly 5 minutes -- aggravating, to say the least.
I actually enjoyed the 2015 re-boot film in this franchise. But this one just doesn't cut it. Strong "moments" in the 1st half of the film give way to nonsensical plot points & execution in the 2nd half. I even think that the CGI was on the weaker side; certainly with the lava. And why do I still think that the dinosaurs were MUCH scarier in the 1993 film? What's up with the special effects, man!? And still ... AND STILL ... I can't condemn the film fully. I liked the way some of the baddies get their due. The movie flows well. And plenty of the action is filled with suitable dread. But suspension of disbelief, HORRIFIC dialogue & the uneven narrative really impeded any enjoyment I might have. That ... and the unruly audience I saw this with.
They plan to have said dinosaurs caught & safely transported via enormous sea vessel to a nearby island sanctuary. Mills contacts Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard returning to her role, but playing her character quite differently than from the 1st film) - who works for the Dinosaur Preservation Group {um, whatever} - for this mission, & she compels Owen Grady (Chris Pratt once again) - her now ex-boyfriend - to come along so he can search for his beloved Velociraptor, Blue. Unfortunately, things are not as they seem, as Claire, Owen, their team, Blue (the Velociraptor), a T-Rex & the other dinosaurs find themselves in grave danger; not only with the volcano ... but with duplicitous humans. Mayhem ensues.
Well. 'JW: Fallen Kingdom' should please many a fan looking for dumb, brainless fun. I did not actively hate this film while watching it {I was, perhaps, too distracted by my horrendous screening thanks to a theater full of screaming babies, misbehaving children & unconcerned parents ... but that's a whole other story, haha}. No, I didn't hate this film. But boyyy, is it disappointing. I can talk about the strengths of the film: that tense under water/in the rain opening sequence; crisp cinematography; some of the creature design; a suspenseful moment here; a cool death there; Michael Giacchino's heart-thumping music; and there are more than a few artful moments ... where you see the effort put-in to create a meaningful and/or unique shot.
But my goodness, most of the film's 2nd half {once they escape Isla Nubar} is just ... STUPID. Much of what occurs not only defies logic, but logic within the logistics of the stupid plot, lol. I couldn't believe my eyes when realizing exactly what was occurring at Sir Lockwood's estate. To delve into one particular spoiler, there's an ... auction. Dinosaur breeds were NOT saved and brought to a nearby island, but to the northern Californian mainland to Lockwood's mansion - unbeknownst to him! - to be auctioned-off to other rich human beings. Like ... WHAT!? AND. They're paying a pittance for them. You'd think that each DINOSAUR would be sold for, say, hundreds & hundreds of millions ... not $8 mill. That's ridiculous and STUPID.
Other things that bugged include the characterizations ... there are none. Bryce Dallas Howard is fine -- but gone is the "character" she honed in the previous film. She's just a badass heroin, here. And don't get me STARTED on a moment when she pops-up out of nowhere - and severely injured - to try and save the day. Chris Pratt is Chris Pratt. He's physically fit for the role. But wasn't Sam Neill enough in the 1st film? Why does every action hero have to be built & buffed for the Gods? I liked the wide-eyed performance of Isabella Sermon, who plays Lockwood's adorable granddaughter, Maisie. But there's a HUGGGGGGGE plot twist dropped about her that is wild with implications -- but then -- it's dropped for the rest of the film. Like, what!?
Other performances include: Justice Smith as a young tech-nerd with a fear of flying {he's a member of the team assembled to help Claire & Owen with the initial transport of dinosaurs}; Daniella Pineda as another feisty member of the team; Geraldine Chaplin as Sir Lockwood's housekeeper ... who just disappears from the film at one point, never to be seen again; Toby Jones as the auctioneer {a nothing role}; B.D. Wong returns as Dr. Ian Malcolm {who cares?}; and Jeff Goldblum - shown prominently in trailers, yay!!! - is in the film for roughly 5 minutes -- aggravating, to say the least.
I actually enjoyed the 2015 re-boot film in this franchise. But this one just doesn't cut it. Strong "moments" in the 1st half of the film give way to nonsensical plot points & execution in the 2nd half. I even think that the CGI was on the weaker side; certainly with the lava. And why do I still think that the dinosaurs were MUCH scarier in the 1993 film? What's up with the special effects, man!? And still ... AND STILL ... I can't condemn the film fully. I liked the way some of the baddies get their due. The movie flows well. And plenty of the action is filled with suitable dread. But suspension of disbelief, HORRIFIC dialogue & the uneven narrative really impeded any enjoyment I might have. That ... and the unruly audience I saw this with.