Review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) by Thequietgamer — 01 Jul 2018

Pretty much your standard big blockbuster film. It's the same relatively safe mix of humor, action, spectacle, and some cashing in on our nostalgia that's been popularized by modern superhero flicks. Unlike it's peers however, Fallen Kingdom lacks the lovable characters that make us sit on the edge of our seats during the bigger set pieces even though we know they aren't actually in any real danger. Pratt and Howard return in the lead roles and they are just as bland as ever. Justice Smith is nothing more than comic relief as all he's given to do is freak out and scream anytime something happens. Daniella Pineda is barely in the movie at all.

The dinosaurs are the real stars. Not only is the velociraptor "Blue" better written than any of her human counterparts, but I was surprised to find that these prehistoric beasts are also capable of invoking an actual emotional response from the audience. I'm not lying when I say that there's a scene involving a Brachiosaurus at the end of the movie's explosive first act that almost killed me. Initially I supported the idea of leaving them on the island to die as they are dangerous animals that already went extinct once. Something changed in me upon actually seeing it happen. The movie could have used this to say something incredibly poignant, but just doesn't. Although I'm fairly certain it thinks it does.

Director J.A. Bayona got his start with the well-received, Guillermo del Toro produced "The Orphanage" and that influence can definitely be felt here. There are times where he shot this like a straight up horror film. Particularly whenever the new hybrid dino is onscreen. It's probably my favorite aspect of the movie. I want to make it very clear that none of Fallen Kingdom's issues have anything to do with Bayona's directing. They all stem from Trevorrow and Connolly's script. The duo were able to come up with plenty of exciting scenarios. They just weren't able to fill them with interesting people.

I absolutely love the way the movie ended. It sets the sequel up to go in an incredible new direction and I really hope they just go full dinosaur apocalypse on us. No matter what they choose to do though these characters will need to be reworked. They were able to get away with the underdevelopment of the protagonists last time thanks to the sheer excitement of the series being revived, but Fallen Kingdom has really suffered because of it. This is still a fun time at the theater, but it's also the Jurassic film with the least amount of substance thus far.