Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review, Universal | Tagged: film, jurassic world: fallen kingdom, Review, Universal Pictures

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Review – Somehow Makes Dinosaurs Boring

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has a few bright spots, but they are either few and far between or were spoiled in the marketing.

Director: J.A. Bayona
Summary:When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.

While Jurassic World might have made a lot of money at the time, it hasn't aged well in the last three years or so. It's not a movie that people really talk about that much, but there were plenty that were looking forward to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

When the first trailer dropped and we were told that everything on the island concerning the volcano was the first half of the movie, people were interested. They were hiding the latter half of the movie, which was a smart way to go about things. That didn't last long, however, and among the many, many trailers and TV spots there was the sinking feeling that half of this movie was online already. While the entire movie might not be in those trailers and TV spots, all of the good moments are.

There are moments that work in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but they are moments where the reaction isn't the right one. The shot of the T-Rex roaring in front of the exploding volcano is supposed to be dramatic, but the scene is so ridiculous and lacking in tension that it's unintentionally hilarious. The entire sequence on the island is devoid of tension because we've seen these characters at the secondary location. We know they survive, so running from an exploding volcano lacks all tension because we know they're going to be fine.

After the volcano, nothing happens for what feels like half of the movie — and until the new dinosaurs get out and start running around the house, there isn't any tension or even anything interesting happening. A large portion of this movie is focused on a plot point that the trailer spoils, which again negates the tension. They make sure to tell us that the indoraptor is bred to be the perfect killing machine, but they trick it by using maneuvers that children use in hide and seek. The monster suddenly becomes laughable and isn't scary anymore.

Chris Pratt's Owen Grady is somehow more of an annoying dude-bro than he was in the first movie and seems like the worst person to be around. The fact that he didn't utter the words "well, actually" is shocking. Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire isn't given much to do, but the movie makes sure to show her boots when they land on the island. Poor Isabella Sermon as Maisie is given the worst role in the movie for a couple of different reasons, but she screams and runs around just like you expect all children to. There isn't any better birth control in the world than movie children, and Maisie is one of the worst. The actors are all trying their best, but the script by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow just isn't well written.

There are a few good moments here and there. The opening scene on the island is fantastic and comes with a fair amount of tension. There are a few shots in the trailers that would work better if we didn't know they were coming. Anytime we get to see the raptor Blue is good, but there isn't nearly enough of her. The ending has huge implications, but they are implications that no one seems to be really considering.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a huge step backwards for this series and a huge disappointment. After a great beginning, the movie wastes its few interesting moments while the rest have been spoiled for the sake of marketing. They're going to do a third one — but after how lackluster this one is, we have to wonder why.

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