Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Serves As Being A Jurassic Letdown For The Series

The summer 2018 box office season hit it's peak with blockbuster sequels such as Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool ll, Incredibles ll, while also surprising with box office flops such as Solo: A Star Wars Story. With the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the expectation audiences as well as the studio had, was that it would not only continue the upward box office trend the franchise experienced with the previous installment, but also deliver a strong sequel to Jurassic World. The latter not only became a huge box office success, but surprised audiences with being a strong sequel and successful reboot to the iconic dinosaur movie franchise. While no sequel can never reach the cinematic heights of the first Jurassic Park film (The moments with the main characters seeing the dinosaurs for the first time can never again be replicated), Jurassic World came the closest to retaining some of the magic of the original, while playing off its nostalgia and introducing a unique scenario to audiences such as what if the first movies premise was successful, and a theme park full of dinosaurs was opened to the public, ultimately proving to be successful. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hoped to build upon the concept of Jurassic World, but instead ends up being a major step downward for the series, while also feeling like a remake of Steven Spielberg's highly disappointing sequel to Jurassic Park titled The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

      The plot for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom picks up three years after the events of Jurassic World with the island's active volcano beginning to erupt, forcing the survivors from the first film, Owen and Claire (Played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard), to mount a campaign to save the remaining dinosaurs from extinction. On paper, the plot for Fallen Kingdom sounds interesting but the overall execution of the film (Which serves as only being mildly entertaining at best), feels like a live action version of Disney's 2000 forgotten animated classic Dinosaur, which also dealt with the subplot of dinosaurs fighting to avoid extinction, mixed with what looks and feels like a remake of The Lost World: Jurassic Park with a touch of The Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes brought into the mix. It's not just that Fallen Kingdom is a weak follow-up to the first Jurassic World that surprised audiences largely with it's quality. The problem is that it doesn't feel like the sequel to that film, and instead goes the opposite direction of what the previous movie was setting up in a vein similar to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Perhaps it's because Jurassic World much like JJ Abrams The Force Awakens, did a very good job of creating reboots for their franchises, that relied heavily on people's nostalgia of the previous films to not only make them remember why they loved Star Wars or Jurassic Park in the first place, but also to bring them into the future with the new set of films in both respective franchises. Jurassic World wasn't as masterfully directed, well-written as Spielbergs film nor matched it in terms of being innovative and impactful with it's audience, but it honored the legacy that came before it while proving to be an entertaining, thrilling, and visually stimulating popcorn blockbuster. It also helped that it's director Colin Trevorrow, is a fan of the series, and gave the audience exactly what they wanted to see with the film, while finding a way to continue the franchise through a different lense. Despite some of that films flaws, the movie largely succeeded as being the true sequel to Jurassic Park while opening doors for future sequels to explore the aftermath of what's essentially an amusement park gone off the rails. Fallen Kingdom's plot felt like the writers were confused on where to go with the story after Jurassic World's ending, and opted to reuse old recycled subplots from previous entries in the series (Hence The Lost World reference).

      Directed by J.A Bayona, helmer of 2012's critically acclaimed drama The Impossible as well as The Orphanage, takes over the directing reigns from Trevorrow. With his edgier style being incorporated, Fallen Kingdom proves to be a darker and more intense sequel to it's predecessor, that poses some ethical questions regarding whether dinosaurs should be saved from extinction and brought to the mainland or left to be doomed on the volcanic island as human and dinosaurs are not mean't to co-exist. The first half of Fallen Kingdom proves to be stronger than the second half despite the retreat back to the island giving the film a strong been there and done that feel to it. The plot for the film feels like The Lost World with the main difference being the lead character Owen going back to the island to save the dinosaurs, that inhabit the land from being exterminated with his ex-girlfriend Claire being the person that helps him. Much like that film, the subplot involving taking the dinosaurs off the island and bringing them back to the mainland to be poached, is nearly identical except Fallen kingdom's plot packs a more emotional punch to it. The movie contains intense and visually breathtaking moments such as the volcano erupting, along with the dinosaurs running to escape extinction with the main characters attempting to guide them along the way. One of the films most powerful yet disturbing moments is a sequence involving the Brachiosaurus being left on the island to die from the volcano's eruption. Though the scene is absolutely heartbreaking and powerful to watch, it manages to come full circle with the first Jurassic Park as they were the first dinosaurs the main characters saw on the island with them now being the last ones the audience see's as the island is being destroyed. That sequence is not only symbolic but serves as a sign for the audience saying that the franchise is cutting loose the binds of being connected to the timeline of the previous Jurassic Park films and creating a newer one, that embraces the concept of the Jurassic World series in which the dinosaurs will now roam free on the mainland.

      The second half of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom feels like a horror type monster movie mixed in a Jurassic Park film with the dinosaurs being held captive by corrupt scientists with the intentions of being sold on the market. There's even a subplot involving a young girl played by Isabella Sermon with a twist that reveals she's a clone created in the same form as the dinosaurs. This reveal has very little to no connection with the rest of the films story which revolves around saving the dinosaurs. Fallen Kingdom's problem is
that it feels like a cut and paste type sequel in which it's story feels scattered with a relatively uneven narrative. Besides the desire to save the dinosaurs from being killed on the island from the volcanic explosion, there is no real reason for the humans to return to the island as the dinosaurs are roaming free and taking control of the park. As Jeff Goldblum's character Ian Malcom brilliantly puts it in his surprise cameo in the film, wouldn't it make more sense to let the dinosaurs remain on the island and let nature run it's course, so that the threat of dinosaurs running rampant across mankind doesn't become a reality?

      As far as performances go, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard deliver strong performances as their characters remain likeable with strong chemistry and developed enough for the audience to care about in the sequel, while virtually everyone else feeling like cardboard cutouts of previous side characters and villains seen in previous films. Goldblum's presence in the film is a welcomed addition to the story though his role is too brief to make much of a difference with the story. The subplot featuring the clone later revealed in the story proves to be useless and out of place, as it holds virtually no relevance to the situation in the story involving the dinosaurs. Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith deliver likeable performances in supporting roles as the rescue teams tech despite their characters having little to no depth at all with James Cromwell and Rafe Spall churning out serviceable performances with Cromwell playing John Hammond's former partner in developing the technology to clone dinosaurs, and the latter playing a sleazy businessman role, that's been done to death before in the series. Isabella Sermon shines as Lockwood's pre-teen granddaughter Maisie Lockwood, whose character bears a significant role in the films plot. The real shame however is seeing talented actors such as Toby Jones, Ted Levine, and B.D Wong have their talents wasted in what are essentially pointless roles (B.D Wong's character despite getting an unusual upgrade in Jurassic World to villain status compared to the first film in terms of screentime, is completely wasted here as his character could've made for a terrific villain in the Jurassic Park universe. Instead he comes off as being a misguided scientist, that's more preoccupied with making scientific breakthrough's rather than questioning whether he should be pushing the envelope or seeing the error of his ways. Even that aspect of his character is underdeveloped).

      As far as the films technical aspects go, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a visually breathtaking film with impressive sound and special effects, that's become common with any Jurassic Park film (It is especially nice to see that animatronic dinosaurs have made their return here). The cinematography is stunning with the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World's island being destroyed by the volcano, delivering some truly beautiful imagery with moments such as the original Jurassic Park jeep flipped over from the first movie when Dr. Grant saved Tim from the tree being shown here destroyed by the volcano hitting hard with the audience on an emotional level. The score by Michael Giacchino feels like a letdown this time around compared to his surprisingly effective score from the previous film, that carried with it a mixture of homages to John Williams work in the first Jurassic Park, while creating Jurassic World's new theme. While today's visual effects are more advanced than they were when the first Jurassic Park movie premiered, nothing can ever touch the inventiveness and shock the first carried when audiences first laid eyes on the Brachiosaurus, the Triceratops, The T-Rex, and the Velociraptors.

      Overall Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is not a terrible film nor the worst Jurassic Park movie ever made (That title still goes to Jurassic Park lll), it also doesn't live up to the cinematic heights of Jurassic Park nor the sheer popcorn entertainment quality that Jurassic World provided audiences. There will never be a Jurassic Park sequel that reaches the heights of the original, but one certainly feels that the filmmakers behind Fallen Kingdom could've worked harder to provide a more satisfactory sequel to the previous film, which surprised in being a solid reboot for the franchise. One of the questions that Jurassic World left open was where could the story go now that the dinosaurs have taken over Jurassic World and drove the humans off the island. If Fallen Kingdom's storyline was any indication, perhaps it's best that the resurrection of the franchise ends with the next chapter, which hopefully possesses a much stronger script. The films climax while brave that the writers took the franchise to newer heights with that twist, feels like an attempt to channel the successful modern Planet Of The Apes trilogy with Owens raptor Blue feeling like a dinosaur version of Ceasar from Matt Reeves Apes series.. While the films ending certainly leaves the audience feeling a tad optimistic about the next film, the real shame is that this sequel could've been much better, but instead feels like one last attempt to cash in on the whole lets go back to the island subplot for no other reason than to generate a few genuine thrills before moving the franchise into a completely different direction. While that direction is certainly one that will leave people curious as to where the story goes from here now that the dinosaurs are off the island, one hopes that the third and what will most likely be the final chapter in the Jurassic World trilogy, is more creative and thought-out than this film. Fallen Kingdom serves as being a hugely disappointing sequel to Jurassic World that misses the mark. If you're a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, watch it once then retreat back to the original film. It doesn't hold the same kind of impact that Jurassic World had when you watch it. The new hybrid dinosaur is cool but he is shown so little in the films second half that he doesn't have enough time to really leave an impact on the audience.                                        
Verdict: Only see it if you're a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise or enjoyed Jurassic World, though it's a large disappointment in regards to the latter.