“Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom” is the fifth installment of the “Jurassic Park” film series, as well as the second installment of a planned “Jurassic World” trilogy. Our J.P. gives his thoughts about the latest starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
(Universal Pictures)
RATED: PG-13 FOR INTENSE SEQUENCES OF SCIENCE-FICTION VIOLENCE AND PERIL.
- Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Rafe Spall, BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum
- Directed by: J.A. Bayona
- Written by: Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow
- Based on Characters Created by: Michael Crichton
- Produced by: Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Belén Atienza
- Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow
Studio Synopsis:
It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles.
When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.
With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful series in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Stars Pratt and Howard return alongside executive producers Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. They are joined by co-stars James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall and Isabella Sermon, while BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles.
Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), the epic action-adventure is written by Jurassic World’s director, Trevorrow, and its co-writer, Derek Connolly. Producers Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley once again partner with Spielberg and Trevorrow in leading the filmmakers for this stunning installment. Belén Atienza joins the team as a producer.
J.P.’s Take:
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” snarls, rumbles and crashes its way onto the big screen, more so than its forerunner “Jurassic World.” This sequel is a thunderous pageant of dark brooding imagery and ferocious new dinos that aren’t the kind you want to pet.
At its core, animal activism is the main story device, which I suppose it meant to prey on viewers’ sympathy for creatures that have lived millions of years ago. A slough of news clips showing a parade of animal rights activists/protesters is part of the affect. More evident is how the whole shebang plays out, with Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), once Jurassic World park director now turned animal activist, vowing to save the dinos by any means necessary. Owen Grady (Christ Pratt) reluctantly joins her in the reptilian rescue mission. The connotation remains of humans playing God, as Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) explains in a court case that we continue to exploit technology; using it to accelerate evolution in unnatural ways. His famous line “they (dinosaurs) were here long before us and if we’re not careful they’ll be here long after,” sparks that frightening notion.
“Fallen Kingdom” is also much heavier handed with the gruesome images. You didn’t see as many people being eaten, trampled or tossed by prehistory creatures in the first “Jurassic Park.” Here you’ll witness that often, yet it shades the graphic gore in shadow keeping it PG-13. Other formidable visuals are that of an active volcano, explosively erupting with lava while coughing up magma and rock. All of which I thought were nicely rendered.
For the most part “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” isn’t necessarily concerned with sparking intellectual conversation. Instead, it does what it does best — unleashing newly evolved brutes that will stoke the imagination of dinosaur enthusiasts. At the same time, the film maneuvers the “Jurassic Park/World” franchise in directions not quite explored yet. You’ll find that the plot is no brain teaser, simply a conveyance of danger ridden situations for our heroes to play in. These gigantic lizards are portrayed as casualties of a corrupt scientific or governmental system, rather than just mean growling monsters of an ancient time.
The human characters are merely there to facilitate either an intervention and/or some kind of power play. In other words, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before in previous “Jurassic Park/World” outings. There is even an odd twist in between that many folks won’t catch right away. It involves Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), which pertains to human genetics.
Speaking of which Maisie, a stand out performance is that from Sermon, who paints solemn if a bit burdened young girl who sees these creatures as a gift. Newcomer and San Francisco Bay Area native actress/comedian Daniella Pineda brings the spunk and brains to her character Zia Rodriguez. Another new face is Justice Smith, who joins the crew as Franklin Webb, the easily frightened computer nerd.
Performances by Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing are still as quirky and curious as before (yet, I have no qualms with her in the part) and Chris Pratt still tacks on the charm and brawn for his role as Owen Grady. Rounding out the cast are James Cromwell as Sir Benjamin Lockwood; B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu; Ted Levine as Ken Wheatley, a seasoned mercenary; and, of course, Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. All brought vigor and shine to their characters.
In the end, I would have to admit this is a better effort than” Jurassic World” in general. And it does make you wonder what more can be done with the canon on future iterations. I simply enjoyed it for what it was.