Rating of
2.5/4
Jurassic World 2 - Review
Matthew Brady - wrote on 06/24/18
“These creatures were here before us. And if we're not careful... they're going to be here after. Life cannot be contained. Life breaks free. Life... finds a way. Welcome... to Jurassic World.”
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes place three years after the events of the first movie. The left remaining dinosaurs are left on the island as a volcano erupts. As the advertisements put it, “The park is gone”. All of this only raises one question: Why would you put a family theme park next to an active volcano with dinosaurs?
Anywhere...
After the monster success of “Jurassic World” a sequel was certain to happen and will find new ways to bring these extinct animals back onto the big screens. While I enjoyed the first movie a lot, but nowhere near as good compared to Jurassic Park. Had its moments overall, just not Spielberg level good.
We have a new director J.A. Bayona, with Colin Trevorrow only writing this time. Bayona is best known for horror and supernatural tragics, so I was interested for what he will bring to this new franchise. He dose bring a lot those elements into scenes where tension actually worked this time around. You can see the influence to older movies like “Nosferatu” and the golden age of monster movies into play. I must admit, the cinematography is visually stunning and makes the dinosaurs look terrifying. Unfortunately, all of this gets watered down by a terrible script, convenient situations, and the final result is Hollywood fluff.
The visual effects, (for the most part) looked really good and never takes you out of the movie when interacting around non-digital setting/people. I noticed some animatronics dinosaurs, but can easily get overshadowed by the heavy CGI. When I said “for the most part”, there are some shots were it looked a bit noticeable. Other than that, the visual effects are the strongest element to the film.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard ain't brilliant in terms of acting, but at least have great chemistry. If look at any interviews or press event, the two get along so well it easily shows on screen. The biggest change in terms of character is Bryce Dallas Howard, who’s not as idiotic like the first. While both characters aren't great, as some questionable decisions are made, although slightly better compared to the first. Although their motivations for saving the dinosaurs only makes you agree with Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) even more.
The film introduces new characters played by Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda, who tag along with are main characters. One of them can access and hack into anything, but he’s a afraid of pretty much everything - the drop of a penny can startle him, probably thinks it’s a T.Rex. Also his screaming can go right through you. The other takes care of Blue after being badly injured and that’s really it. Both of them didn't do much for me. Half way through the movie you forgot about them, because they literally disappear from the film and later come back in the third act.
The movie is, at the very least, self aware of itself. Evidently by Chris Pratt’s character before agreeing to go on a mission ironically states “What could go wrong” when things go wrong. Giving small winks to the audiences when the obvious is gonna happen. With the endless amount of stupid decisions on top of more stupid decisions to push the plot along - Which I guess if every character had a brain, this movie wouldn't exist, then again it wouldn't be a great loss.
Speaking of idiots, let's talk about the villains. I’m not gonna beat around the bush when I say this, but these are some of the most cartoonist villains I've seen in awhile. It’s pathetic how tedious they are. You wanna know they evil plan and goal? Guess, just guess:
Yep it’s money - Easily one of the worst.
If you’re looking forward for Jeff Goldblum’s return to the series and what role he will have on the story, just from the promotional material alone; well I got some bad news for you. He’s only in two scenes and the total screen time is one minute. All of it is courtroom debates. His character adds nothing to the film, just recycles dialogue from the previous films. What a waste of Goldblum.
Overall rating: While coming off as negative towards the film, it’s not bad or painfully to watch. I mean, it’s stupid fun. The ideas are present in ‘Fallen Kingdom’ for what it’s trying to set up or be, just needs a sharper execution. For those wondering about the third movie, don’t worry...
The studios will find a way.
