Directed by: J.A. Bayona
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, Toby Jones, B.D. Wong, Jeff Goldblum, Ted Levine
Instead of being a free-for-all of dinosaurs attacking humans, humans attacking dinosaurs, people attacking people, and dinosaurs attacking dinosaurs, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is more plot-driven with the dinosaurs being more sympathetic and interesting than the people. Its finale drags on to absurd lengths and we ultimately get more than our fill of the dinosaurs chomping on the bad guys, but at least this latest incarnation of the Jurassic Park/World series has something to say about animal poaching, even if the animals in question are the dinosaurs which were cloned back into existence in 1993's Jurassic Park.
It is ludicrous to clone such majestic creatures from 65 million years ago and use them as hunting trophies or for weaponizing, but that is the fate of the dinosaurs, who probably wish they weren't cloned at all. It seems the island in which the former Jurassic World theme park is now engulfed by an erupting volcano, so a billionaire (Cromwell) arranges for the creatures to be transported from the island with help of a military-style force. The billionaire's underling (Spall) has other ideas about what to do with the dinosaurs. He plans on selling them on the black market or creating new ones to be turned into weapons. Call me crazy, but $10 million for a cloned dinosaur seems like a bargain.
It is up to Claire (Howard) and Owen (Pratt) from the first film to stop the evil plot from hatching, and at least Claire doesn't run around in heels and actually has a last name. Howard and Pratt are appealing actors, but like the first film, they aren't given much of substance to do except escape from charging dinosaurs or overcoming danger at every turn. The other human characters aren't much more compelling, so we wind up rooting for a Stegosaurus.
If you aren't tired of seeing humans thrust into mortal danger by gigantic prehistoric beasts, or if you enjoy a CGI-laden spectacle which runs overly long considering the simplicity of the story, then Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is for you. If you consider the worldwide box office grosses have topped $1 billion already, then there are many more of you than there are of me, who found the film only occasionally entertaining which is an improvement from the more recent films of the franchise.
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