Latest installment of the dino-franchise has its moments
The thunder lizards are back in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and this time they’ve got a new enemy: two-dimensional baddies out to make a buck.
As Park changed to World, the franchise got new humans, and it has to be said that the addition of Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt has paid off. Howard’s effervescent lack of guile and Pratt’s chummy likableness give the ongoing story some human pillars for the dinosaurs to play off of.
Speaking of dinosaurs, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has lots, but there’s more sadness than awe associated with them. Their island home is going all Krakatoa, and this portends bad things for the dino race. Luckily, there are poachers!
The heart of this film is a nefarious plot to capture, sell, and exploit these amazing creatures, and while that produces some worthwhile moments, the bad guys in charge are just a little too “eee-vil.” Even Toby Jones, who can do nefarious as well as anyone (e.g. his Culverton Smith on Sherlock) comes off as a greedy bully who deserves to be dismissed.
Another addition worth noting is this edition’s childhood ambassador. Isabella Sermon plays Maisie, granddaughter of James Lockwood (James Cromwell with a nicely adorned neckerchief), one of the founders of the de-extinction project. She’s the right amount of sweet, precocious, and scared to pull off the role.
The plot structure does lend itself to one interesting aspect. The second half of the film is essentially a haunted house pic, one reason Steven Spielberg and crew chose J.A. Bayona of The Orphanage fame to direct. The dark shadows and tense scenes add up to a pearl-clutching good time.
It is a testament to the original Jurassic Park that it has sustained several follow ups, with at least one more to come. The biggest blockbuster of 1993 is echoing again 25 years later, and audiences are sure to be amazed and full of wonder once again at seeing these magnificent creatures on screen.
