Review: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is Fast Paced but Has a Preposterous Plot and is Ultimately Forgettable

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

This Fifth instalment in the Jurassic Park franchise follows on from 2015’s Jurassic World, and sees Chris Pratt teaming with Bryce Dallas Howard to take on prehistoric beasts once again.

After the destruction of the Jurassic World theme park two years ago, the island of Isla Nublar has been inhabited only by the remaining dinosaurs, but when a volcano threatens to wipe them out once and for all, Claire (Dallas Howard) and Owen (Pratt) are recruited to head up a rescue mission. This setup adds an interesting dynamic to early proceedings as our heroes battle to save the dinosaurs from extinction.

Again scripted by Colin Trevorrow, the American this time hands directing duties over to J A Bayona, director of last year’s excellent A Monster Calls.

The film doesn’t waste any time getting into the action, but the Spanish director manages to show some nice moments of directorial flair amongst the rapid pace.

A spectacular sequence involving lava raining down on the rescue team is one of many well directed set pieces.

The problem with the film comes after that when the location switches to the mainland and more specifically the millionaire mansion of James Cromwell’s Benjamin Lockwood.

It’s clear the filmmakers are attempting to try something different with the franchise as they inject a spooky horror vibe into proceedings, however the plot makes little sense at this stage and things becomes more and more preposterous.

The chemistry between Pratt and Dallas Howard is clear to see and the interplay between their characters is enjoyable to watch, but they are overshadowed by the dinosaurs, again brilliantly realised by a mixture of physical and computer generated effects.

Brits Rafe Spall and Toby Jones take on the roles of the cliched villains, and Jones particularly appears to relish the chance to be bad, sporting a wonderfully ridiculous combover and sparkling teeth arrangement.

Jeff Goldblum also makes a welcome return as Dr Ian Malcolm, but is criminally wasted in two very short cameos.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a fast paced modern action movie which will no doubt spawn another sequel, enjoyable in the most part but ultimately rather forgettable.

Source: www.huntspost.co.uk