The second movie in the franchise gets scarier yet cinematically more beautiful. And yes, Bryce Dallas Howard wears sensible shoes.
Movie: Jurassic World - Fallen Kingdom
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Ted Levine, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, BD Wong, Jeff Goldblum, and Isabella Sermon
Director: JA Bayona
Genre: Adventure/sci-fi
Duration: 2hr 8min
Story:
It's been three years since Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar was the centre stage of a massive disaster. Since then a debate has engulfed the world (read the United States, because no other part of the planet matters in such cases) Should the dinosaurs that run free on that island be saved or let the volcano take care of what was interference with the course of nature? Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) who was managing the park, now runs a Dinosaur Protection Group to sway the votes in favour of saving these pre-historic creatures. When the government backs off, John Hammond's old partner Sir Benjamin Lockwood steps in to provide a sanctuary for these creatures where they can live free with no human interaction at all. In order to rescue the dinos from the erupting volcano, Lockwood's estate manager Eli Mills and Claire rope in Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) who agrees to be part of the mission to save his Velociraptor Blue.
The mission on Isla Nublar turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg that is a massively sinister plan. It involves complications related to genetically engineered new species of dinosaur -- the Indoraptor -- and a secret from Hammond and Lockwood's past. Now, Claire and Owen are on a mission to save them all from the evil that is the real world.
Review:
Director JA Bayona has previously helmed movies like The Orphanage (horror), The Impossible (thriller), and A Monster Calls (fantasy). This gives him a unique skill set to take this franchise away from the confines of the sci-fi action into the realms of horror, all while keeping the animalistic charm of the dino-eats-dino world. He offers stunning horror imagery that pays homage to old-timey monster movies. In one scene, the Indoraptor roars atop a roof when the moon is full and it's raining, like a werewolf of yore. In another scene, when the volcano erupts and rescuers leave with whatever they can, a lone and dangerously late Brontosaurus looks at the departing boat from the pier. As the boat moves away, the smoke and lava engulf the Brontosaurus. The shadow silhouette of this agonised creature is one of the beautiful shots from the movie. Hats off to cinematographer Oscar Faura.
Thank heavens that Bayona controls these urges to keep everything beautiful at the expense of the speed of the movie. Editor Bernat Vilaplana makes it brisk and engaging to keep you at the edge of your seat.
The storyline developed by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly shows modern Frankensteinian monsters. They ask questions about the consequences of genetic engineering, cloning, weaponized dinosaurs, and corporate greed. Dinosaurs are, of course, doing their best to eat each other and humans. But the writers fall short in the character development of the lead pair. When we are introduced to Claire this time around, we first see her shoes. Great dig at the last time, when Claire's shoe selection in the disaster movie had become the talk of the town. She is more mature in wardrobe selection but she is still the damsel in distress Owen has to save. Rookie Justice Smith and Bryce Dallas Howard were in competition to outscream the other. She only gets one scene where she is useful. Other than that, it's dude-bro Chris Pratt's show. Pratt dials down the cowboy/Indiana Jones persona and brings in the pain of losing his beloved animals, his job, and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Claire. But that's about it. Don't expect depth here. Debutant Isabella Sermon is surprisingly good.
The strongest part of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the mature vision of what shall follow this movie. The kingdom is no longer just for dinosaurs on the island or for humans in the world. They will have to learn to co-habit. Because of that, it is easy to speculate that the third movie will be closer to the concept of Planet of the Apes, avoiding the extinction of the franchise. Because it is clear that audiences will flock to the theatres to see the dinosaurs. It will just be an added bonus if the story mattered too.
Verdict:
The movie lives up to its name becoming a true thing of the world. It makes you chuckle, it scares, it entertains.
Critic's Ratings: 3.5/5
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 "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom")
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