Directed by J.A. Bayona

Written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Justice Smith,

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, to no one’s surprise, isn’t good. But it’s not as bad as it looked or could have been, and I think it’s important to note in the age of the super blockbuster sequels, this movie is better shot and put together than most.

Now I liked the first Jurassic World and I don’t care what anyone thinks. It was goofy and dumb, but goofy and dumb in all the right ways. And for my money, that fight scene at the end with the new and old T-rex’s and the raptor called Blue was the best thing I could have seen in a rebooted franchise.

Everyone loves dinosaurs. That’s why these films continue to be so successful. Jurassic World ended up being one of the biggest movies ever, and many people felt cheated that it felt so silly. But I had given up on the series long before walking in, so that they took that route made me smile. A movie that knows what it is and has fun doing it. I love those kinds of flicks.

Jurassic World 2, however, loses interest in itself. It’s a long series of will they/won’t they sequences, where our leads are thrown into dangerous situations we all know they’re make it out of okay, and spends a little too much time toying with us. In one scene Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire and Justice Smith’s Franklin are trapped under water in that same glass rolling ball that was in the first movie. As the water starts pouring in and they’re about to drown, Chris Pratt’s Owen appears out of nowhere to save them. He tries to break the glass with a gun, and then a knife. And even though he surfaces once for air, the whole scene goes on for so long I wondered how he was able to hold his breath. It’s well shot and looks great, but my mind wandered, like it did with a lot of the movie. And now I’m thinking about when I missed the moment that Starlord became Aquaman.

Oh right the plot. An active volcano threatens to wipe out all the dinosaur life on the island of Isla Nublar. Jeff Goldblum and other humans debate whether they should let this “act of god” run its course and kill all the dinos or if they should intervene to save them. A moral dilemma! Claire is asked to help save the dinos so they can be transported to a new and safe island sanctuary. The people that task her with this want her to make sure she saves Blue, who is the smartest dinosaur alive. So Claire has to get Owen so they can pick up Blue. You’d think convincing any of these guys to go back in there would be tough, but alas, we are in sequel territory. They all agree almost immediately, and before you know it the movie is at that scene in the trailer, where Owen and Claire get betrayed “it was all a lie!” and have to basically outrun an exploding volcano.

On their team is Franklin, an awkward tech guy that the movie has big trouble delivering as the comic relief, although where he ends up and why after being mistaken for a mercenary is one of the film’s best moments. And Zia (Daniella Pinada) a “paleo-veternarian”. “Yes, that’s a real thing” she replies annoyed at a congresswoman over the phone. Zia genuinely wants to save the dinosaurs.

The moment you see the team of mercenaries that accompany them on this mission, and their leader played by Ted Levine, you know they’re gonna get betrayed. And, surprise, the ploy here was to militarize the dinosaurs they save all along. And guess what, the guy that hired them was in on it all along. Later on he hosts an auction to sell off the more violent and lethal dinos to the highest bidders. Yeah, there’s an auction scene in a dinosaur movie. And man is it ever so dumb.

But back to the volcano on that island. As it is destroyed and everyone escapes with a few saved species of dinos, something better than this movie deserves happens. Claire, Owen and gang, and all the mercenaries make it off the island just in time on a ship, and as they look back they see a lone Brachiosaurus on the dock, left behind on the dying island, calling out in fading pain. The smoke and flames slowly engulf it as it howls, and it disappears forever. The cast looks on horrified. An incredible moment.

The movie was directed by J.A. Bayona this time around, with Colin Trevorrow only sharing a writing credit. Bayona says this moment holds special meaning because that Brachiosaurus was the very first dinosaur we ever saw all the way back in Jurassic Park. Bayona got that reaction from the cast by playing a saddened version of John William’s main Jurassic Park score during the filming of that scene. Bayona has also directed The Impossible and When a Monster Calls, two movies I have’t seen but have heard really good things about.

Also in the movie is a little girl who is related to the people who hire Claire and gang. Her name is Maisie and she is actually really good here. She wasn’t annoying at all and I liked her in the story, although they barely touch on things about her character that they really should have delved more into. But another sequel will do that I suppose.

But Blue is back and awesome in this movie like she was in the first. There’s a brief scene where she takes out some guards and dives away from an explosion that made me laugh. Probably not supposed to be funny. There are other and new breeds of dinosaurs here too (at least I think some were new, I really don’t keep track of these things). My favorite of which is a bumpy headed looking raptor that Owen uses to bust out of jail. He’s powerful and stubborn enough to ram through brick walls and gates turns out. And him terrorizing the auction later on is all so welcomed and needed. More of the best scenes.

The thing with Fallen Kingdom is that it’s a pretty weak movie story wise. And its CGI heavy and the dinosaurus are onscreen and present a shocking amount. Although the visuals are mostly really good, at times I just wondered why we were seeing two random dinos go at it. I am thankful that this movie is better lit and edited than most. There’s no shaky cam or kinetic random cuts to drive you insane anywhere. It’s just that there’s not a whole lot going on here, and the movie doesn’t much explore on the major moral issues it brings up. There is also a decision at the end involving a button, and it just didn’t make sense to me. Why does a certain character say something that would suggest she wants to push it, but then turns a blind eye and decides not to? I must have been zoning out by that point.

Also also they breed a new raptor call the Indoraptor. A more vicious and deadly version of Blue. It has a yellow streak on its body, to counter that of Blue’s blue one. Obviously the two of them must fight. But the action here just isn’t as fun or good at the first, yet I do enjoy how much fun they have with Indoraptor. Probably not enough to warrant a recommendation though.

The film’s ending is really silly. It leaves us with those saved dinos living among us humans. And Goldblum talking about how this will be the end of humanity (he’s in the movie for less than 1 minute). We do get a cool shot of a T-rex and a lion roaring at each other. And finally we see Blue looking on towards the suburbs. Is it hinting at her being a protector of humanity from the co-existence of humans and dinosaurs and all that that implies? Am I posing over thought questions in lieu of calling out how ridiculously stupid this conclusion is? I believe so. You can skip this movie. And if you go don’t stay for the post credits scene. Its some Pterodactyl like dinos flying around Vegas for 3 seconds. I just saved you 10 minutes of waiting. I’m out.