JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM FAILS

Before I post my review for Jurassic World: Dominion, let's play a bit of catch-up. Time to trek back to Isla Nublar with Fallen Kingdom.

In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, It's three years after the second 'Incident on Isla Nublar' aka the failure of Jurassic World. Isla Nublar is now home to an active volcano which is about to erupt, potentially dooming all of it's Dino inhabitants. A guilt-ridden Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her reluctant ex Owen (Chris Pratt. That's right, this sequel completely walks back their relationship) are recruited by Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) and his assistant Eli (Rafe Spall) to travel back to Isla Nublar on a rescue mission. Their goal: Escort the Dinos off Isla Nublar and onto a natural preserve where they will be safe. Things don't go as planned as, once again, human greed gets in the way (Why yes, this does sound similar to 'The Lost World').

J.A. Bayona directs and does a mostly fine job, handling the darker tone fairly well. Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connelly penn the script, and do an awful job. There’s some bad dialogue, but most of the problems boil down to the way characters are written. Everyone suffers from the worst decision making and is generally very dumb (including Owen and Claire)

Eli ( Rafe Spall) has some nice moments and makes for an ok villain. He makes some valid points near the end. Maisie (Isabella Sermon) is generally the smartest character in the movie, but all the good will she built up is completely erased at the very end, where she makes the worst, dumbest decision imaginable (She also makes the baffling choice to hide in her room under her covers when the Indo-Raptor is on the hunt). 

Ted Levine is given a thankless, embarrassing role as Ken, a mercenary lackey of Eli’s. He isn’t intimidating or threatening, and is pretty dumb. James Cromwell is likable as Benjamin Lockwood, a good-hearted ex-partner of Hammond’s. Unfortunately, he suffers from dumb disease like everyone else (you really needed a young girl to alert you to the evil goings-ons in your own mansion?). 

Franklin ( Justice Smith) is a whiny, annoying tech expert who has “Eat Me” written all over him. Unfortunately, he lives to whine another day. Zia (Daniella Pineda) is tolerable as a vet who works with Franklin. BD Wong is one of the few who manages to keep his head above water as Dr. Henry Wu. He is a villain, but has some ethics and remains intelligent. Jeff Goldblum returns as Dr. Ian Malcolm and is still great. He gets minimal screen time though.

Fallen Kingdom's plot is just ok. It’s not super-engaging. Fallen Kingdom also suffers from opposing messages, and the film doesn’t fall on either side. The messages end up cancelling each other out. The CGI and practical effects are top-notch. The setting of the mansion is pretty cool, and the Indo-Raptor is appropriately scary and intimidating. Unfortunately, there's not much else good here. In the end, there isn’t much to recommend in Fallen Kingdom.

1.5 STARS