JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM – Review

Owen (CHRIS PRATT) meets the vicious T. rex in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”

WeAreMovieGeeks was fortunate enough to see an early screening of the latest in the JURASSIC PARK franchise and it did not disappoint. We loved it!

Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible, The Orphanage), from a script by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM is everything we wanted to see in the progression of the “great DNA adventure” and where it would take us next.

It’s been three years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When a once dormant volcano’s inevitable destruction of the island begins, raptor-whisperer Owen (Chris Pratt) and former park manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) join forces with a wealthy benefactor to save and relocate the remaining dinosaurs to a nearby sanctuary. Once on the island, Owen and Claire, accompanied by IT whiz/hacker Franklin (Justice Smith) and paleo-veterinarian Dr. Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), realize they have been duped into helping capture the dinos, including Owen’s beloved Blue, for nefarious and cruel purposes. Along the way, we run into franchise favorites Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) – Wu still being the greedy, opportunistic villain, and Malcolm the continuing voice of reason, testifying before the US Senate on the whole “just because we can, doesn’t mean we should” thing.

Like Jurassic World, JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, is a thrilling adventure that takes the audience both back to where it all started and forward to the ongoing dinosaur-human conflict.

We go down memory lane, back to “Jurassic Park” visionary John Hammond’s original idea for such a place and then delve deep into the modern age-old moral question of cloning and DNA experimentation. In the last episode (Jurassic World) we had the Indominous Rex, a genetically modified beast of a dinosaur that was bigger and badder than your average T-Rex. This time around, bigger and badder isn’t good enough, so we have the Indoraptor – a genetic hybrid of the indominous rex and a velociraptor. We now have the power of the I-Rex with the agility and intelligence of velociraptor. What could go wrong?

One of the best things about this movie is that it’s not just a rampaging-dinosaurs-on-the-loose-destroying-everything story, like Jurassic World was. As fun as that was, because you know, karma for those that thought creating and keeping these creatures purely for entertainment and riches is sort of satisfying, Fallen Kingdom delves more into the “now there’s no going back” problem. The genetic technology and capability is out there and is no longer limited to a dinosaur theme-park. When it falls into the wrong hands, the world will be changed forever. And not to mention, the highly emotional aspect that has been injected into this movie. It actually started with Jurassic World when, for the first time, a dinosaur had a name (Blue) and wasn’t looked at as just a ferocious beast, but rather a fellow living creature with feelings and intellect. Owen’s imprinted-from-birth raptor, Blue, elicits such emotion that you find yourself completely invested in what happens to not only her, but the others as well. There is one particular tear-inducing scene when it becomes apparent that not all the dinosaurs are going to make it off the island. Warning – have a tissue ready (what? There was something in my eye!)

The other great thing about this movie is the fun homage to the original Jurassic Park. This is the 25th Anniversary of the first dino-adventure that changed everything, and filmmakers Bayona, Trevorrow and Spielberg made sure that was not forgotten in this film. You know which scenes they are the minute you see them. And they weren’t lost on the audience either, as there were many collective “awwws” and “ohhhhs” throughout. Also staying true to the original were the “jump” scenes….you know the ones, that make you literally jump out of your chair or do damage to the armrest.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM drives home exactly why this is one of the highest grossing franchises of all time. It’s edge-of-your-seat from start to finish, breathtaking at times, and feels every bit like the huge summer blockbuster we all know and love, and wait for all year long.

Five out of five stars.

PG-13.

Reviewed at Century City AMC Imax. Tuesday, June 5, 2018.