If the news that horror director J.A. Bayona would be tackling the next “Jurassic World” movie has you excited, it would be understandable. The “Jurassic” sequels have lost the scare factor that dinosaurs on the loose provided so well back in 1993, and this new direction could have injected some life into a series that needed it.
“Jurassic World” was a perfectly fine, if cliched and unoriginal, summer blockbuster, and now “Fallen Kingdom” is here to try and keep the series going for another 65 million years.
It speaks to the skill of actors like Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and newcomers Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda that they can survive one of the most ham-fisted scripts of the year and still turn out good performances.
Chris maintains his Harrison Ford-esque gruff charm he’s shown in “Jurassic World” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and Howard is, thankfully, given a lot more to do in this sequel than in the first “World.” Newcomers Smith and Pineda are also extremely charismatic, and it’s a shame that they ended up with such truncated roles by the end of the movie.
Rafe Spall, the ‘villain’ of this film is hardly given anything to really do besides smile evilly, and most of the supporting cast is simply wasted. Isabella Sermon is just as charming as the rest as the young Maisie, but most of the film simply has her standing in shadows or staring wide-eyed at scary things.
It isn’t their fault, necessarily, as “Fallen Kingdom” really feels like two films stitched together. The first half of the movie is an intriguing, if predictable, disaster film using the original island’s volcano to great effect.
The latter half turns into a somewhat horror film set on the mainland in a small mansion. Both are intriguing and hold a lot of potential, but not shoved awkwardly together like they are here. Especially given that both hold such moments of genuine energy and gold.
“Fallen Kingdom” has its best moments when emotions are running high. Of course humans make stupid and illogical decisions, this is a “Jurassic Park” movie after all. But at least with situations that feel genuinely terrifying, it's more understandable. It helps to fix that flaw at least a little bit, and the scariest moments are the best moments in “Fallen Kingdom.”
For as hap hazardous and dumb as the entire film is, the third act almost saves the entire film. It's when Bayona and his crew really go full balls to the wall with the absurdity and the horror elements, and it’s the strongest part of the film. It feels genuinely like nothing else we’ve seen a “Jurassic” movie do before, and its worth seeing for those moments alone.
Also, like “The Last Jedi” this past year, its refreshing to see a blockbuster go back and utilize practical effects like the old days. It helps with the closer up moments with the Dinos and does a lot to sell the smaller moments within the action.
“Fallen Kingdom” may be one of the most mixed bags of a film in recent memory. On one hand, its big, loud and dumb, contains some truly awful lines, and wastes half of its cast at least on underutilized roles that exist mainly as Dino fodder.
On the other hand, it contains some of the most intense and bonkers action scenes of the year, nails the third act, finds itself being truly scary when it wants to be and ending on a note that asks some of the most intriguing questions the series has ever had to deal with before.
At the end of the day “Fallen Kingdom” can’t really be called a bad movie or a good movie. However, for a film that focuses on the “most intelligent creature to ever walk the earth,” its almost laughable how much better it becomes when you just turn off your brain. 2.5/5
Photo Courtesy of Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, and Legendary Pictures.
