Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 sci-fi thriller set three years after the disaster at the theme park where a rescue is mounted to stop an extinction-level event.
I’m going to start a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away with the wise words of Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn, who, while under the sea being chased by a large toothy monster calmly noted – as that beast was suddenly devoured – “There’s always a bigger fish.” It’s a wise bit of worldly observation that has sort of been the modus operandi for how blockbuster movies tend to take to their sequels, going bigger with each successive follow-up. Perhaps no other film franchise in the history of cinema has taken to this philosophy more than Jurassic Park, which has committed itself to going bigger with an almost comical zeal. From raptors to T-rex’s to Spinosauruses to Indominus Rexes to Mosasauruses, more teeth are the only ingredient in a very simple recipe. So what’s the bigger fish in J. A. Bayona‘s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? Well, it’s not a dinosaur. At least not for most of the movie.
On the island of Isla Nublar, three years after the island was abandoned when the the dinosaurs broke free, things are not going well. A team of mercenaries have gone into steal some DNA from the dead Indominus Rex, only to let loose into the open ocean something very much they shouldn’t. Meanwhile, the once dormant volcano at the heart of the island is about to erupt and questions abound about whether its an ethical imperative to rescue the creatures or let them become extinct … again.
While the government agrees to let them die, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), former business partner to original dino-park mastermind John Hammond, stages a covert operation with Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to lead the charge in moving them to a secret secure location. However, once there, they meet their security force, led by mercenary Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine), who naturally has ulterior motives. All this with an exploding volcano. However, we’ve only just begun, and if those animals get off the island as planned, there’s a much more sinister scheme in effect that could change everything.
So, no. There’s not much new in the mix, with lots of Jurassic Park standards set up and knocked down, with a host of running and biting and chasing and screaming. Indeed, lots appear to be homages of sorts, which is a stretch given that it’s only been a few years since the last film … which did plenty of that on its own. Still, given the cast of big monsters and tasty humans, all that makes sense.
However, where Jurassic World took to rekindling old fires of interest and luring in a new generation of dino-zealots with some big set pieces and action mayhem, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom manages to tap into something darker, even as it props up some heavy tent poles along the way. This kicks in after a mostly thrilling opening act where escape off the crumbling island leads to a harrowing run across a landscape flush with stampeding dinosaurs and a pyroclastic cloud consuming everything in its path. Sure, it ditches science for sensationalism, but for blockbuster chills, it sure hits the right beats. Once off the island though, a genuinely intriguing story takes precedent over the action, or at least runs parallel along side it, and isn’t afraid to head to the shadows. So by the start of the explosive (and often terrifying) third act, something kinda cool happens … you know … for a Jurassic Park movie. You’re more interested in the characters than the dinosaurs.
As such, it’s actually the humor that doesn’t always work, the heavy themes and often surprisingly impactful emotional moments keeping the laughs sort off kilter. Pratt is endlessly charming of course, and the banter between he and Howard is a little more sophisticated if not obvious, while there’s some truly good work from Levine but also young Isabella Sermon, who plays Lockhart’s granddaughter, she delivering a hundred percent. This little kid has a future on screen.
Bayona, whose last film A Monster Calls, deftly takes the reigns from Colin Trevorrow (who co-wrote this screenplay), offering up a better movie than you might expect, a film that lures its audience in with a promise of big beasty bites and then uses that momentum to strike at something smarter. It certainly has its flaws, but just about all of them are overshadowed by a commitment to the sheer spectacle of it all, making this a grand summer blockbuster that should keep this series well charged up enough for the next.