Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: J.A. Bayona, Universal Pictures, M 128 Minutes.
After the excitement generated from the action-oriented recasting of the first ‘Jurassic World’ rendition it was always expected that some of the spectacular scenes seen in the original version would reappear in the sequel which it has mostly done.
However, no one can deny that ‘Jurassic World-Fallen Kingdom’ is a fast-paced action adventure from new director J.A Bayona (‘The Impossible’) that is written and produced by Colin Trevorrow (‘Jurassic World’s original director) in collaboration with Steven Spielberg.
Following the catastrophic closure of the Jurassic World theme park three years ago, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) return to Isla Nublar to save the remaining dinosaurs after the US Senate refused to have them rescued.
In response to a request from Hammond’s former partner, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell – ‘Marshall’) Claire agrees to head-up a mission to the island with Owen’s assistance to remove the prehistoric predators to a safe sanctuary-before the active volcano erupts.
Unbeknownst to either of them are the hidden motives of Lockwood’s devious assistant Eli Mills (Rafe Spall – ‘The Ritual’), to have the captured dinosaurs and those species genetically engineered by Dr Wu (B.D.Wong) sold to the highest bidder.
No sooner has auctioneer Mr Eversol (Toby Jones – ‘Morgan’) got the bidding underway the volcanic erupts and all hell breaks loose causing considerable havoc and resulting in Claire and Owen barely escaping with only some of the prehistoric creatures.
Despite its entertainment value Bayona has clearly painted a somewhat darker picture in his dinosaur-encountering sequel, showing a few disturbing scenes that impact on humans as well as instances of animal cruelty that could distress in particular some teenagers.
This could be one of the reasons for Trevorrow returning to direct the third and final instalment of the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise following his huge success with the original in 2015.
Apart from the surreal storyline most movie lovers of this genre will particularly enjoy the likeable performances of Howard and Pratt including the chemistry between them and especially the settings, the special effects and the imposing CGI dinosaurs.
Jurassic World-Fallen Kingdom is to be televised on 9 on Saturday 29 May at 8.40pm.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
