Cinema Trips - 'Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom'

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom is in fact a film, this I cannot take away from it. In fact, if anyone has the ability to reach into their minds, find the off switch, and shut down their minds for two hours, there is a fair amount of enjoyment that could be had with this film. While I did find myself being entertained while watching this film, much like its predecessor Jurassic World, I find myself thinking that was fun but not a film that I would ever revisit.

The story revolves around the fact that the island in the first Jurassic Park and Jurassic World is located in has a volcano that has recently become active and is on the verge of erupting, placing all the dinosaurs at risk of being driven extinct, again. Therefore, Bryce Dallas Howard is trying to get funding to try and save as many of the dinosaurs as possible before the eruption takes place. At least that is what the majority of the marketing for the film would have us believe as all of that is wrapped up within the first hour of the film, and I would be surprised if we actually spent more than twenty five minutes on the island. A majority of the film actually takes place in what looks like the mansion the T-Virus was developed in the Resident Evil series, with a completely different plot that involves genetic engineering and animal trafficking.

The acting in the film as a whole is serviceable at best and being outright comedic at worst. Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt were serviceable with the combined charisma of the two of them together managing to pull through and make things entertaining, even if it does seem like Chris Pratt is in a completely different film most of the time. The performance of Toby Jones is outright comical that would fit better in a spoof of Jurassic World rather than the actual Jurassic World film he is a part of. In addition Rafe Spall was such a one dimensional character that a cardboard cutout has more depth to it. However, there are highlights in terms of the performances brought on by the two veteran actors, James Cromwell and Geraldine Chaplin accompanied by newcomer Isabella Sermon in her feature debut.The two veterans bringing a touch of class and gravitas to their respective characters while the newcomer brings with her a surprising amount of emotion and humanity to each of their respective characters, with limited screen time. So much so that they were leaps and bounds above the rest of the cast and was quite frankly more than what this film deserved.

The soundtrack was for the most part forgettable at best with the only positives coming from when they, very sparingly, used John Williams’ original score from Jurassic Park. The visual effects in the film were quite hit or miss with some solid CGI work mixed in with CGI work that looked as if it was ripped from a Playstation 3 video game cutscene. Most of which was present during the destruction of the island.

The tone was all over the place with slapstick comedy, drama, and moments of terror that were, instead of working together to create an experience, felt as if they were having a battle royal for complete dominance, giving the distinct impression that the film had no idea on what it wanted to be, as the timing of each always seemed off. Which ended up ruining some potentially great emotional moments when we came to them. One of which was when they were leaving the island, a scene that should have been a gut punch of raw emotion that should have made King Leonidas cry, but instead ended up falling flat on the face with a whimper as the events preceding this moment did not earn it.

The best part in my experience of the film is the family dynamic between James Cromwell, Geraldine Chaplin, and Isabella Sermon. My interest peaking whenever any of the three were onscreen or interacting with each other.

Ultimately this is a popcorn flick that does not require much brain power, if anything it would be advisable if you were to leave your brain at the door if at all possible. I would consider this to be the second best of the Jurassic films, which I admit is not saying much. There is an interesting twist near the end which did grab my attention and made things a lot more interesting, but was not good enough to save the film as a whole. Despite all the negatives I have with the film I was entertained and so I would recommend that if you catch it on the TV or it comes to Netflix, it would be worth the watch then, and not one that I would recommend in the cinema.