Directed by:
J.A. BayonaCinematography:
Oscar FauraComposer:
Michael GiacchinoCast:
Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Ted Levine, Toby Jones, James Cromwell, BD Wong, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda, Geraldine Chaplin, Peter Jason (more)VOD (2)
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It’s been four 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 the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times. (Universal Pictures US)
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Reviews (11)
I've been a fan of Jurassic Park since I first saw it years ago, so I took the return of the giant lizards in the form of a new trilogy as a great and fresh idea. I loved the first Jurassic World! The second didn't win me as much sympathy as its predecessor on first viewing, but after the second screening I found myself liking the film more. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS!) Technically, it is a work of craftsmanship and quality, which is expected for this brand. I was intrigued by the moral level of the film, dealing with whether artificially created dinosaurs have the right to live, or whether they should go extinct for a second time. While the first half of the film takes you back to the park, where I liked the idea of the erupting island (the scene with the dinosaurs and actors fleeing the erupting volcano was excellent, and I take the shot of the moaning brachiosaurus left on the dying island as one of the most powerful moments in the entire franchise), the second half relies heavily on the cramped confines of a big house, which turns into a slaughterhouse in one awkward moment. The first Jurassic World had the Indominus Rex, the second installment introduced the Indoraptor, whose presence made for some atmospherically creepy moments (the scene in Maisie's room is one that no horror film should be ashamed of, and I felt a whiff of the director's previous film, The Orphanage). Overall, I liked the sequences with the dinosaurs arriving on the scene, like the opening with the mosasaur and the T-Rex. I also enjoyed the small cameo by Jeff Goldblum, who had that moralising function in the film. As I mentioned, I had mixed feelings about Fallen Kingdom after the first screening, but after a second viewing I give the film a weaker four stars.
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To be honest, I'm quite glad I'm over it. The second Jurassic World isn't a bad movie, but I kind of automatically expect a $170 million blockbuster to look good, show off enough attractions to keep me from getting bored, and feature a capable cast. It's all there, but I refuse to take those as positives that would put the film above average. That's just what I expect in a film like this. Trouble is, the second Jurassic World offers nothing but these "obligatory" props. The spectacular action on Isla Nublar is truly epic, but perfectly cold. You know when we're halfway through that none of the protagonists can come to harm, and I really wasn't worried about the bland "geek and badass scientist" side characters. Plus, halfway through, they flip the switch and start pretending to be a variation on Alien. Unfortunately, with a PG-13 rating, an uninteresting monster (compared to what Indominus Rex did last time, this one is really ridiculous), and the same boring characters. The craftsmanship and qualities that can be had on a blockbuster budget are there. But if I were to say I'd want to watch a scene from the second Jurassic World again, I'd be bullshitting.
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It was fun. Though the film is not so effective as a work that is supposed to somehow fundamentally develop the potential and values of its universe ("Life Finds a Way" just doesn't cut it any more), at least it’s perfect as an ultra-expensive fanmade product of Spielberg's legacy. The way it throws you into the plot is downright orgasmic, the story doesn't falter in the space of two hours, and Bayona proves in every scene with the toothy beauties how great a visual expert he is, turning even otherwise routine moments into unadulteratedly powerful (the brontosaurus on the pier) or suspenseful filmmaking (the final half-hour doesn't let up). And I really enjoyed uncovering all the respectful nods towards the first two episodes, which are sometimes obvious (the little girl snapping the hatch in front of the raptor at the last minute), sometimes more subtle on the level of similar shot angles or character positions, but never distracting or jarring. What bothered me, on the other hand, is the character work, which this time looks like from a B-movie, and the creators are lucky that at least the likeable cast can keep the audience's attention (both Pratt and Howard are excellent). And of course, the problem is the story itself – on the one hand, it’s well written in the sense of gradual escalation and, more importantly, in the sense of making the motifs more significant, using the initially hard-to-digest family element at a crucial moment in favour of a logically justifiable twist; but on the other hand, it feels much more contrived and artificial than the overly criticized The Lost World, and it involves genetic machinations of such a magnitude that we feel like we're in a Bradbury anti-utopia; and I personally found the aforementioned twist annoying. In sum, however, perhaps surprisingly, satisfaction prevails over a mature and atmospheric adventure, where every dollar invested is positively visible, and whose magnificent climax made me sincerely look forward to the trilogy's conclusion. 70%
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When you write something so perfectly stupid, you do it either out of incompetence or with creative intent. I give precedence to the second option because Bayona knows where his horror roots lie and thus deftly guides the camera and the special effects, and the actors declaiming like hell and notching clichés into the seat in front of you will stop entertaining you after an hour. However, the slight genre detour with the slamming of the ferry doors works in its favor, and while there are no surprises, it is at times as suspenseful and bloody as its rating will allow. The rain ropes have been passé for a while now, and I would have left 20 minutes on the cutting room floor, but the feeling of a high-octane ride where both lava bombing and sneaking around in the dark work, and which still finishes decently enough a couple of hours after leaving the movie theater, eventually washes it away.
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I'm sorry to say that the magic of the previous film (not to mention Spielberg's original) isn't repeated this time. The dinosaurs are great and often enter the scene in a fully horror way, although the strange script makes some of them unadulterated action heroes and because of it, the film definitely has the worst (lamest) finale of the entire series. Chris Pratt is fine, but this time he's a superman rather than the cheeky sympathetic Owen from Jurassic World, the character played by Bryce Dallas Howard has almost nothing to say at all, and (except perhaps for Ted Levine) I probably won't even remember any of the villains... And I consider Jeff Goldblum's bark to be the greatest betrayal. It’s too bad, because the second Jurassic World looks really great, has some really good scenes (the one with the Brachiosaur standing on its hind legs is 100% moving) and thanks to the bombastic music by Michael Giacchino it also sounds great, but the result is quite similar to Jurassic Park III.
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Gallery (113)
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