There are many films that I wish I was alive to see when they initially debuted. 1993’s Jurassic Park is a prime example of that desire. As a groundbreaker in the world of visual effects, as well as being one of the strongest films in Spielberg’s filmography, what made Jurassic Park such an endearing classic was not just in the awe and wonder the film provided, seeing creatures from decades ago in the modern world, but in the charming cast of characters and in its philosophical subtext, criticizing capitalism and its destruction it has upon nature and the natural order of life in the pursuit of profit.
Unfortunately, none of the other sequels have come anywhere close to the nuance found with the 1993 classic. The Lost World was dull, Jurassic Park III was forgettable, and Jurassic World was nonsensical, boring, bland, and idiotic, with bad acting and poorly-defined characters. Fallen Kingdom, a sequel to the 2015 World, doesn’t fare much better. It is slightly better than World, if only for the previous director Colin Trevorrow only being the screenwriter, with The Orphanage and A Monster Calls director JA Bayona taking the mantle, but Bayona still has to deal with a script that increasingly gets sillier and sillier as time goes on, which says a lot considering this is a Jurassic Park sequel.
The initial premise of Owen Grady and Claire Dearing, played again by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, attempting to save the dinosaurs stranded on Isla Nubar from extinction contradicts the entire message of Jurassic Park. Obviously animal rights are important, but Ian Malcolm’s entire mantra is that humans and dinosaurs can’t and shouldn’t co-exist, even if the idea seems tempting, and that playing God is dangerous. And yet, the film positions the idea that now humans and dinosaurs should co-exist, which sends plenty of mixed messages. It gets even more ridiculous once it is revealed the people in charge of the rescue mission were using the two as a ploy to sell the dinosaurs in an auction ring. Yes really. It quickly devolves into being more and more nonsensical, especially once the film repeats the same plot ideas from the first Jurassic World, including militarization of dinosaurs and developing a new dinosaur breed that combines the Indominus Rex from the last movie with velociraptors, resulting in the Indo-Raptor, as apparently, no one thought perhaps the last time a man-made dinosaur didn’t go so well was because it was an inherently bad idea.
Speaking of characters having no thought, it feels like all of this film’s characters, on top of being poorly-acted, poorly-defined, and largely unlikable, including Rafe Spall as a laughably awful villain, and Justice Smith as an irritating comic relief, make some of the silliest decisions. Somehow, a top-secret dinosaur laboratory can be easily accessed through a 4-digit keypad with absolutely zero security. Somehow, politicians and diplomats are able to accept the idea that buying dinosaurs is a reasonable idea, even after the major attack on the Jurassic World tourists three years ago. Somehow, these characters believe it’s a good idea to take out the blood of a T-Rex in order to save a velociraptor’s life. Somehow, these characters will end up freeing certain dinosaurs in captivity, letting them roam and cause havoc and harm countless of other people, only making situations worse. And somehow, the audience is expected to root for these figures who make indefensible decisions.
Admittedly, JA Bayona does bring some life that was lost in the Spielberg-less movies. A sequence with the Gyrosphere underwater is beautifully shot, and some of the set pieces in the climax are well-executed, adding in a darker, almost horror-like atmosphere at points. A massive upgrade from Trevorrow’s bland and forgettable direction and action set pieces. Daniela Pineda as the snarky paleoveterinarian also has a lot of likability, being the only actor that delivers any sort of charm. But in the end, Bayona is still stuck with a script penned by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, the same writing team as the first Jurassic World, meaning much of the problems, including dumb characters and concepts, is still very much present, and can’t save this moronic trite of a film.
A shame once one remembers how well-done Jurassic Park truly was. It truly redefined blockbusters, had a beating heart, and offered plenty of exciting tension that made it a fun adventure film for all ages. 25 years later, and the next installment is just a moronic indistinguishable blockbuster without a creative bone in its body.