The appeal of dinosaurs is their enormity, which the Jurassic Parkfilm franchise understands. Watching these prehistoric beasts crush cars underfoot like Coke cans has been a summertime thrill since Steven Spielberg's first installment in 1993.
But by the fifth entry into the franchise, they can't get any bigger. The 2015 revival Jurassic World already achieved that goal, by introducing the fictional cross-species hybrid Indominus rex. Instead, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom finds another way to grow: by making its plot much, much bulkier. In doing so, it commits the worst possible sin: It makes dinosaurs boring.
This leaves former park operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) - who runs a kind of PETA-for-dinosaurs - brokenhearted. That is, until she receives a call from the office of millionaire Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), a creator of dinosaur cloning technology. Lockwood and his aide (Rafe Spall) want Claire to help sneak the dinosaurs off the island.
Image credit: Universal Pictures
The plan seems fraught. The dinosaurs are almost guaranteed to escape, and nobody wants raptors running around Times Square. But Claire excitedly agrees anyway. She convinces her ex-boyfriend and velociraptor-trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) to help out by reminding him that he loves a specific raptor named Blue, whose life is in danger. With the help of two of Claire's employees, they head to the island to do battle with less-friendly dinosaurs, lava and - as it turns out - the most dangerous predator of all. (It ain't a dinosaur.)
From here on, the screenplay (by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow, who directed the first Jurassic World) piles layer upon layer of twists and turns, each more ridiculous than the last, leaving director J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls) desperately trying to cram everything in without forsaking what everyone's here to see: rampaging beasts.
Right.
Devoid of any real characters, the whole thing ends up feeling like one of Stefon's nightclub descriptions on "Saturday Night Live": "Jurassic World" has everything - dinosaurs, exploding volcanoes, clones, poachers, blood transfusions, intrigue, nerds, bioethical hand-wringing, a creepy mansion, murder, senators, animal rights and Chris Pratt's muscles.
One and one-half stars. Rated PG-13. Contains intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril. 128 minutes.
© 2018, The Washington Post
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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