Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom: 3 terrible (and 3 good) things in the sequel
By John Dotson
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom contains some of the most daring adventure sequences to date but is this enough to overcome its poor writing choices?
In the new sequel for Jurassic World, director J. A. Bayona makes some rather risky choices in direction. The film puts the characters in creative set pieces that are unlike anything we have seen in this franchise before. The biggest issue with the film though is between the brilliant spectacle are moments so terribly written that will either cause viewers to groan or laugh.
Most of it is a lot of fun but also so laughably terrible that the film becomes a mixture of Jurassic proportions. Here are three of the best aspects of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as well as four terrible elements about the sequel.
The Good
Chris Pratt
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Let’s begin with the obvious. Chris Pratt as Owen Grady carries the film and makes even the worst moments of this franchise somehow work. His character’s name is extremely forgettable and I’m not even sure most people remember it after they leave the theater. This said it’s Pratt’s charm that absolutely sells this franchise and makes it worth the experience.
On a side note, Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire actually did a better job this time around. There’s a scene in this movie that really requires her to sell the emotion of a moment and she absolutely kills it. It’s one of the better scenes we have seen from this franchise in a long while. It might even cause some tears from various viewers.
Cinematography
The camera work in this movie is really impressive stuff. One sequence, in particular, brought back fond memories of watching Children of Men, making amazing use of the long tracking shots that feel so addicting. Other sequences make clever use of reflections and light to create tension in horrific ways.
Oscar Faura worked with Bayona on films like The Orphanage, so it’s easy to see the horror influences all through his photography in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. This definitely has some of the best suspensefully shot sequences in the franchise.
Bold and risky set pieces
The absolute best part of Jurassic World: Fallen kingdom is the choices for staging spectacle. Many of the film’s adventurous moments do not play the way you might expect and are rather inventive. There’s an underwater sequence in this movie that I could have watched forever, as well as a climactic finale that is refreshingly different.
The finale especially will not work for everyone. In hindsight, not everything about it works but with blockbusters using laser beams in the sky constantly, as well as sequels trying to raise the devastation scales with each film, it was refreshing to see them take it to a smaller, more claustrophobic location. Admittedly though, various scenes get ridiculous– Like Fast and the Furious levels of absurdity.
The Terrible
Unfortunate character decisions
This sequel has insane character work and not in a good way. Throwing aside the two main leads, almost everyone in Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom is either lacks intelligence or makes decisions that make absolutely no sense. It’s not good when a serious moment in the story leads to laughter, which in specific moments humor clearly was unintended.
In addition, the film had a subplot involving a little girl named Maisie (Isabella Sermon), which kept hinting that her character offered something more. The writers eventually make her story arch land somewhere but the reveal does not add anything important. Her scenes are quite intense– especially the bedroom sequence seen in the trailer– but if you remove her from the script altogether, nothing is lost. I will say though, the child actress is amazing for it being her first and only starring role.
Problematic script
On top of the messy character work is the strange script direction throughout. Not all of it is terrible but a lot of times it feels like a B-grade horror film desperately trying to be an A-list blockbuster. It’s like the producers stole a screenplay from the SYFY Channel and asked someone to do their best to make it a high-grade Jurassic Park film. For example, it has all the common symptoms such as characters making stupid decisions that predictably lead to death, a cartoonish villain, a hybrid monster, bad acting, and cheesy exposition. All that we needed was a random cameo by Nicolas Cage and the film would’ve been balanced.
As I said though, not everything is bad. The screenplay also takes some major risks that undoubtedly should be respected. Some of the ideas have never been explored before in this series and just like The Last Jedi– which I loved– not all of them will work for everyone.
Jeff Goldblum is wasted
In all of the advertisements leading up to this show, Dr. Malcolm makes his dynamic return to this world. To their credit, they never implied he would be doing much but he really does nothing at all besides speak in court and not for very long. He doesn’t even interact with any of the main characters in the entire film.
Look, I am glad we were able to see Jeff Goldblum as Malcolm again but the man deserved to have more of a presence. I was almost expecting him to be somewhat of a villain as a surprise switch but this was not the case. The world needs more Jeff Goldblum.
Next: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom clip shows Rexy with a lion
Overall Thoughts
I’m split down the middle with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The sequel has a ton of bold suspenseful scenes that make it absolutely worth catching in theaters. There are set pieces that have not been done before in this franchise as well as risky story choices that make it admirable. Unfortunately, most of this is hindered by messy scripting and character work that might suck the audience out of the spectacle. It’s not an easy recommendation but if you are just going to see pure dinosaur mayhem, you will have a good time.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is now in theaters.