The first "Jurassic Park" film is a smarter than average monster-on-the-loose kinda picture that has since gone on to be a staple in pop-culture. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," on the other hand, plays out like a b-movie that has too high a budget and too little gore and nudity- at least we still see dinosaurs ripping body parts off of tertiary characters.
Set years after the 4th entry "Jurassic World," we find the island of dinosaurs is the home to a newly active volcano(!) and is about to explode! Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) persuades Owen (Chris Pratt) to venture to the abandoned park in search of "Blue," a velociraptor trained by Owen to follow orders, become obedient (i.e. become a dog who's bite is most certainly worse than her bark). They believe eccentric gazilliare Ben Lockwood (James Cromwell), a former colleague of franchise favorite John Hammond, wants to protect these creatures and has built a sanctuary for them. Now, sit back and think about that plot; it pretends that there's a message about endangered species, as if they couldn't just clone more.
Of course, as the trailers have given away, Lockwood's successor Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) has different plans, and plans to continue the prehistoric exploitation. I suppose Claire and Owen should have asked to see the animal sanctuary before heading to an island that's about to erupt (can't forget about that volcano). This is the second-longest in the film series after the wobbly second entry, but it never drags; it's constantly moving from character to character (and dino to dino) and from action scene to the next.
But what's different here is the atmosphere- this is a dark film, lacking the whimsy of the first or forth film, or the fun energy of the third (it is best to just skip the second flick all together, or at least until the T-Rex breaks loose). There is a brooding overall mood that not even Chris Pratt can lighten up- there is abandonment and the acceptance of death in the eyes of the captured creatures, save for the Indoraptor (a genetic hybrid ancient reptile) who is treated like a slasher villain, lunging out of the darkness to kill unsuspecting prey.
The acting is generally OK, particularly little Isabella Sermon, who plays the granddaughter of Lockwood; she isn't given much to do except for parents to think that movies with kids are for kids, but she's plucky, and that's pretty refreshing, considering the franchise's history of shoehorning children into the action. (Remember the gymnastic daughter in the second film who flies through the air from pipes to kick a raptor to its death!?) I think it is safe to say that I'm not a fan of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park."
If none of this sounds like a film worthy of a three and a half stars, that's because it's not. In a perfect world it gets three, for being a solid piece of summer entertainment. But nothing's perfect, including me, and I love the story here; it's ridiculous and absurd, but it's smart enough to know not to acknowledge how utterly dumb it is.
That's just the way I like my giant monster movies!
Not to spoil anything, but there's a post-credit scene, and sets up the next film to take the franchise somewhere both Warwick Davis' Leprechaun and Chevy Chase have brought mayhem to. And I don't know, but I'm excited.
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