Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This second chapter in the proposed Jurassic World trilogy starts off on familiar ground, but takes the saga in some unexpected directions.  While not perfect by any stretch, this manages to have some genuine surprises – and some genuine chills – and is a breathless, rollercoaster ride of a movie.

Premise:  Three years after the disaster at the Jurassic World theme park, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is campaigning to save the dinosaurs remaining on Isla Nublar, as a volcanic eruption threatens their existence.  With the support of John Hammond's former partner (James Cromwell) and his aide (Rafe Spall), Claire tries to recruit her former boyfriend Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) for the rescue mission.

Review:

In many ways, the first Jurassic World movie was a lot like Star Wars: The Force Awakens – both were sequels coming out decades after the original films had been released, both attempted to reassure audiences that they were better than the most recent (largely disappointing) films in the series, and both were, in all honesty, a little bit of a “greatest hits” compilation from the original films.  I don’t mean this as a negative – I loved Jurassic World and The Force Awakens – but both re-trod the familiar concepts and plot points from Jurassic Park and A New Hope respectively.

I say this because the initial concept of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom sounds very similar to the premise of the first Jurassic Park sequel, The Lost World.  In The Lost World, John Hammond tries to get a survivor from the first film (Ian Malcolm) to return to the Jurassic Park staging island on a mercy mission to save the dinosaurs from human exploitation.  In Fallen Kingdom, John Hammond's former partner (Sir Benjamin Lockwood, played by James Cromwell) tries to get a survivor from the first film (Claire Dearing, played by Bryce Dallas Howard) to return to the Jurassic World island on a mercy mission to save the dinosaurs from a volcano.  You’d certainly be forgiven for fearing that Fallen Kingdom was just going to be a rehash of The Lost World, based on that premise alone.

“…once I reached the midway point, I literally had no idea where the film was going next…”

But in what was a really bold choice, the marketing for Fallen Kingdom only focused on the events from the first half of the film – so in actual fact, the expedition to save the dinosaurs from the volcano is only the jumping off point for the film.  Given that so many trailers these days give away the big surprises from a film’s finale, it was really refreshing to see a blockbuster have the confidence to hold something back – and as an audience member, I loved that fact that once I reached the midway point in the film, I literally had no idea where it was going next.

I don’t want to spoil any of those plot developments, but what I will say is that amidst all the thrills and excitement, Fallen Kingdom does touch on some very interesting ideas.  One key theme discussed from the very beginning of the film is what moral obligations mankind owes the dinosaurs, having brought them back from extinction.  Are they now to be treated fairly and humanely, like any other animal – or are they scientific aberrations that have no animal rights?  Should mankind intervene and save the dinosaurs from the volcano, or is this simply nature restoring natural balance to the world?

“…Claire and Owen have to face up to the moral consequences of their actions in the first film…”

We have characters on both sides of that debate, which stops it becoming too much of a black-and-white issue, but it’s intriguing to see that Claire Dearing (who in Jurassic World clearly didn’t see the dinosaurs as anything other than “attractions” to exploit) has now done a full 180 and is a passionate dinosaur-rights activist.  How much of this change of character, and the rest of her actions throughout Fallen Kingdom, are motivated by her guilt is an interesting question.  Both her and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) have to face up to the moral consequences of their actions in the first film – Claire for sanctioning the creation of the generic-hybrid Indominus Rex that destroyed the Jurassic World theme park, and Owen for paving the way for the potential weaponisation of the Velociraptors.

Concerns about the proliferation of the theme park’s generic technology is another central theme of Fallen Kingdom, as a number of characters warn that we won’t be able to stop the spread and weaponisation of Dr Henry Wu’s (BD Wong) genetic hybridisation work, any more than we could prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  These themes were hinted at in Jurassic World, particularly by Vincent D’Onofio’s Hoskins, but here they are expanded further.  These threads give the proposed Jurassic World trilogy a much more unified feel than the ad hoc sequels of the original Jurassic Park trilogy.  Jeff Goldblum’s small cameo as Dr Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park and The Lost World also adds a nice sense of continuity to the universe too.

“…easily the scariest the series has been since the original ‘Jurassic Park’…”

Tone-wise, Fallen Kingdom is a lot more tense and chilling than Jurassic World (although there are still a number of laugh-out-loud comedy moments).  Director J.A. Bayona comes from a horror background, and he knows just how to turn up the tension when he wants to.  A scene in the gyrosphere in Fallen Kingdom rivals Spielberg’s windscreen scene in The Lost World in terms of sustained tension, and the second half of Fallen Kingdom is almost a gothic horror at times, and is easily the scariest the series has been since the original Jurassic Park.

As I said, the film isn’t perfect by any stretch – some of the plot developments don’t quite hold up to scrutiny, at least one twist is heavily signposted in advance, and Michael Giacchino (a composer who I normally love) has produced a score that lacks any subtlety – but overall, the film is a really enjoyable rollercoaster ride.  After 30 minutes or so of set up, the film launches into its first major action set piece (prologue aside), and then doesn’t pause for breath until the end credits.  (Speaking of which, there is a short post-credits scene, but it’s entirely superfluous if you don’t fancy waiting…)