Naw fam… You’re telling me that the first line of this movie is a black man telling another person to “not worry about it” as they are deep underwater in an island inhabited by dinosaurs? No way in the world. From literally the first line of the movie, I knew that I would have to suspend disbelief while watching Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Fallen Kingdom takes place three years after the first Jurassic World. Isla Nubar’s once dormant volcano has become violently active, and Claire (Bryce Dallas-Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) journey to the island to try to save the remaining dinosaurs before they all perish.
I tried really hard to not like this movie. And there was so much not to like. But even with all the head-scratching plot choices, I somehow enjoyed the hell out of it. Even more than the original. Jurassic World 1 was a consistent “meh” of a movie, while this sequel fluctuated from awe-inducing wonder to “what in the world did I just watch?”. That first scene set my obvious biases and me up nicely to switch on “turn brain off” mode to have a great time. Yes, this can be seen as a cop out of a review from here on out, but the overall feeling you get watching Fallen Kingdom (especially the first hour) justifies this response.
The mixture of action, comedy, suspense, and kid-like wonder the first hour generates makes it feel like the movie belonged in the theater two decades ago. It fit right along with what we all enjoyed about Jumanji, Armageddon, and Independence Day. I didn’t think the combination of a volcano and dinosaurs would make any sense, but it created action set pieces that were filled with wide-eyed wonder. Surprisingly, it even set off some allergies in the theater. This generation’s children may well remember these scenes as the origin of their love of dinosaurs. The final detail that really puts audiences in the 90’s frame of mind is the disastrous timbre of James Cromwell’s voice. The second I heard his voice it took me back to his leery warnings in iRobot (yes that is a 2000s movie, but what is more 90s than a Will Smith dystopian film).
As much as the first hour brought out all that you love about the 90s, the second hour recalls everything that was SO WRONG with that decade’s filmography. The obvious betrayals. The money-motivated antagonist justifying their actions with words like “future”, “progress”, and “I am doing this for you”. The faceless, foreign terrorist evildoers who represent whole countries as the axes of evil. It had all of it. And just like Cromwell capped the first hour’s wistfulness, the second hour’s predictability is epitomized by THE stereotypical evil guy with no backstory: Armin Zola himself, Toby Jones.
First act highs: James Cromwell. Second Act lows: Toby Jones. Third act middles: Isabella Sermon. The film’s youngest star does above average in her role, but there is a plot connection to her character that is the most eyebrow raising function in the film. This plot “twist” could have been left out of the film with no impact to the story whatsoever. However, her involvement in the ending makes you wonder if they could have done more with the plot point. You leave the theater stuck on whether her arc was unnecessary or underutilized. The third act is similar in that it was entertaining, but parts of it could have been left out of the film, yet the ending was a dichotomy of interesting open door to #3 and puzzling decision making.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is as undulating as that last sentence. The acting was par for the course and the new characters were welcome additions (can Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda replace Pratt and Howard?). There is spectacle and stereotypes. There are eye-rolling and eye-widening scenes. I am actually glad that the black man’s bizarre behavior was put front and center. If that wasn’t set up from the beginning, I might have taken this movie too seriously. I am giving Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 7.5/10 “why the hell you doing that stupid ass thing you are doing” yells at the movie screen.