Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction action film directed by J. A. Bayona and written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. The sequel to Jurassic World (2015), it is the second installment in the Jurassic World trilogy and the fifth overall installment in the Jurassic Park franchise. (Wikipedia)
I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised by this sequel to the billion dollar hit Jurassic World (2015), which I found to be chronically underwhelming. Read my review here.
Fair to say I had zero expectations for Fallen Kingdom. While indirectly copying certain key plot points from The Lost World – the main one being the conflict between the preservation of the dinosaurs in a peaceful reserve of sorts versus exploitation of the dinosaurs for capital gain – the sequel, thankfully, builds up forward momentum.
Fallen Kingdom uses this conflict to pivot the franchise into a new direction, only hinted at previously – to be explored perhaps in the inevitable next sequel.
Director J.A. Bayona, together with writers Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, have fashioned a taut, creature feature that takes advantage of a different environment to produce thrills and scares.
The plot itself – while minimal – takes a tangent with Maisie – the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Lockwood (John Hammond’s former partner in developing the technology to clone dinosaurs) – an intriguing twist that provides opportunity in future sequels, no doubt.
The set pieces – action sequences and CGI – work well with usual echoes of previous franchise films but with sufficient emotional resonance to keep the audience engaged.
Strangely enough, at the end of Jurassic World, I have no anticipation towards any sequel but this time with Fallen Kingdom, I am interested to know how the story unfolds. Job well done!
Watch Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on Amazon.
… still there’s more …