Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Daniella Pineda, 

Justice Smith, James Cromwell, Rafe Spall

"Life finds a Way"

This film continues three years after the closure of the theme park on Isla Nublar, located somewhere in Costa Rica. Naturally since the lab-developed dinosaurs ran amok and ate a lot of visitors which was elaborately explored in the remake of Jurassic Park trilogy named Jurassic World 2015.

Present day, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are 'reunited' and back on the abandoned island which is now threatened by the fury of an exploding volcano. They want to save and rescue as many dinosaurs as humanly and humanely possible. A deed made possible through the generosity of the Lockwood Estate which created a sanctuary where these animals can roam around freely without cages, with no tourists and no distractions. Even though the government itself decided it is best to leave them on the island - for the very reason that they should never have been 'created' in the first place.

But evil and green surfaces in the form of Ellis Mills (Rafe Spall) an underling working for the now aging and frail Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Mills thinks it is a great idea to auction off these dinosaurs to the highest bidders, who can use them for industrial, agricultural purposes but mainly turn them as 'weapons' of mass destruction. These species are transported to the Lockwood estate where representatives of several nations congregate for the auction. Both Owen and Claire were tricked into believing the dinosaurs will be airlifted to a safe haven. 

The main attraction at the auction is this humongous dinosaur that was bred using the DNA of  several really fierce dinosaurs so you can be utterly sure, the Indoraptor is as deadly as it comes. But surely, anywhere and anytime these massive creatures are present you can be sure, the situation will turn really ugly as they escape from their supposedly iron clad enclosures and eat any one that moves. Heh!

This really flimsy premise basically runs wild in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Another dangerous mission for Owen and Claire - they being the good guys trying their best to contain the situation which has gone awry in the very worst possible way. Plus some entirely crazy and silly subplot involving Lockwood's 'granddaughter, thrown in to just add confusion to an already murky plot.

The cinematography though is quite vibrant - the scene with numerous dinosaurs running, rushing down the jungle and trumping their way towards the sea as hot molten lava pour down from the imposing volcano is excellently shot. The pressure to escape quite palpable as you can almost feel the ground shaking from the massive exodus. One, if not the only memorable scene in this film.

The second half grinds down to a slower pace during the auction part, then picks up a bit with chaotic scenes of people trying to flee from the escaping dinosaurs, which were being sold off to bidders. And rightly so, the conclusion does leave us with a sense that the third installment will entail dinosaurs in the city streets. Something we have to wait for it until 2021!

So while the film could use some depth to the story line, there is a valid message it wants to impart - there was a rational reason dinosaurs were extinct and wiped out eons ago - these are very dangerous creatures and tend to eat people.