Movieman Madness: Cinema Spotlight III - J.A. Bayona (Part 4): 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'

I actually enjoyed Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World being the only solid sequel to the original Jurassic Park. It took the franchise in a new direction that was never explored with the previous sequels with John Hammond's vision of the park finally open to the public. It still maintain's that dinosaur wonder, the cautionary themes of genetic science and paying tribute to the original film. Now we have Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Trevorrow returns only as a screenwriter with J.A. Bayona this time directing.

Three years after the horrific ordeal that took place at Jurassic World, the island that harbors the dinosaurs is on the brink of a second extinction due to volcanic eruption. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are called in for a rescue operation funded by John Hammond's former partner Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) and his right-hand man Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) to save the dinosaurs, including Owen's trained raptor Blue. Unbeknownst to no one who saw the trailers, this is all a set-up. In reality the dinos will be sold to the highest bidder and Blue is among the many specimen part of an evil experiment of Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) to create another genetic monster superior to the Indominus Rex: the Indoraptor. (Dibs that the next Indominus hybrid is a Pteranodon because seriously where else can you go that isn't lethal enough than a flying monster).

Before the rant, let's start on what I did like. Pratt continue's on being the charismatic hero, along with his relationship with Blue the raptor. Jeff Goldblum returns in a quick cameo as Ian Malcolm who like Pratt is the only character with some common sense in this whole affair. Being a fan of Bayona's work it was cool seeing his signature style in his first blockbuster, from the visual flair of the natural and unnatural, the action-set pieces particular the ones set in the ocean, and the customary casting of Geraldine Chaplin playing Lockwood's housekeeper Iris.

Sorry Mr Indoraptor, Indominus Rex is still better than you.

With that said, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a prehistoric disappointment. The biggest problem is the story line of saving the dinosaurs. Didn't we learn from any of these movies that dinosaurs and society can't coexist? You have characters like Claire dead-set on preserving the dinosaurs only to have the movie contradict itself by having Ian Malcolm spelling everything wrong with this. Roland Emmerich's Godzilla did a better job! It doesn't help that the majority of the characters are more insufferable than memorable with Justice Smith being the only one that was the least annoying. The villains become cartoon characters that I took Vincent D'Onofrio's antagonist in the last film more serious.

Instead of capturing the whimsy and tension of Jurassic Park, Fallen Kingdom evokes The Lost World where there are no surprises or sense of wonder; the few good action scenes aren't enough to salvage it or even rival the amazing climax of the Indominus Rex fight in Jurassic World. The final straw occurred in the last act. I get that we will have another movie after this and the outcome that happens makes sense but the way it happens is beyond idiotic in what the franchise has shown!

J.A. Bayona and Steven Spielberg are excellent storytellers except when it comes to a Jurassic sequel. It may not be their best film but they still have other movies that are better. If anything, I can't put all the blame on Bayona as he had nothing to do with the script but I can't say the same for the screenwriters who made these confounding choices. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is well-crafted but a massive step-backwards for the franchise.