Four years after the events of "Jurassic World," Isla Nublar remains abandoned as the dinosaurs took over the island. A long dormant volcano on Isla Nublar, however, sparks a worldwide debate on whether or not humanity must save the dinosaurs or let them go extinct again. It is up to dinosaur trainer Owen Gready (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to mount a rescue op for Blue, the last velociraptor on the planet. Let's keep it short: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" surprised and shocked me. Surprised because for half of its running time, the movie was running on pure adrenaline -- packing a surprising amount of thrills that would make Steven Spielberg proud. The first half of "Fallen Kingdom" is probably the best "Jurassic" movie since the first one -- propulsive, visceral and genuinely thrilling. It's the backhalf of "Kingdom" that upends the Jurassic formula by going for the jugular. This is a pretty scary movie, with zero people clapping afterwards because the tension was too tight. This kingdom ain't just fallen, it's fearsome. Watch more in iWant or iWantTFC As adventure stories go, the narrative of "Fallen Kingdom" is remarkably self-contained. You don't need to know what happened to the "Jurassic World" movie to appreciate this one. Owen is still the former Navy veteran who once trained velociraptors to fight as a single unit, while Claire is no longer just a park manager but an activist fighting to save the species. No more running in heels for her in this movie. There are dinosaurs, sure, but we've seen most of them in previous flicks. And the rescue op for the movie is anything but: it's a rehash of the themes of "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" but with a more mercenary streak. Except it does try for something different. Twenty-five years after the first "Jurassic Park" movie, the wonder of seeing prehistoric creatures come to life is almost gone. Director J. A. Bayona doesn't just shock and awe but goes for something more visceral: pure terror. He does this by accomplishing several things: First, he sets up the story by giving it a sense of scale. Mammoth mansions, huge vistas and towering dinos that fill the eye -- "Fallen Kingdom" is an invitation to awe. Secondly, he does callbacks to the first "Jurassic Park." Instead of John Hammond, we have Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), a millionaire who has personal reasons for wanting to save the dinosaurs from extinction. There's a child Maisie (played by Isabella Sermon), which is never a good thing when you've got tromping triceratops or a genetically bred Indoraptor lurking in the mansion. Little kids are going to have a rough time if they do see this film. Interestingly, the movie's one unique twist is introduced and then dropped immediately. I won't spoil it here but it does keep with the theme of genetic manipulation. The ending also surprises, with a callback to the original "lysine contingency" ending of the "Jurassic Park" novel by Michael Crichton. "Fallen Kingdom" may not even be talking about dinosaur extinction anymore. Guess where that leaves us? Bottomline: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" shocks and awes, and it packs plenty of scares. It ups the ante by daring to go places where previous flicks would not dare, and sets up the next one with a blowout ending. Expect a bumpy ride.<doc-sep>Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom final trailer FREE now and never miss the top Royal stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top Royal stories again. When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Three years ago the Jurassic Park franchise returned with a new story set 22 years after the events of the original film. Jurassic World revealed what Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond had envisioned before everything went wrong – a theme park with real-life dinosaurs. But it wouldn’t be a Jurassic Park movie without the prehistoric beasts been let lose and running havoc, would it? And that’s exactly what happened, with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard dealing with the massive repercussions. Incredibly Jurassic World absolutely smashed the box office, becoming the first movie ever to make over $500 million in its opening weekend - and the well-received dinosaur adventure went on to becoming the third-highest grossing film of all time with $1.672 billion worldwide. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is out this week in the UK Bryce Dallas Howard returns as Claire So no wonder Universal Pictures and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment were as hungry as caged velociraptors for a sequel, and here we are three years later with just that, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – helmed by Spanish director JA Bayona, best known for horror classic The Orphanage. The sequel is set a few years after the dinosaurs took over Jurassic World on Isla Nublar, however a volcanic eruption could see them wiped out all over again. Howard returns as Claire Dearing, the former Operations Manager of the park, who teams up with John Hammond’s old partner Benjamin Lockwood to bring the dinosaurs to a sanctuary back in the USA. Her boyfriend and the park’s old dinosaur trainer, Pratt’s Owen Grady, returns with her to locate his old raptor Blue. Yet the pair soon learn there’s more to Lockwood than meets the eye, as the prehistoric creatures start getting auctioned off, while a hybrid dinosaur called the Indoraptor wrecks havoc on the mainland. Bryce Dallas Howard & Chris Pratt in pictures Tue, June 5, 2018 Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt excite promoting the new Jurassic park film, Fallen Kingdom. Play slideshow Universal Pictures International 1 of 9 Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Teaser reveals practical effects in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Sceptical after reading that muddled synopsis? So were we, especially after much of it was already revealed in the trailers. It’s sad to say this after such a fun, adventurous return to the franchise in Jurassic World, but Fallen Kingdom is not the sequel we were hoping for. After returning briefly to Isla Nublar in the first act, that’s actually it for time spent in the Fallen Kingdom. Not to mention the comic relief from a supporting cast which barely gathers a titter. And the hilarious Jeff Goldblum’s returning role? His screen time is about one minute total. Instead, much of the plot sees the captured prehistoric creatures being auctioned off to twirly-moustachioed Texan tycoons and Russian oligarchs at a mansion somewhere back in the US. GETTY Universal release Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom featurette Fri, December 8, 2017 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Universal releases featurette showing behind-the-scene clips and snippets from the explosive movie starring Chris Pratt. Play slideshow Universal 1 of 19 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom featurette<doc-sep>Despite being massively underwhelming, Jurassic World went on to garner over $1.6 billion worldwide upon its release in 2015, and still ranks in the top five films of all-time when it comes to the global box office. A big reason for its success was the fact that audiences hadn't seen a big-budgeted dinosaur movie for a while. Its sequel and the fifth entry in the franchise started by Steven Spielberg – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, out this week in some parts of the world including India – doesn't have that advantage, and must attract audiences on its own worth. Unlike the first, which was decidedly a children's film in many ways, the follow-up makes it clear from the get-go that it wants to deliver a more satisfying story for the grown-ups. Written by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and his writing partner Derek Connolly, and directed by J.A. Bayona – best known for his 2007 horror film The Orphanage and the 2012 tsunami disaster drama The Impossible – Fallen Kingdom takes itself quite seriously, and tries to have a solemn touch with several scientific, political, and social themes. There's a grittier and darker edge to the way it's shot and how the story is handled, right from the beginning. For those that followed the film's production, this isn't surprising. Trevorrow wrote the film with Bayona in mind, and that's why the second half of Fallen Kingdom does feel like The Orphanage meets dinosaurs. The Spanish director has also compared his film to Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in how both sequels were darker than what came before, though it's become perfunctory for sequel directors to cite the former. Bayona has also spoken about how the treatment of dinosaurs in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom would directly reference the treatment of animals in the real world, and the film makes quite an effort to push in those directions. There are warnings regarding genetic experimentation, cries of saving endangered species, discussions about using them as weapons, and echoes of isolationist practices being harmful in the long run. But those themes are dealt with in as perfunctory a manner as Bayona's Star Wars reference, as the film is happy to oblige and hand audiences what they've come for. Because Fallen Kingdom doesn't have the time investment of a television series, its desire to reckon with the greed, selfishness, and neglect humans have for dinosaurs and also present the latter as vicious creatures who can tear apart the former in less than a second turns into a fast-swinging pendulum, with the filmmakers and (possibly) good storytelling on one end, and the studio and (obvious) piles of money on the other. It's an impossible balancing act, and it turns the newest Jurassic Park film into an unoriginal adventure whose soul is as authentic as the dinosaurs on screen. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom begins by acknowledging who and what made Jurassic World the theme park possible. Three years have passed since the events of the first film, and the dinosaurs find themselves facing certain death after a previously-dormant volcano turns active. (Whose idea was it to choose an island with a volcano in the first place?) The US government convenes and decides to do nothing, since it was a privately-made debacle. There's a point here about government regulation, but don't bother looking as the film certainly doesn't. Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Former corporate shill Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) – her character was insanely sexist in Jurassic World, and Fallen Kingdom goes all out to correct its mistakes, including giving her sensible shoes – who saw dinosaurs as property is now a dinosaur-rights activist. She's contacted soon by Sir Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) – he's a former business partner of Jurassic Park founder John Hammond (the late Richard Attenborough) – who plans to transfer the dinosaurs to another (non-volcano) island, where they can live in peace away from any tourist nonsense. A big priority of theirs is the velociraptor named Blue, which brings her former trainer, the Indiana Jones-y Owen (Chris Pratt) into the fold. Throw in a couple of Claire's new co-workers who have polar opposite reactions to dinosaurs – a systems analyst (Justice Smith) who is extremely afraid, and a medic (Daniella Pineda) who's not afraid at all – and they're set to revisit the setting of the first film, except with a highly-active volcano in the mix this time. If you're wondering that sounds like a slightly upgraded rehash of what came before, rest assured it only forms the first third of the film. The rest of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes place closer to home, i.e. where the dinosaurs were first brought back from extinction, at Lockwood's sprawling estate in Northern California. That gives the film a chance to feature its new child character: Lockwood's grandkid, Maisie (Isabella Sermon). Though she plays her role well, the film's darker intentions and a huge plot twist that's largely ignored because it'll be dealt with in the third and final chapter somewhat subdues her character. Isabella Sermon as Maisie in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Unfortunately, that's a bit of trend here. Despite Howard and Pratt's best efforts, Fallen Kingdom doesn't have any interesting places to send their characters to, and is content with putting them in one bad situation after another. Smith and Pineda are served even worse; not only do they have no arcs of their own, the film seems to completely forget they even exist now and then. And though the film's marketing has hyped the return of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), his role is little more than a minute-long cameo. Frankly, that wouldn't be that much of an issue if Fallen Kingdom delivered where it mattered most: dinosaur action. After all, they are the real stars of any Jurassic Park film. Seeing T. rex tear through the frame is like a nostalgia hit for many, and Jurassic World's biggest achievement was creating a dino-human bond, between Blue and Owen.<doc-sep>Movie: Jurassic World - Fallen Kingdom Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Ted Levine, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, BD Wong, Jeff Goldblum, and Isabella Sermon Director: JA Bayona Genre: Adventure/sci-fi Duration: 2hr 8min Story: It's been three years since Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar was the centre stage of a massive disaster. Since then a debate has engulfed the world (read the United States, because no other part of the planet matters in such cases) Should the dinosaurs that run free on that island be saved or let the volcano take care of what was interference with the course of nature? Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) who was managing the park, now runs a Dinosaur Protection Group to sway the votes in favour of saving these pre-historic creatures. When the government backs off, John Hammond's old partner Sir Benjamin Lockwood steps in to provide a sanctuary for these creatures where they can live free with no human interaction at all. In order to rescue the dinos from the erupting volcano, Lockwood's estate manager Eli Mills and Claire rope in Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) who agrees to be part of the mission to save his Velociraptor Blue. The mission on Isla Nublar turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg that is a massively sinister plan. It involves complications related to genetically engineered new species of dinosaur -- the Indoraptor -- and a secret from Hammond and Lockwood's past. Now, Claire and Owen are on a mission to save them all from the evil that is the real world. Review: Director JA Bayona has previously helmed movies like The Orphanage (horror), The Impossible (thriller), and A Monster Calls (fantasy). This gives him a unique skill set to take this franchise away from the confines of the sci-fi action into the realms of horror, all while keeping the animalistic charm of the dino-eats-dino world. He offers stunning horror imagery that pays homage to old-timey monster movies. In one scene, the Indoraptor roars atop a roof when the moon is full and it's raining, like a werewolf of yore. In another scene, when the volcano erupts and rescuers leave with whatever they can, a lone and dangerously late Brontosaurus looks at the departing boat from the pier. As the boat moves away, the smoke and lava engulf the Brontosaurus. The shadow silhouette of this agonised creature is one of the beautiful shots from the movie. Hats off to cinematographer Oscar Faura. Thank heavens that Bayona controls these urges to keep everything beautiful at the expense of the speed of the movie. Editor Bernat Vilaplana makes it brisk and engaging to keep you at the edge of your seat. The storyline developed by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly shows modern Frankensteinian monsters. They ask questions about the consequences of genetic engineering, cloning, weaponized dinosaurs, and corporate greed. Dinosaurs are, of course, doing their best to eat each other and humans. But the writers fall short in the character development of the lead pair. When we are introduced to Claire this time around, we first see her shoes. Great dig at the last time, when Claire's shoe selection in the disaster movie had become the talk of the town. She is more mature in wardrobe selection but she is still the damsel in distress Owen has to save. Rookie Justice Smith and Bryce Dallas Howard were in competition to outscream the other. She only gets one scene where she is useful. Other than that, it's dude-bro Chris Pratt's show. Pratt dials down the cowboy/Indiana Jones persona and brings in the pain of losing his beloved animals, his job, and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Claire. But that's about it. Don't expect depth here. Debutant Isabella Sermon is surprisingly good. The strongest part of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the mature vision of what shall follow this movie. The kingdom is no longer just for dinosaurs on the island or for humans in the world. They will have to learn to co-habit. Because of that, it is easy to speculate that the third movie will be closer to the concept of Planet of the Apes, avoiding the extinction of the franchise. Because it is clear that audiences will flock to the theatres to see the dinosaurs. It will just be an added bonus if the story mattered too. Verdict: The movie lives up to its name becoming a true thing of the world. It makes you chuckle, it scares, it entertains. Critic's Ratings: 3.5/5<doc-sep>
Here’s the good news: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is more fun than Jurassic World. It’s not exactly a high bar, but still a welcome surprise. In the hands of a new director, J.A. Bayona, with Chris Pratt’s high-wattage charisma on full blast and a fair amount of self-aware humor intact, there are certainly worse ways to spend a couple hours in the air-conditioned multiplex this summer. Mind you, this movie is pretty ridiculous and the script (from Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly) is not very clever – I found myself rolling my eyes almost as frequently as I found myself smiling with genuine delight. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will not stand up to rigorous scrutiny, and yet, it’s kind of an enjoyable, preposterous and thrilling ride that ticks through nostalgia beats like a shopping list. It’s a little sad how in this era of industrial franchise filmmaking a three year gap between films actually feels like quite a bit of time – or maybe it’s just a testament to how grueling the past few years have been – but, hey, it did at least seem like the right time to check in with those dinosaurs again, although I worry that our emotional investment in Owen’s connection with a velociraptor has been vastly overestimated. After a very solid, and scary, beginning, with pouring rain and genuine suspense as some scientists venture back into the defunct Jurassic World to retrieve a dinosaur bone, a helpful newscaster orients the audience with a whole lot of exposition: It’s been three years since Jurassic World closed; $800 million in damages have been paid out; and, most importantly, a dormant volcano has come back to life on the island and is about to cause an “extinction level event” that will wipe out all the remaining dinosaurs. The question of whether or not to let the dinos go extinct again has become a national debate and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire is leading the charge to try to save the animals. As a not-so-subtle nod to that other national debate about Claire’s choice of footwear in Jurassic World, our first shot of her is her feet in sky high heels (the hiking boots she wears later for all the action get their own loving close-up too). Essentially, and this is where the contrivances start, a wealthy, dying man, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), who is somehow connected to John Hammond, and his associate Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) pitch Claire on an expedition to stage their own Noah’s Ark with the dinos and transport as many species as possible to a sanctuary island. They need her to tap into the park’s security system, and also to convince Owen (Pratt) to come along and get close to the raptor Blue, his old pal who has become so anthropomorphized it’s actually surprising she doesn’t just start talking. There are some more new characters added too: A skittish computer guy, Franklin (Justice Smith), and a doctor Zia (Daniella Pineda), who come along on the journey for some comedic relief; a mercenary military guy (Ted Levine); and a cute dino-obsessed girl, Masie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon). Perhaps the most unexpected thing about Fallen Kingdom is that the “escape from the volcano” plot is just the first set-piece. It’s all a precursor to the dinos coming to the mainland. If you’re thinking, “I’ve seen this movie before,” just wait, it get so much more derivative than you would ever imagine possible. Bayona, who also directed The Impossible and A Monster Calls, is good enough to pull it off. It’s the main reason why Fallen Kingdom is entertaining despite itself, but it is a shameless strategy that can only work so many times. Also, can we retire the “objects in the mirror are closer than they appear” joke at this point? Life finds a way, and so do franchises that make ungodly amounts of money. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom gets away with its unoriginality for the most part, but this franchise’s desperation is starting to show. It’s time to evolve or go extinct.