Consigned to history
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Rafe Spall, Daniella Pineda New show of dino-might an echo of past blasts
THREE years ago, the Jurassic Park phenomenon was re-conjured to spectacular effect at the global box-office.
No-one really saw the mega-success of the franchise reboot Jurassic World coming, but it all made sense in hindsight. We love a good monster movie to munch popcorn at. And if dinosaurs are involved, all the better.
There was a strong seam of pent-up demand out there to watch prehistoric predators chase after and chew upon hapless human beings, and Jurassic World mined every last bit of it.
Now it’s time for another one but if you are expecting anything else but more of the same from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, you’ll be disappointed.
Those prepared to settle for plenty of regularly-scheduled “Behind you!” and “Gotcha!” moments won’t have any quibbles at all.
It also does not harm the entertainment prospects of Fallen Kingdom that its leading man, Chris Pratt, is the second most irrepressibly likeable figure in movies right now. (No shame in Pratt coming in at No.2. It is clear Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be holding the title belt until he feels like ditching it.)
Once again, Pratt is playing dashing dino-whisperer Owen Grady, a full-time punchline generator and part-time boyfriend of the wide-eyed sciencey nerdess Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard).
These two get along like a house that never catches alight, but hey, no-one really goes to these kind of munch’em-ups for the kissin’ and the cuddlin’, do they?
The plot of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? A bit of a fossilised fizzer, really.
The only real intriguing twist in play is that dinosaurs are now a hot commodity on the black market for near-endangered species. Understandably, the big beasts are not all that happy about being traded as spare parts for a newly weaponised strain of DNA.
Some dinosaurs comically tiptoe up adjacent to their panting prey, and all but wink at the camera before snack time starts. Other dinos (make that a lot of other dinos) comically donk their head on hard objects at opportune times, usually so a featured character can make a quick getaway.
Pratt out-runs a volcanic eruption. Rafe Spall hams it up as the villainous CEO cashing in on the dino-DNA craze. Jeff Goldblum drops by to provide a link to the original Jurassic Park trilogy.
Other than that, between the big bites and sudden frights, there ain’t too much to be remembered past the closing credits.