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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Dino-mighty or dino-snores? Let’s count Jeff Goldblum’s scenes…
One strange quirk of modern cinema, and the limitless potential of CGI, is that even the sight of a photorealistic dinosaur running away from an exploding island can evoke apathy. But, thankfully, there’s a little more to Jurassic World sequel Fallen Kingdom than its yawnsome centrepiece.
Set several years after the events of Jurassic World, the prehistoric inhabitants of Isla Nublar face a new extinction-level event. With the rest of humanity unwilling to intervene, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) lead an expedition funded by Benjamin Lockwood (an old buddy of John Hammond) to swoop in and save all the dinos they can. But not everyone’s motives are altruistic.
While the first half of Fallen Kingdom follows familiar beats, climaxing in an expensive-looking but otherwise uninspiring action sequence, it’s the second half where the film shines. Set entirely in Lockwood’s spooky gothic mansion, the segue into claustrophobic horror evokes the original Jurassic Park, with new hybrid dino the Indoraptor providing the scares.
Director JA Bayona (The Orphanage) is in his element here, and lends the film a visual poetry lacking from Fallen Kingdom’s workmanlike predecessor. But by failing to deliver the goods until the mid-way mark, it’s too little, too late. Claire and Owen remain bland leads for this new trilogy, but with Jeff Goldblum returning for a brief cameo, let’s hope life finds a way to bring the old gang back together for one last hurrah. Jordan Farley