Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

(★★★★✩)

STEVEN Spielberg and Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park franchise consistently provokes thought without any unnecessary straying or formulaic rehashing. Not to mention, the gripping visual effects, heart-pounding thrills and suspenseful intensity. The latest offering is no different. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom balances the trademark dinosaur-based action with human drama while pushing the recurring pessimistic, naturalistic and humanistic messages.

The film succeeds in carrying forward the realism and relevance of the ethical/moral debate surrounding genetic engineering and cloning; the arrogance and fallibility of humanity; humanity’s rash, ignorant and failed pursuits of something they can’t entirely control or comprehend; corrupt corporate greed; animal rights and cruelty; and humanity’s exploiting the need to war and weaponise. In short, it’s about man playing God with disastrous consequences.

These deep-set themes are the driving force behind the whole franchise that prevent it from being just another whimsically-shallow, jump-scare, behemoth brawl. The film’s alternating interaction between dinosaurs and humans contains the right amount of edge-of-your-seat thrills, emotion, purpose and clarity.

The cast performs remarkably, with some reprising previous roles together with welcome cameo returns. Action-packed to the max, combining familiar dinosaur savagery with nostalgic callbacks and startling revelations, Fallen Kingdom is an entertainingly worthy sequel. One can only imagine to what new frontier they’ll take the next film. Perhaps, in John Hammond’s words, “... life will find a way.” – Edmund Evanson