Sequel stuffed with silliness
outrunning a volcanic eruption, but some of the other plot developments – which are too spoilerific to give away – are just too daft to give a free pass.
Because the dinosaurs – bar one, geneticallymodified creation – are more heroic than ever, Trevorrow and Connelly decide to make a chunk of their human characters the film’s antagonists.
To say they overdo this would be an understatement, with one male in particular behaving so manically and psychotically you half expect him to reveal he’s related to Norman Bates.
The trailers gave away all the best action beats relating to the volcano set-piece and while it still thrills, the fact there’s still an hour and change left of the movie afterwards leads to an overload of dialogue-heavy scenes, most of which play out in tight, uncinematic locations.
The first film was steeped in nostalgia and
The T-Rex roars back onto screens in Fallen Kingdom this one tips its hat to Spielberg’s sequel The Lost World – although Bayona makes a better job with the off-island events.
Bayona’s background in horror (The Orphanage) comes to the fore during latter stalk n’slash – or should that be creep n’claw? – sequences that rate among the flick’s finest.
Complete with glint in his eye, Pratt is a charismatic delight and while he doesn’t stick around long, it’s nice to see Jeff Goldblum’s Dr Malcolm back.
It all ends with an intriguing set-up for a third entry; albeit one that leaves you wondering where the hell they’re going to go from here!