JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
Root, root, root for the raptors!
Yes, during “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” you’ll find yourself whooping it up for the same dastardly dinos that once hunted Sam Neill and Laura Dern in a jungle. In this movie, the ruthless killers become scaly golden retrievers. Humans are the villains.
OK, not all humans. Some are just dopes, such as Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). The pair schleps back to the same island where they were very nearly eaten by a T. rex years earlier in order to save their beloved prehistoric clones from an imminent volcano eruption.
But the trips’ backer, Eli (Rafe Spall), would secretly rather snap up the dinosaurs and sell them to the highest bidder.
Howard gives a much better performance than in her first go-round. And Pratt, who plays the Raptor Whisperer, still has that remarkable comedic timing. Jeff Goldblum makes a cameo as Dr. Ian Malcolm.
“Fallen Kingdom” is more interesting than the usual Tyrannosaurus romps. But you can hear the eye rolls during a twist involving a little girl, which is way too philosophical for a film where dudes’ heads are bitten off by lizards.
Still, in making even the most vicious creatures more than just hungry, hungry dinos, the aging franchise has rediscovered its inner child — and ours. Running time: 128 minutes. Rated PG-13 (science-f iction violence and peril). Now playing. Read the full review at NYPost.com. — Johnny Oleksinski