From Spanish-born filmmaker J.A. Bayona, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a serviceable and amusing-enough sequel, delivering an unexpectedly bland story that’s tolerably fun. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return for another disastrous adventure through science run amok, littered with lovely screensaver images that ultimately fall flat.
The dinos wreak havoc on Blu-ray with an outstanding, reference-quality DTS:X audio and 1080p video presentation that’s sure to unleash chaos to home theaters. With a small but decently informative assortment of supplements, the overall package is Recommended for fans of the franchise who are not planning to make the jump to 4K any time soon.
Early into Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the direct follow-up to Colin Trevorrow’s 2015 box-office juggernaut, Jeff Goldblum makes an appearance reprising his role as chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm from Steven Spielberg’s original and now-classic Jurassic Park. Testifying before a Senate hearing on whether the dinosaurs from the previous movie should be saved from an impending volcanic eruption, the mathematician suggests allowing the cloned animals to once again go extinct.
He reasons humanity has done enough damage to the natural order of things and rescuing the animals will only lead to more harm. Of course, this being a franchise specifically about engineered dinosaurs and human interference, someone is bound not to heed the doctor’s logical warning. And in a cinematic universe where characters are fully aware of the devastation and fatalities caused in the previous films, it’s admittedly interesting, if also somewhat entertaining, to watch those characters ignore history and think they can avoid repeating the same mistakes.
The man leading the rescue mission from the bed-ridden comfort of his massively luxuriant estate is Sir Benjamin Lockwood (an underused James Cromwell), John Hammond’s former business partner. Naturally, he hires Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) to return to the island they narrowly escaped a few years earlier because they possess a particular set of skills necessary for this ambitious operation — along with also thwarting the obvious evil plans introduced in the second act.
Derek Connolly and Trevorrow’s script reunites the two stars for this sequel in the most contrived manner that feels largely like a repeat of their first meeting. Claire is tasked by a superior to essentially fetch Owen, who is now building a cabin instead of working on his motorcycle. (You know, typical manly stuff.) Part of the fun in the first movie was the chemistry-driven banter of Howard and Pratt, which continues here for the most part, but it’s not quite as amusing or comedic. As romantic leads, their charm feels shallow, and their predictable reunion is out of convenience.
