Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

It's been three years, and I still haven't gone to Universal Studios Hollywood. I don't think I'll get to it before its Jurassic Park ride finally closes down. Instead, I'll review a film about a dinosaur park, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Is it the world's greatest dinosaur movie? I don't know, but it's a good summer blockbuster.

Isla Nublar, site of the ill-fated Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, is about to go volcanic. World's former operation manager, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is recruited by billionaire Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) and his aide, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), to rescue its endangered clone species. Blue, the last Velociraptor, is one of Lockwood's priorities. Claire recruits Raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), paleo-vet Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda) and computer wiz Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) for the mission.

Our heroes discover that Mills has a less-altruistic motive for saving the dinosaurs. That motive is the Indoraptor, a new super dino cloned from the first film's Indominus Rex. They have to keep it and the other dinosaurs from the wrong hands. 

Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow return as the writers. Trevorrow, however, gave the director's chair to J.A. Bayona. The story has several strong scenes, from the escape from Isla Nublar to the revelation of Lockwood's granddaughter Maisie's secret. But there are some problems. The evil mercenary Wheatley's (Ted Levine) fondness for dino teeth wasn't properly explained. The Indoraptor doesn't factor into the plot until about halfway through. The clash with the Indoraptor and its aftermath felt rushed. The overall plot was long for 128 minutes.

The characters made it a good sit. Claire and Owen are still funny and capable action heroes. Franklin and Zia are fun new characters. Mills and the auctioneer, Eversol (Toby Jones), are fine villains. Lockwood and Maisie's story is good and the housekeeper Iris (Geraldine Chaplin) is memorable. BD Wong's Dr. Wu was a sympathetic villain, but he apparently never learned from the Indominus Rex incident. Jeff Goldblum made a welcome return cameo as Ian Malcolm. But the star of the show is the Indoraptor, a villain who has fun being vicious.

The film's CGI dinosaurs were better realized than the last film. They weren't that obvious this time around. A few animatronic dinosaurs appear and they don't clash with the CGI creatures. The Indoraptor's escape and a Stygimoloch's rampage during the auction of evil were highlight scenes. The escape from Isla Nublar was an intense and tragic sequence. The decayed Jurassic World was a great feat of production design. Oscar Faura's cinematography gives the film an effective gothic look. And as usual, Michael Giacchino has another strong soundtrack.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom isn't a milestone in storytelling or visual effects. But it's a capable blockbuster for a summer matinee. It gives us a lot to think about the subject of science gone rogue. The ending promises big things for the world at large. Let's see what happens when it arrives in 2021.

JETHRO'S AMENDMENT: Remember the first paragraph? Well, I finally went to Universal Studios Hollywood. And the Jurassic Park Ride. Seeing it live is not like seeing it on screen.

And I didn't notice I misspelled BD Wong as BJ Wong for four years. Sorry....