I was lucky enough for it to be the selection of a Mystery Movie showing at my theatre of choice, and ever since, I've gone back and forth on this movie. Not in its general ranking (I'd put it on par with Jurassic World - a ranking of all movies will be at the end of this review), but as to whether or not I think this movie is a needed step in the correct direction of the franchise. To wit...
On the plus side:
This movie did a good job of bringing a sense of wonder to seeing the dinosaurs. In particular, a scene with Titanosauruses works incredibly well due to Jonathan Bailey's Dr. Henry Loomis experiencing genuine joy at seeing and interacting with the creatures. While other movies in the franchise have tried to mimic that first scene of Dr. Grant seeing the Brachiosaurus from the original Jurassic Park, this is the first time since then that the actor's performance really hit that same level.
On the down side:
This movie continues the franchise trope of forcing a child into the story to give an artificial stakes. If there are enough likeable character, we don't need a child to worry about! The stakes are still there! In the case of this movie, we end up having very strong emotional reactions to the deaths of the various crew members of Zora and Duncan (Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali) without any of the development associated with such a reaction. I don't know if the filmmakers were afraid of killing anyone the audience would like, but as it stands, the movie makes it clear that most of these people are red shirts.
This movie continues the franchise trope of forcing a child into the story to give an artificial stakes. If there are enough likeable character, we don't need a child to worry about! The stakes are still there! In the case of this movie, we end up having very strong emotional reactions to the deaths of the various crew members of Zora and Duncan (Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali) without any of the development associated with such a reaction. I don't know if the filmmakers were afraid of killing anyone the audience would like, but as it stands, the movie makes it clear that most of these people are red shirts.
On the plus side:
Director Gareth Edwards does a great job with the action scenes. The mosasaurus sequence does a great job of capturing what would likely be a chaotic interaction with such an animal on a smaller boat. Even better, Edwards gives the audience a good layout of the ship so that when the Spinosauruses get involved, the audience can keep track of where the various characters are as they try to survive the suddenly-more-dangerous encounter.
On the down side:
The script-writing needed some more work. First off, the film posits that the world at large is 'over' dinosaurs - so much so that museums about them are shutting down because no one goes. And I'm sorry, but sharks have been around even longer than dinosaurs and people are still fascinated by them to the point there is an entire industry around interacting with them. You expect me to believe that 25ish years after they were revealed to the world at large, people are done with them?
The script suffers from the noted lack of character-building for the emotional reactions of the main characters, as noted, but also inconsistency from the characters that do get developed; most notably some quips that don't really fit the character that delivers them.
The script suffers from the noted lack of character-building for the emotional reactions of the main characters, as noted, but also inconsistency from the characters that do get developed; most notably some quips that don't really fit the character that delivers them.
On the plus side:
Scarlett Johansson continues to prove that she is a great action heroine. She gives the movie just the right amount of seriousness and goofiness that it needs to work, while believably coming across as a mercenary for hire. None of the cast are terrible (though some are unnecessary), but Johansson is the standout performance of a fairly talented group.
On the down side:
The editing of this movie - outside of the action sequences - makes me think that quite a bit of the movie was cut for time. Weird payoffs and character interactions occur throughout and it feels like something is missing that would bring it together better. The movie as it is takes over 2 hours to finish, and perhaps some better editing might've helped it feel more cohesive.
The editing of this movie - outside of the action sequences - makes me think that quite a bit of the movie was cut for time. Weird payoffs and character interactions occur throughout and it feels like something is missing that would bring it together better. The movie as it is takes over 2 hours to finish, and perhaps some better editing might've helped it feel more cohesive.
On the plus side:
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo's character might be completely unnecessary to the film, but at least they had the good sense to put him in some short-shorts for the majority of it.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo's character might be completely unnecessary to the film, but at least they had the good sense to put him in some short-shorts for the majority of it.
Overall, I'd give the movie a 7 out of 10, though it could swing to a 7.5 or 6.5 depending on the day.
Jurassic Franchise Rankings:
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(big drop)
Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World
(big drop)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
(even bigger drop)
Jurassic Park 3
Jurassic World Dominion
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(big drop)
Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World
(big drop)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
(even bigger drop)
Jurassic Park 3
Jurassic World Dominion
