Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

​Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
 
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
 
As soon as I heard that Jurassic World was getting a sequel, I was immediately not interested. Where could the franchise go after Jurassic World?  It could only go one of two directions. Get worse and fall into a cesspool trapped in time or it could somehow improve. I’m here to tell you, that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom does neither of those, but at the same time it has its moments that exceed it’s predecessor. Does that make it a good movie? By no means is this movie, good, but it does a lot of things that Jurassic World wishes it could have done.
 
Ian Malcolm: Genetic power has now been unleashed. And of course, that's gonna be catastrophic.
 
The film opens up with a group of mercenaries who are scavenging the remnants of Isla Nublar to collect the remains of the Indominus Rex, which is at the bottom of the lagoon. Unfortunately, things are not as dead as they appear. A Tyrannosaurus Rex and of course a Mosasaurus appear to eat various teams. And, unfortunately because this movie needs a plot, despite this the mercenaries recover the Indominus Rex DNA. I wonder what they are going to do with it? 

We switch to Washington DC where a debate takes place on if the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar should be saved as the volcano is about to erupt. Ian Malcom returns, and offers that the dinosaurs should be allowed to perish.

Don’t worry, not everyone agrees with Ian Malcom, as Claire Dearing has established the Dinosaur Protection Group to save the animals. Because, she has gone completely one eighty degrees from corporate starling to animal rescuer. The film tries to parallel her path with Hammond from The Lost World, it doesn’t work. We have no character development onto why Claire is doing this, instead here is Claire a character who for some reason has a change of heart.

Claire meets up with Benjamin Lockwood, who is one of Hammond’s former partners. He invites Claire to his estate where she meets is aid Ali Mills. At the estate a plan is revealed to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary. Claire needs to go to the island and reactivate the park’s tracking system to locate the animals, mostly Blue, the last surviving Velociraptor.

To do this she meets up with Owen Grady and his alpha male complex. Although, Claire has changed, Owen has not, unfortunately. However, after guilting Owen he agrees to follow them to the island. Their team consist of  Zi Rodrigruez a paleo-veterinarian and Franklin Webb who is IT for the DPG. (Ha, so original) The team meets up with the Lockwood/Mills paid mercenary team led by Ken Wheatley to find Blue.
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On the island, we see the disparity that has transitioned since the park closed down. There are scenes that are both reminiscent from Jurassic Park and The Lost World and even Jurassic World. The volcano is slowly fuming in the background. Building to something that will happen latter. Also, we found out the mercenaries have already been capturing dinosaurs without the tracking system, which is a red flag. Claire and Franklin get through security and turn on the tracking system. 

​Grady goes with Rodriguez to capture Blue. However, the mercenaries double cross them, who didn’t see this coming after the first red flag? Wheatley even tranquilizes Owen. They take Rodriguez and Blue, and thanks to mismanagement, Blue is injured. It is at this point that the volcano erupts. There is a funny scene with Grady being woke up by a Sinoceratops licking him. But, the lava is coming close and Grady has to deal with the effects of tranquilizer and escape the lava. Meanwhile dinosaurs are trying to flee the eruption, a Baryonyx even enters the area where Claire and Franklin.
Everyone escapes the island. But, a lone scene of the last Brachiosaurus really makes you tear up. If this movie does anything, it has some really good heart-quenching scenes. Franklin, Grady and Claire sneak aboard the ship and find Zia with Blue. However, Blue needs a transfusion and the only creature who can do it is a T-Rex. Another funny scene features the T-Rex getting his blood into a blood bag. It also actually features bonding between Owen and Claire. *shocker*

At the estate the dinosaurs are going to be sold to an action. Masie, the granddaughter of Lockwood finds this out. She wants to protect the dinosaurs and tells her grandfather of Eli Mill’s betrayal. Also, she follows Eli down below to a secret laboratory. There she sees a video where Owen Grady trains Blue. Her video viewing is interrupted by Wu and Eli who talk about a new creature called the Indoraptor. Which, Masie bumps into only for her to get captured.

She isn’t alone, as our apparent protagonists, Claire and Owen are also apprehended. This is while the auction goes off. Owen does his most proactive thing in the whole movie, and one that is still weird. He uses a Stygimoloch to escape. Trust, me this is just the beginning of the lunacy. So bear with me.

Wu wants Blue’s DNA, unaware that she has been contaminated with T-Rex DNA thanks to the blood fusion. Blue is let out by Zia and Franklin, the latter of which tried to save her. Masie informs her grandfather, but Eli ends up killing him off screen.

Masie finds Owen and Claire and the three of them watch the auction taking place. The Indoraptor is brought out and showed in a limited field test. Despite not initially being up for sale, as he is a prototype. Yes, the Indoraptor is a he, the Indoraptor is sold for twenty-four million dollars. Wu protests, but don’t worry the real hero of the movie, Stygimoloch interrupts the Bilionarie’s Black Market Party.
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The area is clear, until Wheatley, who now takes the role as the Jurassic Park franchises most idiotic villain opens up the cage and tranquilizes the Indoraptor, only letting it out in the process. The Indoraptor kills him and many of the guests. The beast then hunts Masie, Claire and Owen. In the escape, it is revealed that Masie is not Lockwood’s granddaughter, but a clone of his daughter and that is what pushed him and Hammond apart. 

Its so cute!!!!!!

​Blue goes and saves Masie from Indoraptor, like a guard dog or superhero. I don’t know, Blue is basically the hero as he only kills the bad guys. In the ensuing epic battle on the roof, Blue and the Indoraptor fight in a free fall until the latter falls through the glass ceiling and gets impaled on a Triceratops fossil. A pretty metal way to end. Poisonous gas however has been leaked into the dinosaur cages. Claire hesitates to save them. But, Masie the real hero of the movie presses the buttons letting the dinosaurs roam free. In the ensuing stampede Eli is killed by a Tyrannosaurus and Carnotaurus in a scene eerily similar to Eddie’s death in Lost World.
 
The film ends with Dr. Malcom once again giving us a movie quote.
 
Ian Malcolm: How many times do you have to see the evidence? How many times must the point be made? We're causing our own extinction. Too many red lines have been crossed. And our home has, in fundamental ways, been polluted by avarice and political megalomania. Genetic power has now been unleashed and of course, that's going to be catastrophic. This change was inevitable from the moment we brought the first dinosaur back from extinction. We convince ourselves that sudden change is something that happens outside the normal order of things, like a car crash, or that it's beyond our control, like a fatal illness. We don't conceive of sudden, radical, irrational change as woven into the very fabric of existence. Yet, I can assure you, it most assuredly is. And it's happening now. Humans and dinosaurs are now gonna be force to coexist. These creatures were here before us. And if we're not careful, they're gonna be here after. We're gonna have to adjust to new threat that we can't imagine. We've entered a new era. Welcome to Jurassic World.
 
 
This movie is a train wreck. It doesn’t know if it wants to stay on the island or be a super hero movie. Claire’s sudden change of character makes no sense and her and Owen accomplish little except for be our eyes and ears of the film. Which, I kind of like them better that way, but still the two characters are boring and not well written. Its said when Masie and Blue, and even the damned Stygimolich are more proactive than our two supposed protagonists. Should have just had Masie and Blue as the main characters and let out those two and given more time to those characters.
 
There are a few scenes that are done really well. The scene of the Brachiosaurus at the docks, is very sad and probably the best scene in the movie. And, despite it being shot like a Spiderman movie the end fight featuring Blue and Indoraptor is at least enjoyable, although I did face palm during the whole scene. Also I chuckled at whenever the Stygiomolich was on screen, it was both cute and ridiculous. This movie really decided to go into absurdity like a Showa Godzilla flick and when it did I actually enjoyed it more. Just take out all the serious saving dinosaurs and go all shlock and maybe you might find something enjoyable about this film. Its not a good Jurassic Park film, but it is still in its own way sometimes very entertaining. The sum of it’s parts are greater than the whole movie. It is more enjoyable than Jurassic World at it’s best, but at its worse it is pretty forgettable and plagued with an unfocused script.
Don’t worry I already have a theme for October, it’s going to be spooky. 

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