"Life cannot be contained. Life breaks free," and this is exactly what happens in the latest installment in the Dino world, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. With director JA Bayona behind the steering wheel, trying to control the plot and the script from going haywire, alas, there's not much to save right from the beginning. Looks like the writers Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow made a shiny, metallic cage to capture the audience's attention but forgot to hang in the meat to capture the T-Rex, in this case, the story.
The second installment of the planned trilogy, which in itself is a reboot of the original Jurassic Park franchise, fails on every level till you realise that the entire series died a long time ago and you are just chewing on dry jerky with no juice or nutrients left. The film starts on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, off Central America's Pacific coast and follows Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they must rescue the remaining dinosaurs on the island before a volcanic eruption destroys it. The 'key difference' here was said to be the shift of the main villain from Dinosaurs to the greed of humans but hasn't this always been the case? Somewhere deep down even the makers knew that the 'scary nature of the beast'' formula has run out of fuel so to reenergise the concept they turned to another, more advanced beast - 'the science'.
The entire treatment of the film feels so worn out that you start questioning the motives of the characters and judging their actions because one is done judging the makers for bringing the same story again and again and again (multiplied by 5). Talking about the cast, Chris Pratt is hot in action after featuring in the highly successful Avengers: Infinity War. Impressively, the actor sheds his 'dude attitude' and go all lean and mean, minding his business in Fallen Kingdom. Owen is a lot more serious this time, saving us at least, from the unnecessary man-child issues. Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Daring is fine with her role, and it's good to see her run in combat shoes this time, instead of heels. Rafe Spall as Eli Mills is the typical money-minded villain with nothing new to bring to the table, which by the way, isn't so bad considering even the makers are thriving on passable presentation.
The film pretends to be more than an adventure ride this time and again it's just the dinosaur action that still rules. It's astounding that even after 25 years of experiencing same thrills, moves and near-death moments, any close-up of the beast is enough to get the heart pumping, every time.
There have been several moments in the past when the series should've been put to rest. The 2015 revival was unnecessary but Pratt's Marvel fame combined with some nostalgia made it bearable. The same can't be said about Fallen Kingdom. There was no need to save flesh-eating ultra-dangerous, cloned beasts from a natural phenomenon and then running from them again. It feels like all the characters in the franchise need therapy to curb their suicidal approaches, seeking release from this world one crunch at a time. We know a world without dinosaurs is not perfect but at least there's one less death-inducing problem with their extinction.
In the film Dr. Ian Malcolm says "These creatures were here before us, and if we’re not careful, they’re going to be hereafter. " Well looks like the Legendary team is in no mood to let them go and we can't do much but hope that the makers come up with an all-out mega end for the franchise with the last part of the trilogy. The franchise certainly needs to end and they better do it while people are still, somewhat, in love with the T-Rex and the Dilophosaurus.
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