Hey friends! So today I will be reviewing the highly anticipated movie, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom starring my future husband, Chris Pratt (a girl can dream). This movie was very intense and action packed but also super fun. It had so many dinosaurs and I mean come on... who doesn't love dinosaurs?? I really enjoyed this movie and it was just a great way to escape the heat and relax for a couple of hours. I say relax loosely because this movie was INTENSE. Anyway we have some things to cover first before I get to the review so as always... LET'S BEGIN.
PLOT:
So this movie picks up a few years after the events of Jurassic World. As you remember the park didn't really work out with the release of the Indominus Rex and the havoc it created. The island is now deserted except for the dinosaurs who are roaming free. Everything seems to be okay, the dinosaurs are on a island that they can't get off of and the danger seems to have subsided... WRONG. There's a volcano on said island and it has recently become active. This is not good because if it erupts this means the extinction of the dinosaurs... again. This is where our favorite heroes come in, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt also known as Burt Macklin).
Claire is currently running a non-profit organization to help save the dinosaurs so they won't become extinct once again. She gets a call from one of the creators of the original park, Benjamin Lockwood, who wants to help her get the dinosaurs off the island. She meets up with his right hand man, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) who seems a bit sketchy but she's so determined to save the dinosaurs she doesn't really notice. There's one dinosaur they're particularly fond of saving. Can you guess who it is? If you guessed Blue the raptor, you would be correct. Well there's only one person who knows how to communicate and work with the raptors... Owen. Claire begrudgingly asks Owen for his help (apparently they broke up at some point between the two movies... boo) and he seems hesitant at first but ultimately gives in. I mean you can't really blame him. If Bryce Dallas Howard asked for your help, you would probably say yes too because she's amazing. Anyway they and a small team go back to the island to see if they can save the dinosaurs. When they get there they start to notice that Lockwood's team seem to have ulterior motives. They figure out that they want to save the dinosaurs in order to sell them off as weapons. This obviously doesn't sit well with Claire and Owen and they try everything they can to stop them. Lockwood's team successfully gets 11 species off the island, including Blue.
Why are they so intent on capturing Blue? They want to use her DNA to create yet another dominant dinosaur like the Indominus Rex. Claire and Owen sneak into Lockwood's company to stop them at any cost. This is all I'm going to tell you because I don't want to spoil it for you.
REVIEW:
As I said before this movie is very intense and action packed. It has also has great comedic moments which is expected with Chris Pratt. I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was a great follow up to the first Jurassic World. I still favor the first movie to this one but this was a strong addition to the series.
Directed by one of my favorite directors of all time, J.A. Bayona (he directed the films The Impossible and A Monster Calls... seriously guys watch these two movies, they're beautiful and will make you weep), I was pretty stoked about this film. I knew he would make it his own but still keep the same type of feel as the others. He did not disappoint. He really knows how to capture the humanity and heart of a story. Sure this movie is about dinosaurs and the craziness around that but he also creates these beautiful moments between the characters and even the dinosaurs. There's one scene that stood out to me (I don't think this spoils anything but if it does, I apologize). In this scene they have all escaped the now lava covered island and are looking back from the boat. On the dock of the island is a brachiosaurus (a longneck) watching them. He slowly gets covered by the smoke from the volcano but the camera stays on him the whole time while he's calling for them to come back. It's heartbreaking but also beautiful because it lets you as the audience member see the beauty in these animals. Sure they're terrifying and huge but they're also amazing and vulnerable like any other animal. I really loved this scene even though it made me tear up. You know the guy is a great director if he makes you feel sad about a CGI dinosaur.
Back to the action packed stuff... this movie does not let up from the very start of the film. I often found myself tensing up, my eyes glued to the screen because I just had to know what was going to happen. I love a good action filled movie so this one did not disappoint. I also really liked this movie because the girls got a piece of the action. Bryce Dallas Howard got to be an action star much like she was in the last film. She had a lot of really awesome moments. One thing I hoped for was a stand out moment for her. My favorite part of the first Jurassic World was when she led the T-Rex out of its cage with a flair to fight the Indominus Rex... all while wearing high heels. That part was so amazing because it really stood out and showed that women are just as tough as men and get things done... while looking fabulous. That's not to say she didn't have amazing moments in this film, there just wasn't one particular scene that stood out. I loved that she got to be in the action as much as Chris Pratt. In much of the last film, he mostly got to do all the action scenes but in this one they both are treated equal which I absolutely loved.
There were some new additions to the cast and I have to say I really enjoyed their performances. Justice Smith plays Franklin Webb who works for Howard's character. He's her tech guy and is able to lend them a helping hand on the island by being able to hack into the now defunct systems at the park. He had some really great one-liners and comedic moments. Bonus.. he screams like a girl which is always a great thing. He wasn't in it as much as Pratt and Howard but I always enjoyed him when he was on screen. The other new addition was Daniella Pineda as Zia Rodriguez. She is a paleo-veterinarian so you can see why she was vital to their mission on the island. She was really awesome. She was this smart, funny, snarky character that provided the necessary sass to the bad guys.
The film isn't all action, although that is a huge part of it, but there were also some really funny moments. This shouldn't surprise any of you given that it's Chris Pratt. There were many comedic moments to relieve some of the tension and let you relax for a millisecond before some other crazy thing happens.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was a great addition to the Jurassic series. I don't think I'll ever get tired of these films because they're just a fun escape. You get to go on these crazy adventures and walk among dinosaurs which who wouldn't want to do? This film is a great summer movie. It's a funny, action packed movie that has a ton of dinosaurs... you couldn't describe a better summer movie.
PARENTS GUIDE:
This movie is rated PG-13 so once again it's up to you, parents, if you'd like your children to see this. There were a few cuss words used throughout but not many. There is some violence which is to be expected with a dinosaur movie. I mean they do have to eat. Other than that it's just a really stinkin' awesome movie.
CONCLUSION:
So if you didn't figure it out already, I highly recommend this movie. If you want a fun adventure to escape your everyday life for a couple of hours, this is the movie for you. You also get to stare at Chris Pratt's face for 2 hours so yeah... can't go wrong. I'll insert one more gif of his handsome mug for you to enjoy...
I hope you enjoyed this blog and that you'll check out this film which I'm sure you will. Let me know what you thought about it. I'd love to hear your opinion. Please be sure to leave me a comment or suggestion. Tell your friends so that they can be cool like you and read this blog. Well until next time...
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