The park is gone, but the franchise remains. On the heels of the success of 2015's Jurassic World, there's quite a bit of fan enthusiasm to see what Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has in store for its release later this month. Luckily, CinemaBlend's own Mike Reyes was able to see the film, and his review promises a top-notch summer blockbuster. In his review, Mike wrote:
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a high-class summer blockbuster, with some unexpected emotions, a heap of the action that one would expect from such a film, and a dash of surprisingly dark moments that folks have been waiting for since Michael Crichton's book first hit shelves. This movie needs to be enjoyed in a setting that is as big and as loud as you can get it, simply because it deserves to loom larger-than-life over its audience.
It looks like you can start getting excited, folks. Mike's review not only suggests that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a good movie, but he also notes that the film balances out its fun with some darker edge that feels reminiscent of the classic Michael Crichton source material. Like some other monster movies that have debuted this year such as A Quiet Place, this is one that earns the theatrical experience.
That sentiment is echoed in THR's review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as A Monster Calls director J.A. Bayona has apparently tapped into his talent for bringing otherworldly creatures to life and created an atmospheric blockbuster that honors the traditions of the genre and the franchise. THR wrote:
Bayona not only nods to the histories of classic monster movies and the legacy of original Jurassic helmer Steven Spielberg; he brings his own experience to bear, treating monsters like actual characters and trapping us in a vast mansion that's as full of secrets as the site of his breakthrough 2007 film The Orphanage. Audiences put off by some dumb characterizations in the last film have much less to complain about here, while those requiring only some spectacular predators and exciting chase scenes should greet this outing as warmly as its predecessor.
It also seems that the switch from director Colin Trevorrow to J.A. Bayona has arguably served Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom well. Vanity Fair's review of the film notes that Bayona has tapped into the current boom of the horror genre and really shines as a filmmaker when he moves away from the DNA of other Jurassic sequels like The Lost World. In its review, Vanity Fair said:
Having Bayona behind the wheel, rather than Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow (who has a writing credit on this one), helps on that front as well. While the first half of the film is a petty perfunctory rehash of 1997's The Lost World, with poachers rounding up dinosaurs for profit and a little bit of sport, the second half of Fallen Kingdom does something nifty. Bayona revisits some aesthetics and moods from his lauded 2007 horror film The Orphanage by turning Fallen Kingdom into something of a spooky mansion movie, rainy and atmospheric and full of creeping shadows.
However, not every critic is quite so enamored with the return of the dinosaurs. In fact, while Indiewire noted in its review that J.A. Bayona does a commendable job making a solid action movie out of a bad script, the elements of his strength as a filmmaker don't blend properly. The review said:
Despite the awful characterizations and plot twists of Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow's screenplay, it appears that Bayona made an effort to mine great set pieces from the material. It often seems like he's trying to stuff elements of his three previous features into a single blockbuster jolt: There's the creaky house of his masterful horror movie "The Orphanage," the child-versus-beast dynamic of "A Monster Calls," and the apocalyptic natural chaos of his tsunami survival story "The Impossible," all packed with all the organizing principles of a sandbag. Look for a nifty long take in the confines of a flooded capsule, a genuinely eerie bedroom showdown, and another one that finds humans battling a giant carnivore while dangling from a roof made of glass.
That's what some of the critics have to say about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom so far, but make sure to catch the movie in theaters on June 22 to see it for yourself!
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