Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [Blu-ray/DVD] [2018]

The film is a decent flick, though the recycled story has more holes than a dinosaur chew toy. It's a parade of illogical choices, one after another, leading to a predictable ending that tries to set up another sequel. Uugh. Why can't Hollywood focus on making a good movie FIRST, and then develop sequels later? The film sees our heroes pushing to save the animals, only to be double-crossed by the big evil company guys (sound familiar? yeah, same basic story as The Lost World). Instead of making the logical choice to bring the dinos to one of the other islands (remember, there are multiple islands for the Jurassic Parks), they instead haul them to California for their illegal operation.... An operation that in and of itself defies logic. The second half of the movie is the usual assortment of jump scares and scooby-doo-esque chase. The CG looks great and the action is entertaining enough, just don't expect any level of intellectual stimulation or character depth like the original (Jurassic Park, not Jurassic World). The characters themselves feel wooden, forgettable token set pieces - nerdy computer guy, feisty female vet, smug evil corporate dude, maximum testosterone hunter guy, ect. - and even the two main stars, Chris and Bryce, feel like they're playing this by-the-numbers without any real emotional investment. The ending, as I said, feels illogical and forced just to keep the sequel cash train moving. Probably would not recommend the film unless it's for kids who don't care about plot or character structure and just want to see cool dinosaurs. The story is subpar, the characters are meh, only the CG really a highlight. Do yourself a favor and go with the original instead. It's so much better than this.

I must admit I enjoyed the the JP series and found the first JW one of the best of the series. Typically, I rent a movie to see if I like it, before spending the money, especially on the 4K disc. This time, my impression of the first JW had me racing to Best Buy for the sequel un-previewed. (In fact, I almost purchased the 3D version too!) Thank heavens I didn't. Well, what a disappointment. The visual detail was great and I enjoyed the special effects, but the story line was so insanely ridiculous, it made resurrecting dinosaurs seem practical. Without giving much away, the premise is that a volcano is decimating Isla Nublar, the reptiles version of a dilapidated Turks and Caicos, and our heroes, Chris Pratt and Bryce Callas Howard, decide to save the dinosaurs in the world's wackiest interpretation of the Endangered Species Act. Do-good instincts aside, there is no earthly reason to save a species that Mother Nature already decided to terminate, man unnaturally resuscitated, and that has caused little but carnage and misery. But to then transport the dinosaurs to another island so their havoc can regenerate seemed calculated with the sole objective of keeping the series going. In short, for me, the story line came across as completely manipulative and devoid of even a token of plausibility. But, if you don't care about the story, the sounds and visual impact were above average and alone could provide an entertaining evening's feast.

Had do to 5 star to balance the insanity of previous reviews. Movie was pretty solid, did a good job building up how horrible and sickeningly greedy people will go. Kept the over arching Jurassic Park themes and did a ton of call backs... had the same flavor and kept the set pieces confined which I liked a lot. It had a bunch of scenes though that felt like the director was trying way way too hard, almost painfully hard, to make some sort of 'iconic' moment and it just came off empty. That said still really enjoyed where the movie went over all. The steelbook, I feel like they could have done it better, for my personal taste anyway... as a professional in graphic design, it falls disappointingly short in my eyes. Both dinosaurs have streaks of colors for instance, and with the overall design of the cover, you could have acciented those with this design to stunning effect, especially the Gold in the indoraptor, and balanced that with Blue's coloring perfectly. It feels like a complete waste of the source material and a rather half hearted effort by the designer, inside is also lacking any sort of inspiration given the set pieces... photos in the movie that matter, layouts, housing, island exploding, countless options and they phoned it in... Its gone from definite buy to ... have to think about it for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first reboot of this franchise, Jurassic World, as it breathed new life into the franchise and updated it for today's viewer. Chris Pratt's performance in the first movie also was a welcome addition to the ensemble cast that have been making these movies. However, for this sequel, i dunno; it just felt like a sequel made for the sake of making another one. The performances felt phoned it, and while the story itself is unique/original and a great premise for a sequel, there was just too much retreaded territory - how many times is the T-Rex going to come in just in time to save the day? That rehashed plot line has become rote and overplayed; how about some emotional jeopardy with the T-Rex actually being out-predatored the next time..? Also, can we get some growth/depth to the characters? Can BDH's character show some emotional growth, and Pratt's as well? Anyway, it's worth an initial viewing, but don't expect anything new or the same wow factor as the first (rebooted version, not from the 90s movies) one.

The first Jurassic World rocked my world and the 16:9 3D treatment was not too shabby. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Jurassic World 2 - something we should have understood when we saw that it's awful subtitle was Fallen Kingdom (Who came up with that?) This movie starts out dark and ends in the dark, like most Marvel movies. Dinosaurs running round in the basement of a mansion in northern California may sound boring - but it's actually super boring. Then one crawling round on the roof to eat our heroes. Give me a break. Finally the great revelation that the granddaughter is actually.... (never mind I won't "spoil it"). As for the "3d" the Blu-ray producers simply slapped a 3d tag on the release to make a few extra bucks but seem to have forgetten to actually include 3d on the 3d release - except for a few scenes in the best part of the movie when the volcano erupts and the dinos start running. Skip this and watch the new version of The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix instead.

Fallen Kingdom is not Jurassic World, and metacrtic and Rotten Tomatoes confirms this. I belong in the group that enjoyed this movie. It is a well made film with its moment; however, what I like about this movie is that is break the formula. Yes the dinosaurs are still running round and eating the humans, but there is a character in this movie that moves the story forward. For people who have seen this movie, they might know who I am referring to. For people who haven't see the film, I do not want to reveal too much. Once the reveal was made, I was glad the movie went in that direction. I also enjoyed the ending because it was time the franchise broke away from the island formula. Overall, if I can sumamrize this movie, it is a set up for the next film in the franchise. As for the blu-ray, I bought the 4k company and it is one lovely looking film.

Hey, it's Jurassic Park! It's an entertaining movie bringing back pretty much everyone (that didn't die) from the first Jurassic World of 2015. It's fun, entertaining, freaky at times and funny! Chris Pratt, what can I say. He's hilarious in this movie... sometimes corny, but most of the time you can tell he's just having fun. This movie was a fun summer flick! It was also cool to see Jeff Goldblum make an appearance! It wasn't directed by the same guy who directed the first Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow), but instead, he moved to the writers seat and let J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage & A Monster Calls) direct. Not bad. It seems Mr. Bayona knows a few things about monsters and creepiness in his movies and you can see that in this movie. It's a fun movie to watch when friends are over and you're just ready to have some fun.

As we have come to expect from this franchise, the special effects are outstanding. The volcanic explosion is as impressive as any effect in any movie; maybe more so. My only qualm is that the entire story seems designed as a set-up for the next sequel in the series. I have never accepted the premise that reptiles, no matter how intelligent we're told they were (are), can be trained to obey human prompts whether by a clicker or hand gestures and voice commands. I know this works for zoo keepers but a 200 million year old carnivorous predator? Please. Then there is the last scene which I won't disclose for those who haven't seen it. This is a ludicrous attempt to set the table for the next movie in the series. If you buy this, buy it for the special effects and the acting (which is quite good) but don't expect a great storyline.