I'll be completely transparent here, if you are looking for an unbiased review of the new Jurassic World movie you have come to the absolute wrong place. This franchise is incredibly close to my heart and despite how critically panned some of the recent entries are, there isn't a single film in the franchise I don't like. So spoiler alert, I had a blast with this one. Is it flawed? Yes. But I think there's a lot to enjoy here.
The film takes place a few years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, showing us where the world now stands when it comes to the de-extinct dinosaurs that were let out into the wild. Sadly most of the animals are dying off, save for some who have found a home near the equator where the conditions are closer to what life may have been like for them 65 million years ago. A pharmaceutical company brings on covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead an expedition with the hopes of securing DNA from three of the largest creatures in hopes of developing a cure for heart disease. She is joined by the man who hired her Martin (Rupert Friend), paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and a former colleague Duncan (Mahershala Ali) as they venture into the mouth of the beast, finding a shipwrecked family along the way.
One area this clearly improves upon the previous few films is in the cast. No disrespect to Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, but the main trio here have infinitely more charisma and it makes them a lot more fun to follow. Mahershala Ali in particular just has the most infectious aura out there, and Jonathan Bailey is delightful as the handsome but super nerdy scientist. ScarJo isn't doing anything groundbreaking but she's perfectly solid, and Rupert Friend is the perfect rich asshole to play foil. The storyline with the family feels a bit forced, but I do need to shoutout Manuel Garcia-Ruffo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, and Audrina Miranda. There are some great moments between them all, their insertion into the story just feels a bit forced.
The story is probably where this suffers the most. The main journey makes sense but the pacing early on just takes a bit too long to hit its stride. More time spent on the actual island would have benefitted the film a lot in my opinion, as the journey getting there ultimately drags a bit. This film also has a pretty big emphasis on genetically mutated dinosaurs, something we've seen before in the franchise but here we essentially get the castoffs or the mistakes. The designs of these creatures are pretty cool, but as a dinosaur lover I would have preferred we get to see more real dinosaurs than made up ones. That being said, this has what may be my favourite T-Rex scene since the original Jurassic Park.
Upon seeing that this was taking place on another dinosaur infested island separate from Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, my first instinct was to roll my eyes a bit. Once we actually reach the island though I loved it as a setting for this story. The island was used as a research and development base so there is actual civilization amidst its jungles, making for some more fun scenery than just hiding from dinosaurs in the jungle. The attention to detail in the set design impressed me quite a bit, making everything feel as though it was lived in once upon a time. Of course from a visual standpoint the most important thing here is that the dinosaurs look good, and the CGI here is pretty phenomenal. The T-Rex will always be a highlight, but the film also introduces a baby Aquilops named Dolores who through a mix of digital and practical effects manages to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen. The music as always is great as well, giving a good blend of the traditional themes and some new stuff as well.
So all in all, I wouldn't put this near the top of the franchise rankings, but I thought it was a great time. A fun cast, some great tension, and a whole lot of dinosaurs, I left the theatre happy. A very biased 4/5
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