Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

By Phil Lemos

Genetic engineering of dinosaurs is like corruption in government—everybody agrees it needs to be stopped and yet somehow it keeps happening. Both concepts collide early in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom when Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) testifies before a U.S. Senate hearing that the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar should be left to perish from an impending volcanic eruption.

That, of course, would make for a short movie. But against this backdrop begins the latest sequel in the Jurassic Park franchise. An expedition returns to the island to collect dino-specimens, recruiting Clare Dearing and Owen Grady (Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt) for expertise and assistance. What seems like an altruistic mission takes a sinister turn when Clare and Owen realize the soldiers are mercenaries bringing the dinosaurs to America to auction them off, and for more genetic tinkering. That tinkering spawns the Indoraptor, a Velociraptor/Indominus rex-hybrid and the movie’s resident killing machine.

An uneven plot hampers character development, leading to cartoonish antagonists and detracting from the ethical issues the movie raises. But, as expected, the dinosaurs steal the show. A Brachiosaurus screaming for help on the lava-consumed shore after missing the rescue ship plucks at your heartstrings. And the climactic title bout doesn’t disappoint when the Indoraptor and Blue the Velociraptor battle on the rain-soaked roof of the auction estate.

Phil Lemos is a current degree candidate at The Mountainview Low Residency MFA in Fiction and Nonfiction.