OH. MY. GOSH.
I left the theater this weekend, and I wanted to cry—not because it was over, but because it was so damn good. I may see Fallen Kingdom multiple times in theaters despite the fact that modern moviegoers are selfish and oblivious (ringers on, screens on full brightness, discussing plot theories and what your neighbor Debbie would think about it mid-film). I sat in the second row to avoid these barbarians and still encountered two. However, they stowed their phones once asked to early in the feature.
Jurassic Park, written by Michael Crichton in 1990, made its theatrical debut on June 11, 1993, becoming the highest grossing weekend release that year with $47,026,828 in sales ($81,934,803 adjusted for inflation). Crichton published The Lost World in 1995, and it was adapted to film in 1997. It was also the highest grossing weekend release that year with $72,132,785 in sales ($113,352,549 adjusted for inflation). Crichton hasn’t released any additional Jurassic novels, but there have been three additional films—Jurassic Park III (2001), which has a 50% Rotten Tomatoes score and is notorious for disappointing fans, Jurassic World (2015) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
There are spoilers and strong language ahead.
1. The Cast
My husband Jeff Goldblum makes an appearance at the beginning and end of the film, reanimating his character Ian Malcolm. Once more, he pleads to let nature run its course. His cadence is, as always, aloof, rambling and alluring. He alone makes the $15 ticket worth it.
Bryce Dallas Howard and her co-star Chris Pratt return as Claire Dearing and Owen Grady, their chemistry apparent throughout the 2-hour film. They encounter new obstacles, including escaping the self-destructing island of Isla Nublar*, getting blood from the T-rex to save Blue’s life with a carnivorous blood transfusion and evading and outsmarting the Indoraptor. Sparks fly again, but I’m chalking it up to “we’re gonna die” adrenaline because they clearly couldn’t make it work the first time.
I adore Claire. She’s loosened her collar since 2015 and has focused her energy on saving the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar. She’s sharp, determined and isn’t afraid to get dirty anymore. She’s my favorite in terms of character development.
There’s a book I’ve been wanting to read called The Evolution of Claire that highlights her backstory as an intern at Jurassic World.
The year is 2004, and Claire has been given the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to intern at the Jurassic World theme park less than a year before it opens to the public. She is laser-focused, with her sights set on bettering the lives of all animals worldwide. But life at the park isn’t all test-driving gyrospheres and falling head over heels for a fellow student named Justin . . . though she does that too. Rumors and suspicions flood the island, and Claire is determined to unravel the truth.
-Synopsis of The Evolution of Claire
*Side note: Isla Nublar is the original Jurassic Park island located off the coast of Costa Rica, and its geography has slightly changed. See the 1993 map versus the 2015 Jurassic World map. I find this pretty interesting. Could it naturally change that drastically in 22 years? Is there better technology that can accurately map it? Or is it just something Jurassic World revisited to update?
BD FUCKING WONG. This guy returns as Dr. Wu, the original genetic scientist of Jurassic Park, but as somewhat of a bad guy. He’s hired by Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), to produce a hybrid like Jurassic World’s Indominus Rex. He basically creates a velociraptor twice its size with an fury that can’t be stopped, but it can be manually directed with a two-step visual and audio system. He calls it the Indoraptor, which I don’t think I’m keen on. Dr. Wu shows remorse when the villains of the film auction off the Indoraptor despite knowing that it’s only a prototype. This makes his character dynamic, which is believable. He knows he fucked up.
We have some new faces this time. Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) and Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) help Claire and Owen save Blue and ultimately the rest of the captured dinosaurs by the end of the film.
Zia and Franklin are the Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable/Wade of this film. Zia knows her shit and takes none even when she’s captured. Franklin is the nervous, techy sidekick who opens doors and is scared of dinosaurs. They’re so complimentary it hurts.
Maisie is the granddaughter of Benjamin Lockwood. Oh, and also a clone. WHAT?! Tell me more. This was not a major plot point but should have been. I’m left feeling like there wasn’t a real resolution other than Maisie realizing her status. After noting the character changes between 2015 and 2018, I’m not sure I’ll get to know more about her. But I loved her character and would like to commend Isabella for her wonderful performance.
2. The Dinosaurs
Blue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh_ucHbW5Ws
We see Blue in all her wild Beta glory for the first time in five years since the animals escaped Jurassic World. She still fittingly sports a blue pattern down her sides and bright orange eyes. This time, we get to see her as an adolescent as well, which is the cutest gosh darn thing. This adds some serious depth to her and makes us connect with this creature that we often forget is a carnivore. When she gets shot, my heart nearly fell out of my butt. When she shed a tear on the operating table, my sinuses exploded.
T-rex
I love this undying symbol. She perseveres! The Tyrannosaurus Rex returns again to kick Allosaurus ass. She plays an active and passive role in this film, which is different from her mostly active roles. It’s nice to keep her around and see her age. After all, she’s been dominating Isla Nublar for 25 years.
The Lone Brachiosaurus
This one hurt me. Even as I write this now, I’m getting emotional. After the gang leaps aboard the ship to escape Isla Nublar as Mount Sibo errupts, they look back to see one longing brachiosaurus crying for help as the smoke slowly engulfs it. They’ve been portrayed as the gentle giants of the island all this time; to see this helpless animal being left behind to meet its death was the hardest scene to keep my composure through. Spoiler, I didn’t.
Indoraptor
Yo, this guy (yes, male, confirmed at 3:16) is scary. SCARY. But by no fault of his own. Dr. Wu created him using the Indominus Rex’s DNA (mixed Velociraptor and T-Rex DNA) but was engineered to destroy. He’s twice the size of Blue with yellow-orange lines down his sides and a spiney crest. His teeth resembles that of a crocodile’s, just 1,000 times scarier. His fury is unmatched; he’s small enough to still be quick but large enough to still have powerful hits. He’s the angry, super intelligent, villainous hybrid we needed.
3. The Callbacks
T-rex & the Goat
Again, Rexy’s been with us since the beginning. We know she’s the OG because she wears the scars on her shoulder and neck from the fight scene with the raptors at the end of Jurassic Park. She’s been the hero and the villain. She’s a franchise staple. When she’s being onboarded at the Lockwood mansion, they use a goat to guide her into her cell, which is a quick reference to Jurassic Park as well. Nailed it!
Closing the Dumbwaiter
Remember this scene?
At one point in Fallen Kingdom, Maisie tries to escape the Indoraptor by tucking herself into a dumbwaiter and closing the sliding door before it reaches her. This is a quick nod to Lex (Ariana Richards) trying to close the base cabinet in the kitchen when the raptors are hunting her and her brother.
Dr. John Hammond
Richard Attenborough, who plays Dr. John Hammond in Jurassic Park and The Lost World, passed away August 24, 2014. I hope he spared no expense and had a wonderful life. Rest in Power.
In Fallen Kingdom, Dr. Hammond is a key character to establish another character’s background; he was collaborator and business partner to Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) when Jurassic Park was only an idea. We see his portrait in the Lockwood estate and a cane similar to Dr. Hammond’s, including the famous mosquito caught in amber, being used by Benjamin Lockwood.
The Lone Brachiosaurus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJlmYh27MHg
She’s the first full dinosaur we see on Isla Nublar, and she is the last. This immediately struck me during the scene and made me ugly cry so bad.
4. Cinematography
Óscar Faura worked on this film’s cinematography. His portfolio as director of photography includes A Monster Calls (2016) and Imitation Game (2014), among several others. I LOVED IT! The colors, the positioning, the layering—all of it!
5. Score
Music is powerful. Film scores usually gut me and get me tensing my glutes, and this one was no different. I left the theater and started listening to the soundtrack on my way home. No lie. Michael Giacchino produced the music for this film, as well as for Lost (2004-2010), The Incredibles (2004), Dawn of the Planets of the Apes (2014), Rogue One (2016), Coco (2017) and many others.
The Fallen Kingdom soundtrack can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and other sites.
Next Chapter
With the dinosaurs now loose on the mainland and in our oceans, the planet is changed. I’m excited to see where this goes and to hopefully get answers to some questions I have. I’m certain they’re making a third film, as Chris Pratt has joked about being contracted for “38 movies or something,” not to mention the after credit scene hints at another sequal.
Bah! A great experience. Loved the cast, the dinosaurs, the callbacks, the cinematography and the soundtrack. I grew up obsessed with a book about dinosaurs and Jurassic computer games, and Jurassic Park was released the year I was born. That’s a fact I hold dear to my heart. I love my dinos and strong, dynamic women. Can’t wait for the next one.
Megan McInroy 