Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Three years have passed since the catastrophic incident on Isla Nubar that claimed many lives. The dinosaur park “Jurassic World” has since been closed, and the cloned prehistoric lizards were left to romp around on the island. But that’s over now, the island’s volcano, which is active from time to time, threatens to finally erupt and destroy all life there. While most are secretly happy with the end of the chapter, there are some who wish to preserve the dinosaur species. And so, Eli Mills ( Rafe Spall ) enlists former Jurassic World director Claire Dearing ( Bryce Dallas Howard ) and other activists to mount a major rescue operation that soon includes former dinosaur trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt ) involved. But when they arrive on the island, they soon find out that they haven’t been told the truth about everything.

Even the greatest optimists would hardly have predicted in 2015 what a success Jurassic World would be. The long-awaited fourth part of the Jurassic Park saga brought in 1.67 billion dollars. That was not only enough for the current fifth place in the most successful films of all time, but it also made director Colin Trevorrow the new hope for a blockbuster. And after Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt also established himself at the forefront of acting stars. Three years later, not that much of it is left. Trevorrow had to withdraw from Star Wars after The Book of Henry flopped and got kicked out hear a lot of mockeries. Pratt should also be painfully aware by now that he alone isn’t necessarily a crowd-puller. And anyway, would you be curious enough to look at the same concept for the fifth time, in such short succession?

What made Jurassic World stand out three years ago was the sense of wonder at the majestic creatures that roamed the island, coupled with humor. Sometimes he was simply in a good mood nature, sometimes a bit more biting when it came to the subject of commercial exploitation. None of this can be found in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Finding new ways is usually more of a plus. But if these paths lead nowhere and the entire rest of the film consists of clichés and characters behaving idiotically, then that’s relatively useless. Women are allowed to screech here primarily again to lure the dinosaurs in, while experienced soldiers can be fooled as if they had never been to war.

Annoyances are not necessarily uncommon here, in fact, they become more frequent over time. Anyone who is badly injured one moment turns up jolly in another place the next. Compared to the predecessor, the figures have rather decreased than increased. Once again there is a quota child. There are far too many repetitions, the well-known scenes are warmed up despite the signs of great wear and tear. And kitsch is also back, Hollywood insists. If the whole thing had been connected with a wink, you might have put up with the whole thing. After all, as head-turning nonsense, the series was quite fun. But that’s how Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom stays despite its greater ambitions, one of the most colorless blockbusters of recent times doesn’t do justice to the scenario, or the director, simply doesn’t manage to set any real impulses on the fifth attempt.

• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom