(2 / 4)
While Fallen Kingdom makes an effort to take the story in some intriguing new directions, the film disappointingly focuses on a by the numbers conflict and falls prey to the same shortcomings as the previous entry, leading to a mixed experience.
Fallen Kingdom, the follow up to 2015’s colossal box office hit Jurassic World, roared into theaters over the weekend, and with the release come some dino-sized expectations to deliver on more prehistoric action and adventure. Although not flawless, Jurassic World for the most part was able to provide fans of the franchise with thrills reminiscent of the original Jurassic Park even if the characters and overarching themes severely paled by comparison. Fallen Kingdom thankfully makes an effort to avoid falling into the common sequel pitfall of merely providing a bigger, stronger, more ferocious version of its predecessor, and attempts to take the story in some new directions. The film’s unfortunate reluctance to follow through on this initial potential, coupled with being crippled by many of 2015’s Jurassic World’s weaknesses, results in a mixed experience however.