A 90's Summer Blockbuster for the Next Generation

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2015)

I feel spurred on to write this review from the barrage of hate and negativity I've read online from the keyboard warriors, I really can't see why they hate the film so much, I thought it was fantastic. Maybe this is because I've only watched one trailer and avoid all other promotional material (I always do this because I find these days just too much is given away). To me this is had the same awe and spectacle as seeing the original when I was 12, yes it's hard to live up to a classic film 20 years later, you can't instantly pin down a classic, but I believe this was a really good sequel, much better than all the other Jurassic Park sequels and many other 2nd films in franchises.
It's hard to wow an audience these days but I believe that this film managed to bring back that summer blockbuster feel of the 90s. It was easy to gloss over some of the more negative elements for me, the product placement at the beginning was excessive and obvious, especially as the film was taking about the commercialisation of everything. It almost felt like a commercial for Mercedes at one point. But to get into the details without spoiling, basically Chris Pratt was great as Peter Quill Dinosaur hunter, we can gloss over that too, because he came across as totally bad-ass and believable, and Bryce Dallas Howard who had the most in the way of character development didn't feel stereotyped or forced, quite identifiable actually, and her chemistry with Pratt was superb.
Yes the plot was quite obvious, but they did say this was a mix of remake and sequel, so some elements are going to be reused. For one I didn't actually find the kids irritating, even less so than the whiny brats in the original film. They actually had a point being there and were even able to show resilience, being able to look after themselves, they were not just there to be saved. The deaths seemed to hit home more, although we instantly knew who was going to get eaten, this didn't distract from the fun of watching it happen. There was enough twisting and turning of the plot to keep us on our toes and plenty of scares, I don't think I've jumped so much for years! There were loads of geeky nods to the original film which make us very happy and the supporting cast were all good and believable without being stereotyped, (which happens so often in sci-fi movies,) especially BD Wong, now that's a villain for the 21st century.
I wont go further into the plot, I just think you need to go see this film. It's action packed, CGI madness, but deserves a lot higher praise, especially after the disappointment this year of Avengers 2. I can easily see this spurring on more films and with this level of quality I can't wait to see what comes next as it was a brilliant addition to the Jurassic Park world!