A decent monster movie

Rating: 8/10 (24 June 2015)

We know they can clone dinosaurs, so we don't have the element of wonder from the first film. What we do have are some of the stupidest "scientific" criticisms ever made. "The dinosaurs are still shown with leathery skin instead of feathered." Well, we know some small dinosaurs were feathered, but we have no evidence on the larger ones. Whales, elephants and hippos are all mammals and theoretically have hair, but not to a casual observer. "The dinosaurs are drab colors." But so are most birds, to the point where an ornithologist friend of mine referred to many as "LBJ's" - "Little Brown Jobs." They're either trying to prey on something or avoid being prey, and camouflage helps.
Jurassic World's numbers are going flat, so the suits decide on a new and scarier dino, a hybrid of T-Rex, raptor and other things. And it's clever enough to dig out its tracking device and escape. And while it effectively destroys the security teams sent in to get it, most of the carnage in the park itself is done by flying reptiles that escape from their dome. The jury is still out on whether they had powered flight at all, and they certainly could not have carried a human, let alone the baby dino we see being lifted at one point.
And of course they have corporate bad guys. This is something of a Law and Order reunion, with Vincent D'Onofrio (the mild mannered stammering detective) as a creep with a scheme to weaponize raptors, and B.D. Wong (the prosecutor) as an amoral geneticist. D'Onofrio's demise is entirely predictable but still satisfying. Gee, a corporation shown as evil in a movie - once again. So much for "speaking truth to power."