Going in with low expectations, i was pleasantly surprised and entertained

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2015)

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World. After 10 years of operation, a new hybrid is created to re-spark visitors' interest, which backfires horribly.
The film's set up is different to the previous sequels that saw our heroes thrown into danger on Site B, the deserted island where dinosaurs roamed freely. Now on Isla Nublar, we see the billionaire John Hammond's vision realised of a safari park families can visit just like Sea World. All is well at first but park director Bryce Dallas Howard and CEO Irfan Khan's misplaced ambitions backfire as their lab designed hybrid, Indominus Rex, escapes. It's then up to Chris Pratt's ex Navy SEAL and his trained velociraptors to bring down the savage beast. Pratt's colleague Vincent D'Onofrio sees the potential in weaponised raptors for military needs. Meanwhile, Howard's two nephews need to survive and make their way back to safety.
The film treats us, the audience, the same way it portrays the on screen visitors of Jurassic World. It knows nothing can re-create that awe inspiring feeling, seeing herds of dinosaurs for the first time, we've seen it all before. We live in a different world from the 1990s. So it's attempt to one up the original park is a disaster and that's the fun part. There are several nods to the original like the safari jeeps and rearview mirror shot, but not once did i feel it was wink wink pandering. The part horror tone and tongue in cheek humour of the previous films are all intact. The effects heavy action sequences were brilliantly shot. Most of the action is centred around the new creature, but there's plenty of fresh ideas left in the tank. The pterodactyls attack was impressive and frightening. The final battle involving the Indominus Rex, a T-Rex, a raptor and a Mosasaurus is worth the price of admission.
There are a few things that bring down my enjoyment of this film. The forced romance between Pratt and Howard doesn't help, neither does the cliché back story of divorcing parents for the two kid characters. Knowing the events that took place over 20 years ago, you would think the park would have more intelligent staff and better weapons for an 'asset out of containment' scenario. At times it's as if training raptors was the only new thing they learned all this time.
Despite those negatives, i had a good time. Going in with low expectations, i was pleasantly surprised and entertained by this latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. Instead of trying to imitate the magic of the first, director Colin Trevorrow and his writing team have delivered a decent sequel that's fun, gripping and well executed.