Nostalgia can't cover many plot and scripting holes

Rating: 5/10 (18 June 2015)

Personally, I am baffled as to why this has gotten such positive reviews. I never expected it to be better than the first film but I didn't think it would be so far below it.
The film aims to pay homage to the first. So much so, I found myself rolling my eyes by the second half of the movie with how many shots echo the first film. In fact, by the end I was annoyed that it pretty much ripped off the whole first film and didn't have the decency to do it well. Within the first film, there was a large amount of tension. You really felt like the main characters were in danger and felt scared. But in this film I did not believe that any main characters were in danger even though they were depicted as such. For a film that has lots of 'scary moments' I really didn't feel any tension and you could tell straight away who was going to be dino chow. Yes, I am making lots of comparisons with the first film however it echos it so much you can't help but do so.
There are some positives of the film - It is cool to finally see the park in action and thriving. Having the John Williams theme within the film does create the nostalgia and feeling of continuity. CGI in most parts is good though I found the CGI textures look too shinny - the first used real props which made the textures look more real.
Now for some major issues of the film. Seriously, the most plausible part of this movie is actually creating the dinosaurs.
The characters act in the most stereotyped way it's ridiculous. The brothers - texting teenager who checks out every girl (even though he has a girlfriend) and the younger but super smart one who is scared for their parents divorcing. The 'villian' and his motives for using the dinosaurs. His actions throughout the movie were so predictable it was laughable.
The male and female leads. Possibly the worst scripting for the female lead - Laura Dern's character was smart and believable. Bryce Dallas-Howards part was so one dimensional it wasn't even plausible for her transition from uptight CEO to searching the jungle for the kids to shooting dinos. Oh and all in a white pant suit and high heels!!! Then we have Chris Pratt. Really, raptor wrangling??? Come on, the first film made them scary and gives no plausibility that human interaction would be possible beyond being their meal. Now we have Chris Pratt jumping in there being the raptor whisperer. Please!!
And there are some serious plot holes that are in effect to keep the film rolling. First, we have a large resort with dangerous animals and situated in a tropical cyclone area. How is there NOT a proper evacuation protocol in place other than mustering people into the one congregated space where the dangerous animals can enjoy a buffet. Then there is the supercharged Rex. Who has these abilities that allowed her to escape her enclosure then never uses them again. Oh and this enclosure has smaller walls than she is high, so that totally makes sense. And the Gyrospheres - why would there not be an auto-recall function for safety purposes? And taking the sphere for a ride off road after an evacuation call AND through a suspiciously torn gate seems like a great idea. Eye rolling was occurring frequently after this point.
Overall, I was strongly disappointed with the film. It had great potential to be equal to the first but fell far below. But since it's done so well in the box office, it seems I am in the minority of my views.