A decent effort- but the franchise is moribund

Rating: 5/10 (2 November 2015)

The fourth in the "Jurassic" series, this film has divided opinion. It is easy to understand why.
As an addition to the series it is derivative, clichéd, lazy and half baked. As a stand- alone action film it is rather good.
The problem with the series is that the original brought together great writing with Michael Crichton, a great idea, ground breaking special effects, and Spielberg. That is a potent combination.
Four down the line, there is no Michael Crichton, no original idea, great special effects and no Spielberg. The wonder has gone.
Which if you are checking out the series for the first time, is fine. Bryce Dallas Howard is hot, Chris Pratt is handsome, and there are lots of dinosaur moments eating each others, and humans. Yet once you have seen the dinosaurs doing their thing, and the genetically modified super dinosaur doing his/her thing, the tension drops, and on an island, there are only so many people you can eat. The jeopardy isn't really there. A risible sub plot of a team developing raptors for military purposes is, risible. The breathy claim that they could have worked wonders in Tora Bora is just stupid.
The original was a great film, this is just good entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that.