Even managing to create punctual and memorable moments of action that are undeniably fun, this is not a film with the same magic or heart as its predecessor

Rating: 7/10 (13 June 2020)

This second part of the franchise has ups and downs. The first big mistake in the sequence is its totally confused synopsis. It is very clear how much the script tries to justify the sequence. How do you continue a story about a tourist amusement park located on an island where humans revived dinosaurs and ended up loosening and killing a lot of people? Now, you create another island "completely" different where dinosaurs lived by humans also live and where many people will die. Simple. While Crichton's book even took the story of Hammond's dinosaurs and Ian Malcolm's unusual return (read the books to see how unusual) through a deeper, darker and more intriguing path, Spielberg's film seems to follow little of that only in tone, not in essence.
All the initial explanation by tycoon John Hammond and the justifications presented sound a little forced, but it is still possible to buy the idea of a second island, Sorna Island, also known as "Site B", where dinosaurs were created before being sent to Ilha Nublar - island of the original film - to be exposed to the public. It is here that the plot develops with the conflict between members of the expedition sent by Hammond's nephew with the intention of capturing dinosaur specimens to be exhibited at the new Jurassic Park headquarters in the city of San Diego and the team sent by the magnate himself , who, knowing the nephew's intentions, intends to register the animals in their natural habitat, with the intention of presenting their creation to the world and making the place a sanctuary forbidden for all, thus preserving the species that live there.
Spielberg ends up deconstructing the wonderful adventure made in the previous film to build a film with a much darker theme, focused on a flawed script and characters without charisma. The choice to make a darker film is one of the worst ideas implemented. If what made the first one unique was his good humor, here he is totally lost trying to convey an idea of greater danger. And, unfortunately for the script, it is very difficult to buy that, partly because throughout the film no character - with the exception of Malcolm - seems to really convey the danger he is facing. As the mathematician had witnessed the terror caused by the dinosaurs before, he knew well what he would find on the island, justifying his initial reluctance to return to the place. This only gets worse when several other characters join the film. If the script had focused only on Malcolm's small group, until the narrative would have a chance to work, but when both groups of archaeologists and hunters come together at some point in the film, every little bit of character development is discarded and everyone gets together. they make only dead weight to be killed and eaten by the dinosaurs.
This sequel seeks to completely differentiate itself from its predecessor and tries to expand its universe and the themes of the original film in new ways. If the first film dealt with men playing gods, its continuation explores a more direct and conventional route with men arrogantly interfering in the nature that does not belong to them and which promises to fight back brutally. The choice of darker tones and poorly lit places reveals an evolution in the narrative proposed by the director. There was no more room for the idyllic fantasy of Parque dos Dinossauros, on the contrary, what survived was the spirit of hunting and hunter, with man being the main target of hunger. The problem is that none of this is properly explored in the film, not even between the lines. Leaving aside possible interesting questions to make room for new uninteresting characters and sequences of action and suspense that try to match that of the previous film.
The film tries to assemble a team following the model of the first, with reduced teams in different locations, only now with Malcolm as "leader". Such an approach does not work, even with the efforts of Jeff Goldblum. His skepticism and sarcasm remain here, but the actor still tries to balance the attitude of a responsible hero, a concerned boyfriend, the verbalized exhibitor of all the dangers that the Dinosaurs are about to do, and a careful father. Dad? As a father, the script still comes to invent a daughter for Malcolm out of the blue (but didn't he say he had three children in the first film?). After all, the girl played by Vanessa Lee Chester, is totally disposable for the plot. Here we have Malcolm's girlfriend, played by Julianne Moore, initially well presented, but soon lost completely; and a very poorly developed photographer played by Vince Vaughn. All this weakness is consolidated in the middle of the film, where many other figures appear without being deepened, as well as a concern to show an excess of dinosaurs, causing the protagonist team to lose its strength. To satisfy fans of the original, in addition to the slightly more important participation of Richard Attenborough, we have Joseph Mazzello and the almost adult and beautiful Ariana Richards, returning as Tim and Lex, speaking just over a sentence.
If today there is a fear that sequels of highly successful films fall into certain "trends" that make it an inferior film and fall short of its original, "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" has become one of the great examples of these sad ones Tendencies. Of course, it is not fair to classify it as a complete disaster. There are several Spielberg brands that make the film excellent entertainment. The darker climate is the main feature here. Besides suspense, fear have never been more present. Janusz Kaminski's great photograph is darker and more frightening with scenes predominantly nocturnal and rainy as in the original film, combined with art direction, soundtrack by master John Williams and impeccable sound complement the creation of the suspense.
Interestingly, we can easily see here the influence of the classic King Kong in several references. One of the ships docked at the San Diego docks was called "The Venture", the same one that brought the giant gorilla to America. Another point is that after a great adventure in the creature's habitat, it is captured and taken to America to be exploited commercially by man, and just like King Kong, arrives by ship. During the film we noticed a scene in which Ian Malcolm's daughter stays with Eddie Carr in a structure suspended at the top, with the scene becoming very similar to the scene of the island tribe's sacrifice for King Kong. And of course, the scene in which the "beast" breaks free and goes out into the city streets causing panic could not be missing. Still in the port, we noticed the dinosaur making a great noise with the view of the buildings in front of it, looking like the scene of Kong on top of the building at the end of the film, giving the perfect contrast of today with a being who lived 65 million years ago. While on the run, the T-Rex leaves causing destruction and panic in the streets, just as when Kong manages to get rid of the chains that bound him. The difference is that the animal was not killed, only recaptured and sent back to the Island. The similarities in several scenes with the classic of the 1930s are evident and used with competence in the formula of this script, again well adapted by David Koepp, one of the most active collaborators currently with Spielberg.
The story condenses in a little more than two hours a good story and that we did not even notice to pass of so well that it flowed. It is also important to mention here the great scenes of this production such as the scenes of chase in the middle of the island's forest, as well as the scene of the fall of the trailer on the cliff, the attack of velociraptors in the communication center, the invasion of the uncontrolled boat in the Ingens, and the entire final sequence of the T-Rex arriving in the uncontrolled boat already without crew at the port of San Diego and all the uproar caused by the city streets, highlighting the scene of the boy and his parents noticing the Jurassic giant in their garden or when the T-Rex attacks a bus.
At the climax of the film, which seems to end at a point with the group finally managing to escape the island, we see a kind of Godzilla short film that mixes with King Kong, where we see T-Rex imposing chaos and death in Los Angeles. One third of the film that seems completely added at the last minute to create a giant monster movie ending. A really necessary sequence? No, but it's undeniably fun to watch it unfold. Not only does the T-Rex interact with the modern world in a very believable and palpable way, drinking water from the pool, eating a traffic light and civilians, fighting a bus, all being very well conducted in action and the impressive effects of realists. With Spielberg still taking the opportunity to pay homage to the classic monster film, coincidentally or not, of the same name, The Lost World / The Lost World of 1925 where dinosaurs roamed the human metropolis, installing chaos.
"Jurassic Park: The Lost World" is a continuation that nobody asked to exist, but that came to life thanks to the love of its director for this universe of creatures and monsters born of human biology, and for the mountains of money that he raised. Even managing to create punctual and memorable moments of action that are undeniably fun, and the feeling of enchantment of being able to glimpse so many dinosaurs on the scene is still present, albeit little, this is not a film with the same magic or heart as its predecessor.