Excellent Sequel

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2006)

Creating a worthy follow-up to a major blockbuster is no easy task. But if all the pieces are in the right place, it is not impossible. Four years after the enormous success of Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg took control of the director's chair once more in an effort to enhance the franchise and add on to his already spectacular legacy. Did he succeed? In the eyes of most critics, no. However, I applaud Mr. Spielberg for an admirable effort and creating another crowd-pleaser, even if it didn't match up to the high expectations.
On another personal note, I was very happy to see Jeff Goldblum reprise his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm as he has always been my favorite character in the series. Since Malcolm is now more aware of the dangers of John Hammond's activities, his personality is less goofy and more serious this time around compared to his previous adventure.
It took several viewings for me to appreciate this film to its fullest. At first, it seemed weak because it sacrificed the philosophical messages that helped make the first film great to fit in more action. The philosophy is found in one of the key quotes by John Hammond. "Life will find a way." There *is* a point to all the chaos because it is all caused by the humans and their relentless desire to interfere with nature. Every tragic event seen in the film could have been avoided with sensibility and that is the message that is echoed throughout the entire series. Don't attempt to control the uncontrollable.
If there's one thing that makes the film worth watching, it has to be the special effects and the dinosaur animatronics. The infant T-Rex featured in this film is so lifelike that I often had to remind myself that it wasn't a real dinosaur. It was *that* convincing.
Also be on the lookout for Vince Vaughn (before he became the mega-star that he is today) as one of Hammond's researchers and a humorous scene involving a T-Rex in the modern world.