Great sequel!

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2005)

It surprises me that so many people hate this movie. For me, the magic of the first is still present in this one (probably due to Spielberg directing again), albeit not as much, mainly due to the fact that the tone of this one is darker. You'll notice that there are less scenes taking place in daylight, too.
The movie has lots of likable characters, one of the greatest being big game hunter Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), and is an enjoyable ride from beginning to end. The plot is not very strong, but made up for with thrilling dinosaur scenes (such as the raptor attack at the worker village) and great cinematography. Also, the jungle setting gives everything a nice exotic and 'prehistoric' look (as in Jurassic Park).
Adding to the cast of dinosaurs from the first movie are the classic Stegosaurus, the head-butting Pachycephalosaurus and of course the Compsognathus, vicious little critters not to be taken lightly! These especially are a great addition, showing that even the small dinosaurs can be lethal predators.
And the movie ends with an almighty finale where a T-rex wreaks havoc in San Diego. This scene, denounced by some as 'silly' or 'a Godzilla rip-off', is not to be taken just as seriously as the rest of the movie, as indicated by the many small jokes in it. It is meant to be a fun closure for a thrilling movie.
The plot does not follow the book very much, but some of the best scenes (such as the trailer-cliff sequence) are lifted straight from there. The overall story is not dissimilar, but mostly with different characters or multiple characters fused into one. I do wonder why they left Levine out and didn't even create someone similar to him. All in all, I think that book purists will hate this movie. But if the changed plot and characters don't bother you (or if you haven't read the book at all, like me when I first saw it), you're in for a treat.