Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Coinciding with Hawaii’s real-life Kilauea eruptions, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has a volcano on the (fictional) island of Isla Nublar—near Costa Rica—exploding, spewing gaseous lava that threatens the dinosaurs cloned for an ill-fated, prehistoric theme park. Testifying before Congress, erudite Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) asserts that, ethically, there should be no rescue effort. Nature should take its course: “These creatures were here before us—and if we’re not careful, they’re going to be here after.” Ailing billionaire Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) disagrees, and he is willing to bankroll an effort to transport surviving key specimens to another isolated sanctuary. Lockwood enlists park operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and raptor wrangler Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), along with a paleo-veterinarian (Daniella Pineda) and a tech wizard (Justice Smith), who helicopter to Isla Nublar, where a full-scale evacuation is underway. Meanwhile, at Lockwood mansion in Northern California, Benjamin’s inquisitive young granddaughter (Isabella Sermon) is being protected by a housekeeper (Geraldine Chaplin) from Lockwood’s despicable financial controller (Rafe Spall), who is working with an auctioneer (Toby Jones) and planning to hold a secret dinosaur sale that will introduce a newly cloned, hybrid Indoraptor, infusing a vicious Velociraptor with the strength of a T-Rex. When the original Jurassic Park opened in 1993—based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel—audiences were full of wonder and awe at the then-astonishing CGI visual effects, but we’re more jaded now, so this installment relies on chase-and-scare tactics, although Spanish director J.A. Bayona keeps the momentum rolling. And this time Claire eschews stilettos for sensible running shoes. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Chris Pratt's Jurassic Journals” (12 min.), “The Conversation” (10 min.), “VFX Evolved” (7 min.), “Birth of the Indoraptor” (4 min.), “Rooftop Showdown” (4 min.), “Return to Hawaii” (3 min.), “On Set with Chris & Bryce” with the costars (3 min.), “Monster in a Mansion” (3 min.), “Jurassic Then and Now” (3 min.), “Malcolm's Return” (3 min.), “Death by Dino” (2 min.), and “A Song for the Kingdom” (2 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the behind-the-scenes segments “Island Action” (6 min.), “Aboard the Arcadia” (6 min.), “The Kingdom Evolves” (5 min.), and “Start the Bidding!” (3 min.), as well as bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fun franchise entry.] (S. Granger)