Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom mini review and impressions

     Without a doubt, I was very excited to see the sequel to Jurassic World. While the last movie was not perfect, it was very fun and very enjoyable in its own right. A new direction was set up for the franshise that could prove interesting and terrifying. Fallen Kingdom picks at the ideas presented in previous movies and  follows a plot thread of it's predecessor to make a story that, much like other films in the series, is very enjoyable with a few flaws.
     The movie opens to a team trying to get some of the bones from the indominus rex from the shore around the now ruined Jurassic World. The entire scene is, to me, one of the highlights of the film as it is genuinely scary and paced very well. From there we learn that the dormant volcano on Isla Nublar has become active in recent months and is primed to erupt. Since this would kill every dinosaur on the island, a debate is sparked about whether the dinosaurs should be saved or moved to a sanctuary. Claire returns as a main character fighting to save the dinosaurs as they are an endangered species. Despite the efforts, it is ultimately voted on to let the dinosaurs die.
     Without going into too much spoiler territory there are two main parts of the movie after the introduction. The first major segment is Claire and Owen going to get the dinosaurs off the island with the help of a "humanitarian" who wants to supposedly save the creatures and move them somewhere safe. A large chunk of this segment is shot like an action scene with people trying to escape the erupting volcano and hungry predators simultaneously. It really feels like what you would expect out of another Jurassic Park movie.
     The next major part actually takes place off the island. The dinosaurs that were saved are actually being taken to special holding cells under this "humanitarian's" house to auction in the black market as genetic weapons. The key dino up for auction is the intimidating IndoRaptor that we have seen in various toys and promotional materials. Due to usual stupid people mishaps the IndoRaptor gets loose and the rest of the movie takes a tone similar to a slasher movie of the main crew trying to get away from the crazed and hungry dinosaur. While this part does feel different, and some could call it a departure to what the other Jurassic Park movies are like, it still fits very neatly in this story.
     The plot goes to a lot of places that a lot of people may not like at first. Without spoiling the ending, the story does go in a..kind of unexpected direction with the plot for this and the next movie. This change will be something you will either love or hate. I, personally, see this change as welcome since running from dinosaurs on an island can only be done so many times. That aside, it is also worth noting that most of the movie doesn't have the same feeling of awe and wonder that the first movies gave us. That's not to say that there are no scenes like it, but the main tone seems to be that of an action-horror movie instead. Everything feels oddly smaller and less grand. For some scenes it works well! The mansion is played out nicely with great scary atmosphere. For other scenes it is very lacking. The whole time spent on the island feels very casual. Even when the blood is pumping during chases, I always felt I should be more adrenaline pumped than I was.
     The creature effects are in top form. The Cg in these movies looks even better than what we got in Jurassic World. We even got more practical dinosaurs and props littered throughout the movie. I don't know if it is a testament to the quality of the CG or the quality of the animatronics and cinematographer, but for many scenes, the practical and CG effects are almost indistinguishable. Despite the quality of the effects though there are some complaints with how a few are used that can be a problem.  One scene with the IndoRaptor and most scenes with the Stygimoloch (hard-headed dinosaur similar to the pachycephalosaurus) make them portayed less as wild and more cartoonish. While the problem is really only with two of the dinosaurs, I can still see it being very distracting for some, especially the more hardcore fans.
     All in all, this movie was enjoyable but really did have a lot of little flaws that are easy to pick out. I cannot say this movie is bad because of those flaws though. Most of the Jurassic Park movies had flaws but we love them regardless because they deliver some good old dinosaur fun. This movie delivers the same kind of fun, but will likely draw a few people away with the new story direction and new kind of setting. I would still heartily recommend this movie to anybody. If nothing else, this movie is very fun to sit through. Just don't expect this Jurassic Park movie to be like the others.