"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" (2018) Review

"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" (2018) Review

Following the release of "JURASSIC PARK III" in 2001, I had figured that was it for the JURASSIC PARK movie franchise. Boy, was I proven wrong. Fourteen years after the release of that third film, Universal Pictures and producer Frank Marshall presented a fourth movie for the franchise, "JURASSIC WORLD" in 2015, that proved to be a major hit. Following the success of that film, it was only natural that a fifth movie would be made. 

Set three years after the events of the 2015 movie, "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" began with the United States Senate debating over whether to save the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar from an impending volcanic eruption from the island's volcano Mt. Sibo. Mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm testifies that the dinosaurs should be allowed to die in order to correct John Hammond's mistake of cloning them. Meanwhile, Jurassic World's former operations manager, Claire Dearing, has established the Dinosaur Protection Group to save the animals. When the Senate decides not to rescue the dinosaurs, Hammond's former partner, Benjamin Lockwood, summons Claire to his Northern California estate, where he and his aide Eli Mills reveal a plan to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary. They need Claire to help reactivate the park's dinosaur tracking system in order to locate the animals - especially Blue, the last surviving Velociraptor. Despite being estranged from him, Claire recruits Jurassic World's former Velociraptor trainer and Blue's alpha, Owen Grady, to help capture her. Accompanying them would be the park's former technician Franklin Webb and paleo-veterinarian Zia Rodriguez.

Upon their arrival on Isla Nublar at the now defunct Jurassic World amusement part, Claire and Franklin work to reactivate the park's online tracking system. Meanwhile, Owe, Zia and a mercenary team led by Ken Wheatley search for Blue. When they find the velociraptor, one of Wheatley's men shoots Blue and Wheatley tranquilizes Owen. The mercenaries take Zia with them to treat Blue's injury. The mercenary ship, loaded with the captured dinosaurs, departs for the U.S. mainland, while the dinosaurs left behind die in the eruption. Meanwhile; Claire, Franklin, and Owen manage to escape the dying island and sneak aboard in time and assist Zia in transfusing Blue with Tyrannosaurus blood. The group now realizes that the captured dinosaurs were never being transported to a new island and have been captured for another purpose. And the latter has to do with a financial scheme being involving Eli Mills and Dr. Henry Wu, behind Lockwood's back.

Despite earning over a billion dollars at the box office, "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" received very little positive reviews upon its release. In fact, it is regarded by some as a failure. Many critics and some film goers certainly regard it as inferior to the 2015 movie. How do I feel about "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM"? I had a few problems with it. Well . . . to be perfectly honest, I had two major problems with it. My first problem centered around Benjamin Lockwood's estate serving as the setting for the film's second half. I found this rather limiting and claustrophobic. And I found myself wondering if the film's budget was responsible for this decision to limit the setting to a California country estate. The longer the film remained on that estate - especially inside that house - the more I became frustrated. 

And I have a second complaint about "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" - namely the fate of Benjamin Lockwood's granddaughter, Maisie. Why did Owen Grady and Claire Dearing end up as her guardians at the end of the movie? What happened to Maisie's nanny, Iris, who had been with the family for years? I do not recall her being killed by a dinosaur. So what happened to her? Why did she not take care of Maisie, following the death of the latter's grandfather?

Despite my complaints, I enjoyed "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM". In fact, I enjoyed it very much. Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow created a first-rate tale filled with tension, drama and especially comedy. I remember when the film first hit the theaters, many had complained about the movie's finale. They found it . . . illogical. Messy. I still find this complaint rather hard to swallow. The premise behind the JURASSIC PARKfranchise can be considered illogical. Frankly, considering what happened in a period of twenty-five years and five movies, I thought it was only a matter of time that the franchise would reach this point. It almost did in 1997's "JURASSIC PARK: THE LOST WORLD". However, this film took it a step further with the release of several dinosaurs into the modern world. It was bound to happen. InGen and John Hammond had opened Pandora's Box a quarter of a century ago with the creation of dinosaurs, thousands of years after they naturally went extinct. I would almost equate the creations of these animals with that of nuclear energy and weaponry. Considering the occasional misuse and mishandling of nuclear energy throughout the years, I found it appropriate that a more disastrous scenario would finally befall in the JURASSIC PARK franchise than what happened in the previous films.

"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" is also a popcorn summer film that depends upon a great deal of action. And it had its share of some first-rate action sequences. If I must be great, I enjoyed most of the action in the film's first half. I especially enjoyed the sequence featuring the natural destruction of Isla Nublar and Owen Grady, Claire Dearing and Franklin Webb's efforts to escape from the island after being abandoned by Ken Wheatley's team. For me, it was a breathtaking sequence as the trio raced to reach the boat conveying Wheatley's team and Zia Rodriguez (kidnapped and forced to treat the wounded Blue) to the United States. But there was an action sequence in the film's last hour that also impressed me. It featured the protagonists being hunted throughout the Lockwood mansion by Dr. Henry Wu's latest creation, the Indoraptor, a creation from the DNA of Indominus rex from the last film and Velociraptor - namely Blue. For me, those two sequences featured the best of some pretty damn good action scenes throughout the film.

The movie did not feature as many breathtaking visual scenes as "JURASSIC WORLD". But there were a few that caught my eye, including scenes of those dinosaurs roaming the Earth:



But the one scene that produced a knot in my throat featured that last shot of Isla Nublar . . . and the death of the very brachiosaurus that Dr. Alan Grant first saw in 1993's "JURASSIC PARK". Director J.A. Bayona, cinematographer Óscar Faura and the visual effects team really knocked it out of the ballpark by capturing both the grandeur and the pathos of the scene:



If there is one thing I can guarantee from a JURASSIC PARK/WORLD movie, it is a first-rate cast featuring excellent performances. Jeff Goldblum returned to give a short, yet solid performance as Dr. Malcolm Campbell, one of the original visitors to Isla Nublar. "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" featured the acting debut of Isabella Sermon, who gave an excellent performance as the young Maisie Lockwood. Trust this franchise to always hire naturally talented child actors. Ted Levine's performance as mercenary Ken Wheatley struck me as a gleeful portrayal of toxic masculinity. B.D. Wong's return as Dr. Henry Wu was somewhat briefer than it was in the 2015 movie. Yet, once again, the actor conveyed the convoluted egoism of Dr. Wu with great skill. I hope he will have a bigger role in the next film. 

Toby Jones gave an entertaining, yet slightly theatrical performance as the weasely auctioneer hired by Eli Mills to help sell those dinosaurs taken from Isla Nublar to potential buyers. James Cromwell struck me as emotional, yet dignified as Hammond's former partner, Benjamin Lockwood. Geraldine Chaplin gave a skillful performance as the Lockwoods' reliable employee Iris. Daniella Pineda was brash and entertaining as the sharp-tongued Dr. Zia Rodriguez. Justice Smith proved to be equally entertaining and quite hilarious as anxiety-ridden systems analyst Franklin Webb. Rafe Spall skillfully portrayed one of the most subtle and corrupt villains in the franchise, Eli Morrow.

Chris Pratt returned as former Navy SEAL-turned-dinosaur trainer Owen Grady. I realized that many might not agree, but I enjoyed Pratt's first-rate portrayal of the no-nonsense Grady more than I did in the 2015 movie. I thought Pratt's performance was more subtle and best of all, his Grady seemed to have dropped that sanctimonious I had found slightly irritating in the previous film. Bryce Dallas Howard managed to skillfully take her character, former operations manager of Jurassic World, to the next level. In "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM", Claire's previous encounters with the dinosaurs had led her to develop an appreciation of them as sentient beings. This new Claire is a passionate animal rights activist who has dropped her arrogant disregard of the park's inhabitants. It is possible that this new passion may have slightly affected her common sense, especially during the film's last 10-15 minutes. But thanks to Howard's excellent performance, she managed to convey a sense of plausibility in the slight changes in Claire's personality.

As I had earlier pointed out, the critics did not like "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM". In fact, some moviegoers had expressed dismay at the film's ending. I had at least two quibbles with the movie. But if I must be frank, I enjoyed it very much. More importantly, I found its ending very believable for a science-fiction tale. For once, the franchise was willing to face a consequence that its previous films managed to elude so far. The movie featured first-rate direction by J.A. Bayona; a well-written screenplay by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow; and an excellent cast led by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Good work guys!

"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" (2018) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM", the fifth installment in the JURASSIC PARK franchise and the sequel to the 2015 movie, "JURASSIC WORLD". Directed by J.A. Bayona, the movie starred Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard: 



"JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM" (2018) Photo Gallery

George Stinney Jr. Exonerated

GEORGE STINNEY JR. EXONERATED

A seventy year-old miscarriage of justice has finally been overturned in a case that involved murder, false accusations and racism. 

Seventy years ago, a 14-year old South Carolina adolescent named George Stinney Jr. was arrested, convicted and executed by the State of South Carolina for the murders to two white girls - 11 year-old Betty June Binnicker and 8 year-old Mary Emma Thames. The 5'1" and 90 pounds. George was electrocuted on June 16, 1944.

It took the State of South Carolina 70 years to realize that young George was too short and lacked the weight to wield the murder weapon - a 15-inch railroad spike that weighed over 20 pounds. South Carolina Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen vacated (overturned or reversed) Stinney's conviction of first-degree murder won December 17, 2014 . . . 70 years, six months and one day after his death. The judge overturned the case based upon the argument that Stinney did not receive a fair trial.

The Stinney case was the basis for David Stout's 1988 novel called "Carolina Skeletons". Stout was awarded the 1989 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel. The novel served as the source for the 1991 television movie of the same name. The movie was directed by John Erman and starred Lou Gossett Jr. Another movie about Stinney called "83 Days" is being made by Pleroma Studios. The movie was written and produced by Ray Brown. And Charles Burnett is the director. This new movie is based upon research and documents largely found by Brown, Sonya Williamson, James Moon and others. The material they found assisted in Stinney's exoneration hearing. The movie will star Danny Glover, Ted Levine and Carl Lumbly. 

For more information on the George Stinney Jr. case, here is an ARTICLE about it.

"HEAT" (1995) Review

Below is my review of "HEAT", Michael Mann’s 1995 crime melodrama that starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer:


"HEAT" (1995) Review

For many filmgoers and critics, the 1995 crime drama ”HEAT” is regarded as director Michael Mann’s masterpiece. It is the movie that most fans think of when the director’s name is mentioned. "TIME" magazine had even placed it on its list of top 100 crime dramas of all time. And the brutal downtown Los Angeles shootout is considered to be one of the best action sequences in movie history.

So . . . how do I feel about "HEAT"? Like many others, I consider it to be one of the best crime dramas I have ever seen. Honestly. The movie centered around a cat-and-mouse game between a Los Angeles Police detective named Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and a ruthless professional thief named Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). McCauley’s carefully planned heist of an armored car that contained US$1.6 million dollars in bearer bonds owned by a money launderer named Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner) goes slightly wrong when one of his crew – a trigger-happy cowboy named Waingro (Kevin Gage) – kills one of the armored car guards being held at gunpoint by the crew. Realizing they cannot leave behind any witnesses, McCauley’s crew is forced to kill the remaining guards. This multiple homicide, along with the armored car robbery, attracts the attention of Detective Hanna and his squad – members of the L.A.P.D. Robbery/Homicide Unit.

Back in the late 1980s, Michael Mann had written a transcript for a 1989 made-for-television film called "L.A. TAKEDOWN" about a cat-and-mouse game between a Los Angeles Police detective and a hardened and methodical criminal that affected a bank robbery in downtown Los Angeles. Following his success of "THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS", Mann took that transcript and broadened it for a theatrical movie that would become "HEAT". Mann’s screenplay featured a multi-layered and complex look into the lives of professional criminals and the police officers that pursued them. Through characters like the introverted thief McCauley and one of his co-horts, Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), audiences received a glimpse into the lives of professional criminals that were neither mobsters or amateurish lone wolves. Men like McCauley and Shiherlis were just as organized as the Mob, but they did not come from any particular ethnic group like the La Cosa Nostra. The movie also offered a glimpse into their personal lives and reveal how their pursuit of crime affected their families and other loved ones. "HEAT" also presented a parallel glimpse into the lives of police officers like Vincent Hanna, who led a special unit of detectives that investigate robberies and homicides. Mann took filmgoers into Hanna’s marriage. There, the director revealed how the detective’s intense dedication to his profession and temper affected said marriage.

As I had earlier stated, "HEAT" is a complex tale filled with intriguing characters and multiple subplots that served the movie’s main plot. Well . . . some of the subplots accomplished this task. The one plot that dominated the movie (and served as the only plot for Mann’s "L.A. TAKEDOWN") was the clash between Hanna and McCauley that culminated in a downtown Los Angeles bank robbery and its aftereffects. Through his script and direction, Mann provided some memorable moments in the film. I found myself impressed by the scene that featured McCauley and his crew being double-crossed at a local drive-in theater by men working for money launderer Van Zant. Another scene that impressed me was the more dramatic quarrel between Chris Shiherlis and his wife, Charlene (Ashley Judd) over his gambling habits. The scene served as a reminder on how the activities of criminals end up affecting their lives on a personal scale. One favorite scene featured an amusing, yet crowd-pleasing moment when Hanna realized that McCauley had become aware of the squad’s presence with his own investigation. But the movie’s tour-de-force remains, of course, the famous shootout in downtown Los Angeles, following a bank robbery committed by McCauley and his crew. I could rave over the excellence and excitement of the scene. But why should I bother? The sequence’s positive reputation amongst critics and filmgoers is a perfect reflection of the scene’s excellence. I can only think of a handful of similar action sequences – two of them from other Mann movies – that are this well shot.

As much as I admire "HEAT", it has its flaws. One, the movie has a running time of 165 minutes. Now, this might not be much of a problem on its own. However, it does become something of a problem with a movie filled with what I consider to be unnecessary subplots that dragged the film in certain areas. I could have done without the movie’s romantic subplots. McCauley’s romance with a bookstore clerk/graphics artist named Eady (Amy Bremmerman) bored the hell out of me. Hanna’s marriage to a divorcee named Justine (Diane Verona) annoyed me. Well . . . her character annoyed me. I became weary of her constant complaints about his “dedication” to the job. This particular subplot had its own in the form of Hanna’s suicidal stepdaughter (Natalie Portman), who seemed incapable of dealing with her real father’s absence from her life. In the end, Hanna and McCauley’s personal lives seemed to have NO real impact upon the movie’s main plot and minor impact upon their respective characters. Worse, both subplots nearly dragged the film. Ironically, the two relationships that had a stronger impact upon the movie’s main plot turned out to be Chris and Charlene Shiherlis’s troubled marriage and the marriage between another member of McCauley’s crew named Trejo (Danny Trejo) and his wife, Anna (Begonya Plaza). Chris and Charlene’s marriage and feelings for one another played a role in Chris’ fate following the disastrous bank robbery. And Trejo’s love for his wife led him to reveal McCauley’s robbery plans, while being tortured by Van Zant’s men and Waingro . . . before they could tip off the police. And yet, these two relationships did not receive as much screen time as Hanna and McCauley’s relationships.

Three other subplots failed to grab me. With Trejo and his wife in Van Zant’s clutches, McCauley was forced to recruit a driver for the bank robbery – a paroled convict named Donald Breeden (Dennis Haysbert). Unfortunately, Mann included a subplot that led Breeden to break his parole and accept McCauley’s job offer – a subplot that described the parolee’s difficulties in staying straight. I found the story a bore and a waste of Haysbert’s talent. And I never understood Mann’s decision to include Waingro’s murder of a teenage prostitute. Hanna and his team had never linked the murder to Waingro. Nor did the crime have an impact upon the movie’s plot, except force Hanna to abandon a dinner party with his squad and their wives . . . and give Justine another excuse to complain about his job. One last subplot seemed useless to me. It featured Hanna and McCauley’s only meeting at a local diner near, where each man examined the other and revealed that they would not hesitate to kill the other if the situation demands it. And while I must admit that Pacino and De Niro gave top notch performances, the entire scene struck me as a . . . waste . . . of . . . time. The only thing this entire scene had served was a chance to allow Pacino and De Niro to share one scene together.

I realized that I had written so much about the movie’s plot that I nearly forgotten about the performances. Fortunately, Mann had cast the movie with talented actors and actresses and I cannot fault any one of them. I realize much has been said about Al Pacino’s tendency to engage in theatrical acting. In other words, he can be a ham. He certainly was a ham in "HEAT". But the thing about Pacino is that he can be subtle or he can be a ham . . . with style. Which is why I am willing to give him a pass on some of his hammier moments. But I cannot deny that Vincent Hanna may be one of his best roles. Whereas Pacino’s Hanna is all fire and theatrics, De Niro’s Neil McCauley is quiet intensity. His McCauley must be one of the most subtle performances he has ever given. I cannot even remember a scene where he had raised his voice, let alone mugged for the . There were other performances that also impressed me - Mykelti Williamson as the no-nonsense Sergeant Drucker, one of Hanna’s teammates; Tom Siezemore as McCauley’s most loyal henchman, Michael Cheritto; Jon Voight as Nate, McCauley’s pragmatic fence; and Diane Verona as Hanna’s embittered wife, Justine. Yes I had complained about her character, but I must admit that Verona gave a memorable performance. However, I have to give special kudos to Natalie Portman’s emotional performance as Hanna’s suicidal stepdaughter who is desperate for her real father’s attention; and to Val Kilmer and Ashley Judd, who managed to give complex performances as Chris and Charlene Shiherlis – one of McCauley’s colleagues and his wife. Despite their constant clashes over his gambling habit and her brief foray into adultery with a Las Vegas resident named Alan Marciano (Hank Azaria), Kilmer and Judd made it clear that these two loved each other . . . especially in a quiet and tense scene that featured Charlene giving fugitive Chris a silent warning to stay away, due to the presence of nearby police.

As much as I admire Michael Mann as a director, there is one aspect of his filmmaking that turns me off – namely his cinematic view of Los Angeles. I tend to find this view cold and antiseptic. I have noticed this in both "HEAT" and his 2004 thriller, "COLLATERAL". Hell, Mann’s view of Chicago in "PUBLIC ENEMIES" struck me as ten times more colorful. Considering that Mann is from Chicago, I am not surprised. Mind you, cinematographer Dante Spinotti captured some memorable shots of Los Angeles – including one breathtaking one of the city at night from McCauley’s Hollywood Hills home. But it still came off as slightly chilly. Mann’s view of Los Angeles is probably a reflection of his view of the city . . . which is completely opposite of my own. I did find Pasquale Buba, William Goldenberg, Dov Hoenig and Tom Rolf’s editing very impressive; especially in the downtown shootout. But there is one technical aspect of "HEAT" that really knocked my socks off. I am speaking of Elliot Goldenthal’s score. Granted, most of Goldenthal’s score failed to make an impression upon me. However . . . his score for the bank robbery sequence was more than memorable. I enjoyed the way Goldenthal used percussion to underscore the scene’s growing tension that finally exploded into violence when Chris Shirherlis spotted cops and Hanna’s team waiting outside of the bank. For me, the entire sequence featured a perfect blend of music and action.

To repeat myself, "HEAT" is not a perfect movie, despite its reputation. I consider Mann’s septic view of Los Angeles to be one of the movie’s minor flaws. But its major flaw seemed to be the numerous subplots that had nothing to do with the movie’s main narrative. A flaw that ended up dragging the movie’s pacing in many scenes. But despite these flaws, Mann still managed to create an exciting and complex story about two men – a methodical thief and an intuitive police detective – whose cat-and-mouse game engulfed those in their lives and an entire city. It is this cat-and-mouse game that made "HEAT" a recent Hollywood classic.

"HEAT" (1995) Photo Gallery

Below are photos from Michael Mann's 1995 crime drama, "HEAT". Written by Mann, the movie starred Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer:


"HEAT" (1995) Photo Gallery