Film Name:侏羅紀世界2 / Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Following “The Avengers 3,” mainland theaters have been starved of substantial blockbusters for quite some time. Many are eagerly awaiting “Jurassic World 2” to lift spirits (though the World Cup has also kicked off) — so, can this new film live up to its billing as a “blockbuster flagship”?
After all, 2015’s “Jurassic World” achieved outstanding success, ushering the franchise into a new era. Naturally, expectations for this sequel are sky-high.
Personally, as a commercial action-sci-fi-adventure-thriller hybrid, the film still delivers impressive effects. However, its plot structure may spark some debate. It’s not exactly “bad,” but to me, the story design feels rather peculiar.
[Friendly reminder: The following contains major spoilers.]
In reality, today’s (mainstream) audiences have increasingly lowered their expectations for the plots of these spectacle-driven, effects-heavy blockbusters… As long as the story flows smoothly and is well-told without major plot holes, viewers will usually just grumble about the “clichéd plot” without resorting to harsh criticism. If the film manages to achieve a certain level of “elevation” beyond that, it can garner even more praise.
In this regard, “Jurassic World 2” doesn’t have major issues. However, the film’s ambition to “kill two birds with one stone” resulted in a peculiar “double-edged sword,” which ended up being a case of overkill.
The film’s plot is straightforward: Three years after the incident at the dinosaur theme park, the dormant volcano on Isla Nublar reawakens. With humanity tacitly allowing the natural disaster to wipe out the dinosaurs once more, a private “dinosaur rescue team” funded by billionaire Lockwood heads to the island to save endangered species. To locate the velociraptor Blue, Claire and Owen are also invited to join the mission.
This clearly continues the foundational style of the first film, aiming to craft the sequel as a jungle-adventure, wilderness-survival tale—and the movie delivers precisely that.
Moreover, this adventure unfolds against the backdrop of an unstoppable “countdown bomb.”
The cliché of a volcanic eruption threatening “total annihilation” (akin to a base self-destruct) injects sufficient tension into this rescue mission entangled in conspiracy. Instantly, the rescuers become survivors alongside the dinosaurs, racing against the clock to escape the island.
This segment delivers genuinely thrilling action—straightforward, no-nonsense, with abrupt twists and crises erupting so swiftly it feels like fast-forward mode.
Wait—we’re barely halfway through, yet it feels like the movie’s already over?
When Owen, Claire, and Franklin evaded the dragon pack’s onslaught, dodged flying rocks and fire, and escaped through the water, I genuinely felt like “the movie’s almost over”—a trick of mental conditioning, where I’d been fooled by my own expectations.
Most adventure films wrap up after the characters narrowly escape death, and Jurassic World 2 had consistently positioned itself that way in its trailers and promotions: an adventure set in the wild.
But when Owen and his team finally boarded the last boat, the film revealed its true ambition: I never said I’d only tell one story.
Thus, after a brief “rescue mission,” Jurassic World 2 transitions from the “Isle of Nublar” setting to its next chapter: “Rockwood Manor.”
Reflecting on the numerous clues scattered throughout the film’s first half, this narrative progression feels inevitable—yet both story arcs are treated as equally weighty showstoppers. While the themes of “island escape” and “mansion horror” hold equal merit, the film’s sequencing feels off-kilter.
The former is like a heavy, salty, oily main course, while the latter is a delicately braised vegetable side dish. Eating them together isn’t impossible, but after gorging on three or five braised pork knuckles, savoring the side dish inevitably feels “too light.”
Upon entering the estate, the film’s tone undergoes a drastic shift—the only constant being Dr. Henry Wu (Mr. Wu, you truly are the foremost figure in the Jurassic Cinematic Universe).
The estate becomes a textbook encyclopedia of “human self-sabotage”:
Old Lockwood, driven by obsession, pioneers cloning technology only to naively demand Mills turn himself in after the scientist goes rogue. Mills betrays his benefactor, auctions dinosaurs for profit, and funds Dr. Wu’s “mad science” experiments to create new species. The wealthy guests continued their reckless indulgence, scrambling to flee when disaster struck; the dino-tooth-obsessed minor villain delivered the textbook definition of courting death…
Of course, there must be protagonists. Owen and Claire, who should have been “executed immediately,” received a commuted sentence of “permanent detention”—not even a mention of “post-autumn execution”… This naturally gave them a chance to escape.
They encounter the young girl Maisie, joined by the duty-bound Zia and Franklin, forming a makeshift “heroic” survival crew on the estate.
Human antagonists proved inadequate, so a sufficiently formidable predator suited to this confined space was needed—thus the Tyrannosaurus rex (prototype) made its dazzling entrance.
To be honest, the intensity and execution of the “mansion horror” in the film’s latter half are no less impressive than the “island escape” in the first half. Whether it’s the hunt and counter-hunt within relatively confined spaces, the “dragon sightings” within human-built environments, or the portrayal of humanity’s beauty and ugliness, it all gives this installment a distinct flavor compared to previous Jurassic films.
…But as mentioned earlier, these are two distinct film styles. Either could stand alone as a standalone feature if given proper focus. Yet when crammed into one movie without clear prioritization, the result feels disjointed.
Jurassic World 2 strikes me as an attempt to innovate while clinging to its established formula—a double-edged sword that ends up being neither here nor there.
Unfortunately, movies aren’t genetically engineered hybrid dinosaurs. While the latter might gain “hybrid vigor,” the former risks becoming a monstrous hybrid.
This “technical” issue is open to interpretation—not everyone may feel this dissonance. So finally, I’d like to briefly address the film’s core problem.
Ian Malcolm, another “soul figure” of the series, articulates humanity’s stance on dinosaurs’ potential extinction at the outset: respect natural laws. We must not arrogantly play God, recklessly defying nature’s course (congratulations to Jeff Goldblum, who recently earned his Star on the Walk of Fame at age 66).
Though blunt and seemingly cruel, I believe this embodies the proper stance for Earth’s new rulers—preserving racial dignity while maintaining reverence for nature.
Yet the film’s true protagonists are zealots tinged with a saintly complex—hence Claire and the others, along with Owen, get betrayed by Mills. I commend Jurassic World 2 for making this point: idealists who chant slogans of “equality and freedom” often become cheap tools for conspirators and profiteers.
Claire and her crew reaped what they sowed. So when she insists on pressing the switch to save the surviving dinosaurs at the end, the film’s tone completely collapses.
Fortunately, the film also features a “clone” named Maisie, who belongs to the same generation as the dinosaurs.
As a commercial entertainment film, “Jurassic World 2” cannot justify genocide under the guise of “making the right choice”—that would be too blatant. After all, it must cater to the sensibilities of many “idealists,” especially since “Jurassic World 3” is already in the works…
Maisey’s actions largely alleviated the film’s final predicament (though the four negligent adults still bear responsibility). By avoiding placing full blame on humanity, the series achieved an unprecedented triumph: a “Jurassic World” where humans and dinosaurs coexist.
Velociraptors gallop through small-town countryside, mosasaurs “play” with surfers, a T. rex seeks to reclaim the title of “king of beasts” from a lion, and pterosaurs become featherless birds in the sky (incidentally, the final seconds of the post-credits scene feel rather nonsensical)…
Dinosaurs capable of threatening humans exist right beside people… To lay the groundwork for the third film, the movie goes all out with this fantastical ending.
Let’s just hope the next “Jurassic World” film picks up where this one left off soon—no more “three years later, then another three years.” While audiences naturally want to see dinosaurs, they also hope to see more than just dinosaurs.
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