Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is directed by J.A. Bayona and written by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, and is the fifth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise. Continuing off of the events from the last movie, the island containing the park is set to be doomed due to an active volcano set to erupt. In order to save as many species as possible, a former colleague of Dr. Hammond’s hires Owen and Claire to lead the expedition, along with finding the raptor, Blue. However, much like other films in this franchise, some greedy business is being brewed in secret.

In the topic of films that have left a landmark on film history, one of the first that comes to mind is Jurassic Park, which to this day is one of my favorite movies and one of Steven Spielberg’s best works. It took Michael Crichton’s novel about man’s tampering with nature to bring about dinosaurs, and crafted it into a genre film that tackles action adventure, family drama, science fiction, and horror perfectly, with a cast that defines these characters perfectly. I still remember going to see this at the 3d 20th anniversary re-release, and despite not being that great a conversion, there was never a moment where I didn’t feel like a little kid, watching a dark but fun movie.

The only problem that I have with it, is that it’s another one of those movies that should have never became a franchise. Sure, the first film was once the highest grossing film of all time, but even when they pressured Michael Crichton to write another book, it just felt forced. The Lost World, while has some memorable moments, is a film that felt tacked on to try and do something else. Jurassic Park III, while people argue as the worst, did have a few meta moments that, while looking back, I kind of see was done a little more tongue-in-cheek. Had the franchise ended there, I probably would have been okay with it, as long as it meant it was over.

I didn’t really think Jurassic World was going to that big a deal when it came out, especially when there were people trying to get me hyped up for it along with Age of Ultron and The Force Awakens. While the majority did say it was fine, they did mention how it leaves most of the grounded nature and wonder the first one; however, when I did my worst films of 2015 roundup, Jurassic World ended up being one of those films, because it ended up putting me to sleep. I’m not even joking, I fell asleep at a movie that had hybrid dinosaurs and Starlord riding a motorcycle with dinosaurs...and somehow grossed over $1 billion; to say that I’m shocked, would require not being used to overwhelming stupidity.

We pretty much knew a sequel was inevitable, but I was actually kind of interested in seeing where Fallen Kingdom would go, mostly due to the director, J.A. Bayona; getting someone like him who has worked with both horror and family entertainment prior to this, would have been a pretty good fit for the job. And to his credit, this is a very well directed movie; most of the action does flow progressively with the rest of the film, the framework and lighting are gorgeous (haunting, but impressive), and even the effects look better. A major complaint about the first film was that they marketed saying they were using practical effects again, but the finished product made it look like a CG mess; here, there are a lot of close ups of the dinosaurs, and you can see the details on the puppetry and animatronics. Michael Giacchino’s score is also magnificent; if there is anybody in this day and age that’s set to be the next John Williams, it’s him.

However, that’s pretty much all of the positive feedback I can give to the movie; the rest of it falls due to the messy, disinteresting, and unoriginal this script is. The movie starts and bookends with Jeff Goldblum reprising as Ian Malcolm talking about how this is a mistake that nature is correcting for us, and much like always, he is right...however, we have to focus on characters who are against it, but it doesn’t come off as naturally. Part of the reason I gave Jurassic World slack as better than the previous two, was because I thought they were ignoring those two movies and doing something new; however, it was revealed that they ARE canon, by saying the dinosaurs on the second island were taken to the first one. Why not send them back to the other island, so they can live in peace? Because then we would have a franchise to milk, that’s why.

The movie mid-way through ends up on auto-pilot, as it ends up recycling a lot of previous plot points and sequences from the rest of the series; the plot already feels like a remake of The Lost World, but they even recycle the stupid subplot about splicing dino DNA together constantly. The unity of action, on paper, reeks of the problems that Iron Man 2, BvS, and Spiderman: Homecoming; it feels like a placeholder film that was just made, so we have build up to the next one (at least Trevorrow ADMITS to that). Also, the third act keeps throwing in all these convoluted plot points all at once, such as Hammond's former partner having a lawyer that wants to sell dinosaurs in the black market, the main villain hunter guy letting the new dino loose, and...what is going on here? Also, apparently a group of living dinosaurs goes for about $120 million...this movie was $170 million, by the way.

As for the characters...there are none. I’m not even trying to be funny with this one, there is hardly any character development with anybody this time around. A problem I didn’t even notice with in the previous Jurassic World, was that the inclusion of a character like Owen as the lead, further ruins the charm of the first film; if you recall, Jurassic Park didn’t have any action-lead characters or any macho Stallone or Schwarzenegger type, it had nerds in the lead roles. That’s another reason people adore the first movie, because the characters were likable and relatable too. The only thing that’s really close to an action guy in the first movie was Bob Peck as Muldoon, and he got killed. Sure, Owen’s charming, but he doesn’t learn anything; he goes from being this bum building a house, to the same bum who builds his house, but with more dinosaurs. Claire might have gained a change of heart from the last film, but the film barely explores that aspect about she too is responsible. There are also two other young assistants that tag along, but they don’t add anything either.

SPOILER ALERT

Now if there is one major problem that I had with the film, it’s the little girl in this movie, who's the granddaughter of John Hammond’s old partner, who we never knew until now. She ends up released the dinosaurs into the world, instead of letting nature takes its course, because they’re clones, just like her...you heard right: the little girl in this movie, was a clone...okay, can I ask something: WHY ARE YOU FOCUSING ON BUYING DINOSAURS, WHEN YOU CAN SUCCESSFULLY CLONE A HUMAN BACK TO LIFE?!? Or even better yet, why is this subplot not explored even further?! And the movie doesn’t even treat this like a “HOLY SHIT! What a discover!”, it instead treats it as if the girl just came out as gay to her parents! Seriously, what the hell are you people smoking?!!

SPOILER ALERT

In conclusion, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom might have been more entertaining than the last, that does not excuse any of the batshit insane idiocy that’s crammed into this mess. And it sucks, because I thought this was finally going to be the first good Jurassic Park sequel; instead, we got the worst. If you guys want a Chris Pratt fix, just go watch any of his MCU movies; if you want dinosaurs, go watch the original Jurassic Park. I probably know a third Jurassic World is coming with Colin Trevorrow returning as director, but this franchise has overstayed its welcome, and it seriously needs to end.

Rating: D

Incredibles 2 (ask and you shall recieve)

If you were to ask me five years ago, which film was more deserving a sequel than any other, my first answer would automatically be The Incredibles. The 2004 Pixar film by Brad Bird, told the story of hot-shot hero, Mr. Incredible, who after a string of incidents with the public, leads to the banning of superheroes in the public eye; desperate to reclaim those glory days, he ends up working with a company secretly run by a character from his past. Not only does The Incredibles stand as one of Pixar’s most defining films, but I’d dare even call it one of the best superhero films to come out of the new millennium; in fact, it’s one of those movies that actually gets better as I grow older. As a kid, you go in for the fun superhero action, but as an adult, you really get sucked into this surprisingly dark story about a retired celebrity (or superhero in this case) and their family falling to pieces.

Even after Pixar had been bought by Disney to become a movie-a-year studio, plans for a sequel were never put into play, despite fans holding petitions and even the cast voicing their demands; the hype and pressure for any other Disney product that could even match this is Kingdom Hearts III. This had a lot of expectation riding on this, so now here’s the big question: Is it good? The answer: yes.

Picking up immediately where the last film left off, the Incredibles face off with the Underminer, only to be casted aside just like always, due to the superhero ban still being in law. In an attempt to finally do away with that law, Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) and his sister, Evelyn (Cathrine Keener), telecommunications moguls and former family donors, want to recruit Elastigirl to be an advocate for superheroes, leaving Bob to take care of the family.

One of the major aspects I was looking forward the most to were the characters, something that’s always been one of Brad Bird’s strongest elements, even back when he worked on The Simpsons during their golden days; he isn’t afraid to show you the darker parts that fill the lives of such colorful and lively characters, in extraordinary worlds as such. While most of the cast from the original returns, including Craig T. Nelson (Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Elastigirl), Sarah Vowell (Violet), Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), and obviously Brad Bird (Edna Mode), the two that couldn't return were Spencer Fox as Dash, and Bud Luckey as Agent Dicker; Fox had to be replaced by Huck Milner due to his age and voice change, and Luckey had retired, years before his sad passing back in February, so Jonathan Banks had to step in. Luckily, everyone in the cast does a fantastic job voicing everybody. Nelson and Hunter feels as though a day hasn’t gone by since they voiced the first movie, as you’ve got them in a film tackling both the themes of spouses trading places and the struggles of parenting, all while technically in a bit of a Civil Rights act for a minority group wanting acceptance back into society, which was first set during the first movie. While we don’t see much of the kids interacting outside of their family, with the exception of Violet, it does make up for it by showcasing the baby, Jack-Jack, with his new powers like they hinted at in the first movie; and trust me, this baby steals the show every time he’s onscreen.

The animation is jaw-dropping to say the least; even for Pixar standards, I was completely blown away by the fluent, yet grounded, feel that these characters had in their movements. Despite being superheroes, Brad Bird still manages to keep them all grounded and move as if he was directing a live action movie. I also love how much like the first film, it’s combines a family drama and a superhero flick, with the style and gadgets of a old school Bond film; despite it being animated, both Incredibles movies are pretty interesting period pieces on the more futuristic 1960’s. The action scenes are also spectacular, a massive improvement from the first movie; most of that attributes to Elastigirl taking the lead this time. The animation with her fights was a favorite of mine, and to see that utilized more here, you get some really kick ass sequences that bring out your inner Keanu Reeves...wow. My favorite sequence in the whole movie is a toss up between the Elasti-cycle train chase and the hunt for the Screenslaver. The inclusion of the Elasti-cycle might have looked a little gimmicky, but the way they have Elastigirl ride it, how she separates it and swings one part up a few levels, it was such a hypnotizing sequence. Speaking of which, the first fight with the Screenslaver was definitely a highlight, mostly because it points out another thing I love about Brad Bird’s movies, and that’s his use of lighting. Incredibles 2 in particular, has its lighting and shadow stand out so damn well, again capturing the look and feel of a 60’s technicolor film and Marvel Comics.

Debate between movies has been discussed, and most people do agree this movie isn’t as strong as the first, because of the villains. Syndrome in the first movie was not only a great villain, but he was a great character overall; he was made as a representation of how fandom can bring someone to insanity, if they obsess over it so much, even if it means destroying the very thing he loved so dear. In other words, Syndrome is that obsessive Star Wars fan that won’t shut up, given power. But while I do think Syndrome is the superior villain, the Screenslaver deserves a good amount of credit as well, having motivation fueled by the fact that people’s dependency for others doing things for them, and how we are becoming less interactive with the world watching screens all day, it does make for some compelling reasoning, especially when you find out the person’s identity. Not saying who it is, even if I know almost all of you have seen the movie by now, but I have a feeling Brad Bird may be looking at another Screenplay Oscar nod.

So overall, is The Incredibles 2 worth seeing? Yes, it is. This is the sequel we all wanted, and it did not disappoint. While it doesn’t have as strong a villain, it makes up for it with its characters, the dialogue, the themes of parenting and dependency, and the animation are all worth it. I know it may seem unlikely since Pixar says it was going to try and focus on more original stuff again, but I do hope they plan a third one; this deserves to be a trilogy WAY more than Cars even getting a sequel at all. Brad Bird has given us, yet again, an animated masterpiece.

Rating: A

Solo: A Star Wars Story (it's fun, calm down)

The Star Wars franchise has always been a difficult franchise to discuss with others, and I say that as someone who isn’t as big a fan. Ever since George Lucas began shoving permanent recuts of the original trilogy, which lead to the birth of the prequels and Disney buyout, thus leading to the merchandising and the new films coming out; ever since then, it’s hard to have a normal discussion about it, without someone going into some nitpicky butthurt rant, about how his or her fanfiction wasn’t in the new film, or how Lucas is tampering with history every time he goes back to Star Wars...look, after my Force Awakens review, I just wanted to refraine from talking about Star Wars for a while. I'll discuss Rogue One and The Last Jedi sometime in the future, but I think I'll wait until the drama dies down from the latter.

This leads us into the even bigger drama that surrounds this new film, mostly with the behind-the-scenes problems that went way out hand. Solo had originally been intended to be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo that made Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the 21 Jump Street movies, but they had been fired after Lawrence Kasdan and Kathleen Kennedy were unsatisfied with their progress. They had gotten carried away with letting actors improvise and going completely off script, and it even got to where Alden Ehrenreich had to get an acting coach, because he wasn’t meeting the producers standards. Hell, it was even rumored that Bradford Young and even Lawrence Kasdan had to shadow direct without them knowing in some places. some might call this karma from Warner Bros. having to deal with Justice League, where both films had to change directors with different styles and it ends up being a box office disasters (I know Solo is still in theatres, but its numbers are iffy).

The difference is, you have Zack Snyder being swapped with Joss Whedon, both of whom have styles that couldn’t be any more opposite if it tried; there's also the fact that Whedon came in after production wrapped, so the scenes where you can tell are Whedon's, you can obviously detect this was last minute. Ron Howard is a more versatile director, dabbling well with not just comedy, but drama and even action; he also came in midway during production, and was able to complete 70% of the finished project, including re-shoots. And luckily, the film manages to keep a consistant tone that never felt jaded anywhere else.

Alden Ehrenreich was a good young Han, despite the stories circulating around him. While his Han isn’t quite the same one as what we see in the beginning of A New Hope, it works because it gives him the freedom to make the character his own before going into true Ford mode. He’s smug and cocky, but he still kept a charm that hooked when he popped on screen. And the chemistry he shares with Chewbacca as they first meet, you see his main focus is survival with the nearest available help, as well as grow attached as they partners they would eventually become. Whatever problems did occur with him behind the scenes, they look to be fixed up.

Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover also stand-out nicely. Harrelson is the shady mentor that Han follows, bringing his classic charm, but also bringing some level-headedness to the circumstances at all times. At times you feel like he’s warning Han to back off, because he was like him before: arrogant and lacking strategy. Glover’s performance as Lando Calrissian, while I could tell he was doing an impression of Billy Dee Williams, he plays it off so naturally that it didn’t seem out of place. Whenever he and Ehrenreich are on screen, they make up the better parts of the movie, seeing the two butt heads every so often; not only that, but the ending scene with them had me crack up.

Lastly, it actually did something that I had been wanting from The Force Awakens: I wanted it to be a fun adventure, just like the first movie. In my review, I had expressed that the first ever Star Wars movie is my personal favorite, because it never really set out to be anything more than the start of a fairy tale fantasy film in space, much like Lucas described it back then. But with each new installment, even back then with Return of the Jedi, it felt as though it was being made to appease a specific demographic every time; either it’s made more kid friendly or politically correct, and fans then make a big stink about them doing what they asked them to do in the first place. Even with this film, the biggest complaints that I heard about the movie is that it has poor pacing and adds nothing new or takes risks the franchise. While I can understand the pacing complaint...I’m sorry, did you not hear the outcry of bs after The Last Jedi? Is it really so much to ask for a Star Wars film that’s just fun and DOESN’T cause trouble with fans? Seriously, I haven’t seen so much venom spewed out by comments since The Dark Knight Rises on Rotten Tomatoes; this kind of back and forth banter about what these movies should be to people is so infuriating to listen to.

Overall, where would I place Solo: A Star Wars Story? Well, it isn’t the worst, but I wouldn’t call it one of the best either. I’d say it’s around the same range as Return of the Jedi, if you ask me. With how things are looking, I doubt this is going to break even, sadly; however, if you’re looking for a fun space western, like I did, give this a watch.

Rating: B