Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s Lack of Wonder is Deliberate and Important
*Warning: Massive Spoilers for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom*
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has already been out in North America for a few days (internationally even longer) and while the film has been raking in tons of money, it’s also been getting some divisive reviews online.
There are many different issues and complaints that people have against the film, and I agree with some of them. Fallen Kingdom is not a perfect movie. But the most consistent criticism seems to be the film’s lack of wonder. This is a complaint that has been raised against all of the Jurassic sequels in one way or another, and is understandable considering the very special place that the first film holds in the heart of popular culture. It’s an admiration I can relate to only too well.
“I own an island off the coast of Costa Rica. I’ve leased it from the government and have spent the last five years setting up a kind of, biological preserve. Really spectacular, spared no expense.”
- John Hammond, Jurassic Park (1993)
The original Jurassic Park (1993) is my favorite film of all-time. It was the film that introduced me to Steven Spielberg, one of my favorite directors, and Michael Crichton, one of my favorite writers. It wowed me with its amazing visual effects, iconic setting, and imaginative story.
And yes, I too remember the wonder of it all; the grand majesty of the brachiosaurus scene, and the quiet intimacy of the Triceratops scene. Even the more horrifying moments, like the T-Rex attack and the raptors in the kitchen scene, still have this sense of awe about them, allowing us to appreciate these magnificent creatures.
And ever since 1997, when the first Jurassic sequel came out, critics and audiences have been mourning the loss of this awe. Its often the first thing brought up in a negative review of one of these films, and the fifth entry in the series is no exception.
However, to simply lament the absence of wonder in Fallen Kingdom is to ignore what the film is trying to say about the nature of progress, and how it wishes to advance the Jurassic Park story.
“Oh yeah, ooo, ahhh, that’s how all this starts. But then later there’s running, and screaming.”
- Ian Malcom, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
One of the themes of Fallen Kingdom is the examination of how groundbreaking technology affects our world. The characters often discuss how the existence of the dinosaurs and the cloning techniques used to bring them to life, have set the world on fire, and changed it irrevocably. People from across the globe are swarming to illegal auctions to purchase dinosaurs for various reasons, creating a small cottage industry. An old billionaire has cloned his dead daughter so he can see her again. Wild pteranodons make their nests on the roofs of Las Vegas casinos.
The film concludes with a somber coda, depicting the frightening and uncertain fate of the film’s dinosaurs. It is accompanied by a monologue from the great Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) where he talks about the unstoppable nature of change, and how we can’t go back to the more innocent days of yore.
“Humans and dinosaurs will need to learn to live together.” He says.
The idea of stepping back from the wonder of the animals, and trying to examine these issues is nothing new to the franchise. The original Jurassic Park, and the 1990 novel it was based on, spent quite a bit of their length talking about the ethics of this technology, and how it will affect society. Alan Grant (Sam Neil) even uttered this immortal question, “Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by sixty-five million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”
Fallen Kingdom, and to a certain extent its predecessor Jurassic World (2015), attempt to answer this question.
“No one’s impressed by a dinosaur anymore. Twenty years ago, de-extinction was right up there with magic. These days, kids look at a Stegosaurus like an elephant from the city zoo.”
- Claire Dearing, Jurassic World (2015)
In 2015, Jurassic World posited the idea that people would eventually get bored with dinosaurs, necessitating the creation of the Indominus Rex to bolster park attendance. In addition, the film also depicts attempts to domesticate the animals, and maybe even use them for military purposes.
What’s important to understand is that the Jurassic World films are not asking these questions just for the sake of sounding smart or to be snarky and hip. They acknowledge the strangeness, and even absurdity of these developments.
“Corporate felt genetic modification would up the ‘wow’ factor.” Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) the operations manager of Jurassic World says in one scene from the 2015 film.
Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) the park’s raptor expert is not amused. “They’re dinosaurs. ‘Wow’ enough.”
“Not according to our focus groups. The Indominus Rex makes us relevant again.”
The main dramatic through line of the two Jurassic World films (Fallen Kingdom in particular) is about the delicate nature of beauty and wonder, and how those things can be so easily corrupted by modernity and the passage of time. This idea is visually dramatized in a scene that is quickly becoming Fallen Kingdom’s most iconic moment.
In the film, Isla Nublar (the island where Jurassic Park, and later Jurassic World were built) is about to be destroyed by a suddenly active volcano. Much of the first act depicts the efforts of the main human cast to try and save as many dinosaurs as they can from total annihilation. They’re able to load up a boat with dinos and shove off just as the island is consumed in a fury of volcanic fire.
As the boat begins to sail away, the crew turns back to witnesses a brachiosaurus standing on the dock. It cries out mournfully, a somber take on the brachiosaur scene from the first film. The beast is quickly consumed by volcanic smoke, and utters one final goodbye, before vanishing.
The melodic brachiosaur, one of the most beautiful creatures in the Jurassic series, a symbol of the first film’s fascination with wonder and beauty, devoured by an unstoppable force of nature. On the nose doesn’t even begin to cut it.
“Welcome To Jurassic World.”
- Ian Malcolm, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Despite the somber (sometimes depressing) nature of the story, the film does hold out some hope for the products of these new technologies, even if the attendant issues are very difficult to contend with.
Take for instance the character of Maisie (Isabella Sermon). She is a nine-year-old girl living with her billionaire grandfather Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell). Late in the film, it is revealed that Maisie is actually a clone of Lockwood’s dead daughter, created by Lockwood in a fit of grief after her death. The film draws parallels between Maisie and the dinosaurs, comparing them both as genetically engineered beings that technically shouldn’t exist. In the end, the film concludes that both Maisie and the dinosaurs have the right to a fulfilling life, with dignity and respect, despite their unnatural origins.
It is here that Fallen Kingdom makes it greatest thematic contribution to the series. Instead of harping on the same old tune of “man must not venture into God’s domain” the film asks us to take responsibility for our creations. It says that scientific progress and change are natural and unavoidable, a point that Ian Malcolm makes at the film’s conclusion. We must instead embrace these changes, and be ready to adapt our way of thinking to the world these changes create. We can’t go back again.
And we can’t recreate the awe of the original Jurassic Park, nor should we. Jurassic Park is a truly great movie, filled with majesty and wonder. But to ask that its sequels simply retread and repeat what it’s already done, is a disservice to that film, and to the amazing, interesting, thoughtful stories that this franchise is capable of telling. If it’s a choice between wallowing in what another film already did perfectly, or letting a newer film tell its own story, and do new, unexpected things, I’ll pick the latter every time.
