I recently rewatched FK for the first time since I saw it in theaters and I am still incredibly disappointed. I initially saw FK in mid-August right before it left theaters in Wisconsin. I saw it so late because I had just returned from a 2.5 month long field season in South America (I’m an archaeologist). I waited to see the movie until I got back because I wanted to see it with my family so the hype was real. I was very disappointed to say the least. I figured that I let the hype get to me and I was still stressed from the summers fieldwork so I waited to rewatch it until much later to form my final opinions. Unfortunately they haven’t changed.

To begin, I know people worked VERY hard on this movie and the screenwriters are much better authors than I will ever be. Also, I am biased towards JP1 and LW:JP because I grew up with those books and movies (I never liked JP3 even as a child when it came out in theaters). This franchise inspired me to peruse academics, especially because of the adventure and discussions on the ethics of science. Finally, I actually enjoyed JW. It wasn’t all that bad but signaled the tonal shift for the franchise.

My biggest complaint is about the characters. JP/JW is not known for a large cast of “good” characters apart from the favorites but everyone in FK felt very one sided. I really liked how that even though Dr. Sattler, Malcom, and Grant were experts in their field, they had no idea what Jurassic Park was. Their characters felt like real academics in a way. Arrogant because they knew their stuff but humbled by nature. Zia Rodriguez felt crass, over confident, didn’t really ask “why”, and overall lacked agency. Also, how can you be a paleovet but never seen a dinosaur? That would be like an archaeologist writing a dissertation while never have dug or done lab analysis.

Fallen Kingdom felt like someone was beating me over the head with the “greed bad, nature good” dichotomy. It didn’t have the deeper “why” questions from the first two movies. I understand that it’s a summer blockbuster made to make money also so there must be balance.

Malcom’s “scenes” felt really forced and the music wasn’t used as effectively as it was in all the other films. One of the best things about JP1, LW:JP, and somewhat JW was that the dinosaurs weren’t monsters but felt like animals trying to survive in an semi-authentic way. I know that statement doesn’t make sense because we don’t know what an “authentic dinosaur” would act like but the earlier films felt more realistic. JP3 is the biggest offender here though with the Spinosaurus being akin to the Xenomorph from Alien, just a monster, FK felt predictable, blue’s arc is boring, rexy continues to be a savior for some reason, Owen Grady has no purpose apart from being Chris Pratt, and the ending was frustrating.

Lockwood mansion is somewhere on the west coast which is way different than the tropics where these animals were raised. Apart from not being able to adapt to a new ecological zone because of a near 0 knowledge of the landscape, disease will be rampant. JW3 will have to take place almost immediately after FK otherwise those animals won’t survive long. I get that “life, uh, finds a way” but disease, temperatures dipping below 70 F, new plant based diets, and little to no competition for the predators will put a stop any rise of the planet of the apes scenarios. I’m sure that the animals will be adapted to some modern diseases but I couldn’t drink the water in Peru for example without being worried about shitting myself to death and I was born in this geologic epoch!

Long story short is that this franchise has evolved and I’m sure some people have enjoyed it but I have not. If you liked the movie, that’s great! I hope you find as much enjoyment as I had in previous entries. I guess my enjoyment and excitement for new films has gone extinct.

TL;DR -FK is a different kind of movie than previous films and I’m not a fan