Okay, I know I said that I didn't want to see anymore footage from this movie after the initial trailer dropped for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom but I'd heard that there was going to be at least another teaser for the film during some big soccer game or something tonight so when it found its way online, I hummed and hawed over watching it because I felt I kinda ruined Jurassic World for myself a bit in the sense that by watching all of the trailers and TV spots, I more or less knew exactly how the movie was going to play out. After being reassured in a Facebook group that it wasn't too spoilery, I gave it a watch. Why am I not doing this as a video on YouTube? Well, I wanted screenshots from the trailer to accompany this post so here we are.
First off, if you haven't seen the trailer:
Now that you have seen the trailer, here's what I think of it:
-Okay, the opening sequence of this trailer had a couple of nice callbacks to the first Jurassic Park with the shadow on the wall and the sickle claw tapping on the floor. When we get to this shot though, we see the Indoraptor reaching towards the girl (Isabella Sermon, I believe) very slowly and menacingly. It's odd that even a hybrid dinosaur would reach out like that but I've heard rumors that this thing may have traces of human DNA mixed into it (God, I hope not). I'm fairly certain that the up-close shot of its mouth immediately after this shot is an animatronic so points there!
-This shot immediately reminded me of the InGen hunters arriving to Isla Sorna in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, only this time we get the large helicopter airlifting a live dinosaur off of the island while Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Franklin (Justice Smith) watch from the shores. For a second, I thought that the dinosaur was a Spinosaurus but upon looking at it again, I doubt it. I think this dinosaur is too small, the "sail" isn't big enough and is probably just the angle of the dinosaur's spine that's throwing me off and is more likely than not the confirmed new addition of Baryonyx, a dinosaur in the same family as Spinosaurus.
-Hey, look! Another shot to remind you of another iconic shot from Jurassic Park. I said in my previous trailer review that I had no idea the Brachiosaurus was going to be in this movie until that point so I am still very happy to see them back. Some may think that these callback shots might be trying to recapture that magic of the first film but in all honesty, that's an impossible task. That said, this little clip gives me hope that the movie will still have some "ooh and ahh" moments, as long as the CG holds up which, for the most part, I think it looks good in this trailer.
-I haven't seen director J.A. Bayona's horror films but the opening of this trailer as well as this shot here tells me he has a great eye for unsettling imagery. This is the Baryonyx being back lit by some dripping lava and...damn it, it just looks cool! I think Franklin's girly scream is a bit much when the dinosaur reveals itself but hey, I can't say I blame him either. I just hope that his character doesn't try to cram comedic relief down our throats.
-I really like the look of this animatronic Blue here. In J.A. Bayona's previous film, A Monster Calls, the creature was brought to life by using animatronics that had been augmented with CGI afterwards. Here, I'm not convinced that Blue's eye blinking is CG but probably good puppetry. I've made it no secret that I thought Jurassic World was in dire need of more animatronics and we seem to be getting it here. Let's just hope the story can hold up its end.
-Okay, this shot looks cheesy but name an action/adventure movie that didn't have a cheesy moment. My guess is that the boat is taking off without Claire, Owen and Franklin who then get into this truck and drive it off of the ramp into the back of the boat in just the nick of time before we get that shot in the previous trailer of the mercenaries looking out the back of the boat at the burning island. Also, if you look to the left of the truck, I can't be certain but that just might be an old Jungle Explorer tour vehicle from the first film. I know that there is one in the jungle when Owen and Blue are reunited so what's to say there aren't any others laying about?
-I still don't know the context of this scene (GOOD). All I know is that Owen (Chris Pratt) is far closer than I would want to be to the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Not a Tyrannosaurus Rex, THE Tyrannosaurus Rex. The CGI needs some work here but I think this is the only shot in the trailer that made me think that.
-Ah, yes. Arnim Zola himself, Tobey Jones makes an appearance in this movie. Not sure what his role is, not bothered that I don't know, I want this movie to surprise me as much as it can, especially with that uncertain second half. If you look on the screen behind him, you can see "Indoraptor" clear as day with different currency abbreviations next to it. The fine text reads "Bidding Pre-Approval Required. Online Bidding Available." Well...this ethically questionable implication just made this more interesting.
-Seeing as how this is a sequel to Jurassic World, it only makes sense that there be callbacks to that film as well. This shot of Owen freezing with the shadow of the Indoraptor crossing his face reminds me of the shot of Grey (Ty Simpkins) hiding in the merch booth as the shadow of the Indominus Rex crossed his face. I should point out that anyone who may be rolling their eyes at the idea of another hybrid dinosaur after the last one worked so well (#sarcasm), I'm not crazy about it either but to be fair, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) did set this idea up in the last movie before the Velociraptor Delta killed him so it's not like it totally came out of left field.
-Blue facing off against the Indoraptor. I'm glad that we don't see the thing fully revealed in this trailer and I hope they don't show it in any trailers or TV spots until the movie is released. I'm sure the toy from Mattel will be out before the film is but the toys aren't always 100% accurate, anyway.
-Judging from the environment and the footage I saw from that behind the scenes featurette that was released the day before the first trailer, it looks like we're getting the Tyrannosaurus Rex on the mainland. There's something in the back of my mind telling me that this original T. Rex is probably going to die in this movie but as far as plot structure goes, I'm hoping that the transition from island to mainland is smoother than it was in The Lost World since this was their goal from the beginning and not a mid-production change. Also, I'm pretty sure this scene is recycling the unused ending from the original film where the Tyrannosaurus attempts to pull down the escape helicopter as the survivors leave the island but the Jurassic Park series has a history of recycling unused bits in later films so why would that change now?
-Okay, this guy has got an Allosaurus (I assume) to his left, a Styracosaurus and Ankylosaurus to his right and a Triceratops charging up from behind...yep, he's screwed. I can't help but think: who is letting the dinosaurs out? Is it Owen and Claire? Is that why Owen is in the container with the Tyrannosaurus? If this is happening on the mainland, is it because the dinosaurs are getting auctioned off? Yeah, I know that they're pushing for dinosaur rights but wouldn't unleashing these things into the local ecosystem have potentially disastrous results? This is probably going to be something of a callback to the dinosaurs being let loose in the hunter's camp in The Lost World but I hope this implication doesn't set up Jurassic Park 6 as some sort of "dinosaurs taking over the Earth" movie. That's purely speculation but I'm just throwing it out there.
-The final shot of the trailer featuring the Indoraptor snatching up some unsuspecting mercenary. Some people take issue with this scene saying that it feels more like a monster movie, which Jurassic Park was not. Fair enough but like I said, recapturing the magic of the original is just not going to happen and I don't mind scenes like this as long as they're not all the movie has to offer, which is not the feeling I'm getting from Fallen Kingdom...I hope. There's a part of me that hopes the mercenary in question is a character featured prominently in the movie that treats everyone else and maybe even some of the dinosaurs like garbage so that this can build up to a satisfying character death like Dieter Stark's in The Lost World. On the other hand, there's a part of me that hopes this mercenary is just some nameless hired goon so that a "major" character death isn't spoiled in the trailer, kind of like the blonde love interest in Aliens vs Predator: Requiem where you saw her die in the red band trailer so when watching the movie, you're just waiting for her to get killed. Granted, you're also just begging for the movie to end because you're watching Aliens vs Predator: Requiem but you know what I mean.
As for any outright problems I had with the trailer? I didn't mention it in my review of the first trailer but I'll admit, that trailer kinda jumps around a bit and doesn't have a smooth flow to it. The same can be said for this one. Personally, I think the trailer's final shot should've been the Indoraptor approaching the girl's bed but hey, I'm obviously not in charge of editing this thing. I'm still looking forward to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom but I also need to acknowledge that this movie and its premise could totally blow up in our faces. While I didn't hate Colin Trevorrow's previously penned and directed film Book Of Henry (I thought it was just okay), I couldn't shake the feeling that those two overlapping plots of a super genius boy trying to help his immature mother grow up and his classmate being sexually abused by her stepfather felt like they would've served better as their own separate movies. Granted, I've only seen a grand total of maybe five minutes of footage from this film but I'm putting up those barriers just in case. Maybe Fallen Kingdom will fare better or maybe Fallen Kingdom will dethrone Jurassic Park III as the worst of the series. It's all "maybe" at this point and it will continue to be until Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits theatres June 22. I will not be watching anymore trailers, TV spots or clips after this.
Let me know down below what you thought of this trailer. In the mean time, I'll be working on additions to my Etsy store while keeping this movie on my mind, repeating, "Please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck." As always folks, thank you so much for reading and if you like what you see on this blog, you be sure to nudge that "Follow" button and stay cynical!
-The Cynic
