Hold on to your butts because this, ladies and gentlemen, is going to rock your world. Your... Jurassic World even.
This movie is definitely a major, major, MAJOR step up from the previous sequels. It blows The Lost World out of the water, it basically nukes Jurassic Park 3 past the stone age.
Forget those "User Reviews" that are on here, they are NOT true in any way.
So, lets begin our journey.
The Story:
This movie is layered as Hell. While the Indominus is the thing that starts everything up, it basically becomes the backdrop, the constant threat that looms in the background and that has to be dealt with. How? Well, that's up to the characters to decide. Let's leave it at "They throw ALL at it, even the sink". The story really is its own, like Spielberg said and it really differentiates itself from the original JP and most certainly from the overly preachy Lost World and the "story" of Jurassic Park 3.
This is a summer adventure flick that actually does have an underlying meaning and tone: wanting everything bigger, better and "with more teeth" will eventually backfire in a big way and trying to use nature for your own goals is never a good idea. You have to pay attention to pick it up, like Jurassic Park's "Nature can't be controlled".
It throws some curve-balls at you from time to time, especially with Owen, Barry and the Raptors.
Characters:
Quite honestly, the characters were all on the same level and incredibly human. They all had their own quirks that meshed greatly with the people they play it off of. Pratt does a great job as Owen and is what they've been saying from the beginning: a mix of Grant and Malcolm. He knows his dinosaurs, but when a lady catches his eye, he's smooth as ice. It should be noted that Blue isn't the fearless Raptor Leader... Owen is.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays the stiff Claire that kind of turns into a badass and the progression is pretty damn natural. It's as if she sheds her dull CEO skin to show what she's really made of. She also becomes fiercely protective of her nephews because of that.
The kids are awesome as well and they really ARE kids. Gray probably has a bit of an autistic streak (from what I gather, not in a bad way) because he basically comes up with stuff on the fly when it comes to dinosaurs, numbers, etc... He seems hyper-smart but emotionally unstable at times. Zach is definitely not what you'd expect. At first he seems like the unlikable brother douche, but seeing things affect his brother make him realise that he has to be his brother's rock so they make it out okay.
While Omar Sy's Barry doesn't really have much to do, he and Owen come off as fast friends and great collegues. They treat D'Orofino's character with caution because they know the @sshole is up to no good (Startin' making trouble in the Raptor Hood!)
The character could've been left out, but the addition of him isn't bad either. He's like that extra pinch of salt and pepper that you add to soup. It's good without it, but it just gives that little extra.
D'Orofino is basically, an @sshole who (like Claire) sees the animals just as assets. Things that can be used to further his goals. While you get his point, you'll probably still shake your head and say "Go Fck yourself dude... Hard. With a goddamn cactus."
The Raptors... Oh God the Raptors. While they aren't as characterised as I had hoped, they still grow on you. I won't spoil it, but you'll feel for them. This is the first time they aren't the "villains" or anything. They're not evil, they're not good, they're animals and incredibly real.
The Indominus isn't played off as much as the villain as we thought. She still IS a dinosaur of some sort and her behavior is pretty justified. She's not as much psycho killer as she is confused. She's the ultimate predator, and she acts like it, but she's confused about her place. There's a part in the movie where I thought "Oh come ON! Really?! No! Fck you Trevorrow, now you've lost me." but at the end, it played out pretty neat. Nature vs Nurture. Also: THE SITE FCKING LIES! That's all I'll say about it.
The side characters, like Lowery, are great. He's basically us. The Jurassic Park fans who think dinosaurs should be dinosaurs and not "pepsi-saurus" or whatever they're cooking up in the lab.
Oh yeah, and there's that Zara character too. Honestly? Nothing much about her. She's... There and then she's not there anymore. I'll give her a 10 out of 10 for the dive though.
The Score:
The music fits perfectly. It's used correctly, it hits the right notes and it had a Jurassic Park feel all the way around. It basically feels just like Jurassic Park has been brought back.
Overall judgement:
This truly IS the sequel we've ALL been waiting for. It hits the right notes, it has the right pacing, it doesn't drag one bit. There are a few things that I wouldn't have done, but I can forgive them because if I think about them, they DO make sense in a way. The story flows well, it doesn't skip a beat, it has its more quirky moments but overall, it's as solid and massive as the first. It's with pleasure I'll give it an 8.5/10.
I'll also happily share this: Due to my love for Jurassic Park, I teared up in the beginning (the park combined with the music really tugged at those emotional strings) and when the end credits rolled with "The Park is Closed" in the background, I teared up again because this was what I had been waiting for. Trevorrow did exactly what he set out to do: he made me, a 24 year old, feel as if I was 5 again. And it felt bloody good.
Thank you Colin Trevorrow, for giving me what Spielberg and Johnston couldn't. A true sequel to Jurassic Park.
