Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Parent Guide

“I’m talking about man-made cataclysmic change,” warns Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as he testifies before Congress about the implications of cloned dinosaurs. “You don’t know what it looks like ‘til you’re standing at the gates.”

If you ever wondered how playing God with the genome of extinct dinosaurs could lead to cataclysmic change, you clearly haven’t watched the first four movies in the Jurassic Park series. But that’s okay – Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom graphically illustrates the deadly consequences.

As the movie opens, Jurassic Park is in ruins and cloned dinosaurs roam freely on Isla Nublar and in the surrounding ocean. This pastoral paleontological paradise is now under threat because Mount Sibo, the heretofore dormant volcano, is on the verge of a major eruption which would produce an “extinction event” for all life on the island. Instead of seeing this as a “do over” for the mistake of re-introducing prehistoric animals to the modern ecosystem, dinosaur activists, led by Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are pressuring Congress to fund protective measures for the endangered animals. “An entire generation has grown up in a world where dinosaurs are living, breathing,” begins Claire’s earnest pitch, “But now they’re going to have to watch them go extinct. Or not.”

Claire’s determination to save the dinosaurs is matched by Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), who was responsible for cloning the animals and establishing Jurassic Park. Lockwood has found a new refuge for the endangered reptiles but needs help to round them up quickly. His assistant, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) asks Claire to persuade her old partner Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to return to Isla Nublar with her, restart the computer tracking system on the island, and help them rescue as many creatures as possible.

Once Claire, Owen, veterinarian Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), and tech wizard Franklin Webb (Justice Webb) reach their destination, the action starts and never lets up. The volcano erupts, dinosaurs and people are shot with tranquilizer guns, humans try to outrun rampaging dinosaurs, and everyone tries to outrun the lava exploding out of the volcano. The action slows down slightly on board ship but picks up again once they arrive at their surprise relocation site. Claire, Owen, Zia and Franklin uncover treachery, greed and (spoiler alert) a plot to genetically engineer “weaponized dinosaurs” – creatures of surpassing strength and power who respond to human commands. The geneticist enabling this conspiracy has even produced a prototype dinosaur named the Indoraptor, which is designed to hunt, track and destroy. It should come as no surprise when this dinosaur, which looks like the Jurassic version of a meth head, escapes its cage and proceeds to hunt, track and destroy.

Parents considering Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for family viewing should take the PG-13 rating very seriously. The relentless violence and deadly peril faced by the characters make this movie unsuitable for small children. Adults may find themselves irked by paint-by-number action sequences, lazy writing, and plot holes big enough to push a T-rex through. However, teenagers looking for frenetic action, chase scenes, lots of excitement, and entertainment that brings back memories of imaginary adventures with toy dinosaurs, will likely enjoy escaping into this thrill ride in a neo-Jurassic world.