Story
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom takes up four years after Jurassic Park closed and the dinosaurs were relocated to the island of Isla Nublar. Unfortunately for the dinosaurs, a volcano has erupted on Isla Nublar, destroying much of it and threatening the dinosaurs with extinction. Politicians debate the ethical issues of letting nature take its course or trying to save the dinosaurs. They decide to let nature take its course, but Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), the founder of Jurassic Park, contacts Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). She used to be employed at the park, and Lockwood knows she’ll do all she can to save the dinosaurs.
Claire reunites with ex-boyfriend Owen (Chris Pratt) to return to Isla Nublar. Owen takes some convincing but wants to save his beloved Blue so agrees to go. They take with them a vet, Zia (Daniella Pineda), and a student, Franklin (Justice Smith). But they don’t realise that Lockwood’s accountant Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) is plotting to capture the dinosaurs and sell them on the black market to make his fortune. He plans to use Claire and Owen to help him find the dinosaurs. This means that when Claire and Owen arrive on the island, they’re in danger not only from the dinosaurs, but also from the mercenary soldiers Mills has employed. From this point, it’s a horrifying and bloodthirsty race against the volcano, the dinosaurs and the soldiers. Claire and Owen eventually make it back to the mainland, where things get even worse.
Mills auctions the dinosaurs to some high-rollers, but the situation gets out of control when Owen releases a triceratops from its cage. Chaos ensues as everyone tries to escape the dinosaurs. Lockwood’s granddaughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon) gets involved in trying to save the dinosaurs but finds herself in a terrifying situation. Stalked by both Mills and the artificially created Indoraptor, Maisie finds herself living a nightmare. She does, however, prove useful to Claire and Owen.
Themes
Ethical use of science; cruelty to animals (dinosaurs); preservation of endangered species
Violence
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has a lot of violence from start to finish. There are graphic scenes that show dinosaurs attacking humans, eating them whole and/or dismembering them, ripping each other to pieces in fights and being burned alive by lava. There are also scenes that show characters using combat rifles and tranquiliser guns and fighting each other in hand-to-hand combat. For example:
- A man is being rescued by a helicopter and is hanging on to a rope ladder when a massive dinosaur leaps out of the water, grabs him from the ladder and eats him.
- A roaring dinosaur jumps on to Owen, and a soldier shoots it dead. The soldier then shoots Owen with a tranquiliser gun.
- A live goat is fed to a dinosaur.
- The Indoraptor is ‘the most dangerous creature to ever walk the planet’. It’s cruelly tested with laser beams, which make it go wild.
- When the triceratops is let loose, fights break out among the soldiers and others. The soldiers start fighting with tasers and other weapons.
- The Indoraptor bites a man’s arm off and then eats him alive.
- Zia lets Blue out of his cage, and he accidentally steps on a gas canister, setting off explosions.
- Blue and the Indoraptor chase and fight each other. This ends when one of them gets impaled on long spikes.
Sexual references
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has some sexual references, including some mild flirting and a kiss between Claire and Owen.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom shows some use of substances, including a scene where people drink socially in a pub.
Nudity and sexual activity
Nothing of concern.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: MacBook and Budweiser.
Coarse language
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a violent, suspenseful, fast-paced action movie. The movie is intense and terrifying, which will please Jurassic Park fans who know what to expect. The plot is quite thin, however, with storyline traded off for an increase in the level of violence.
Because of its terrifying scenes, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom isn’t suitable for children under 13. We don’t recommend it for children aged 13-15 years either.
The main message from this movie is about treating animals ethically. The movie is also concerned with whether humans should interfere with natural processes to save endangered animals.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include bravery, teamwork, compassion, selflessness and conservation.