Jurassic World: the world after is expected this Wednesday, June 8 in French cinemas. A draft third part that precipitates the franchise towards extinction.
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In Jurassic World: the world after, dinosaurs are now part of the daily life of humanity. But the cohabitation remains fragile. Not only do humans fear for their lives on a daily basis, but the arrival of these prehistoric species promotes several illegal activities, such as the trade in rare animals, intensive farming, scientific experiments and poaching.
So when Blue and Maisie’s baby velociraptor is captured, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) have no choice but to search for it, even in a dino reserve with dark intentions. .
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A scenario imagined by Colin Trevorrow, back behind the camera after giving way to Juan Antonio Bayona for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). With this new component, the director saw things big and chose to bring together the franchises Jurassic. A tantalizing bet that films the meeting of the two worlds, but above all the comeback of the original trio unveiled by Steven Spielberg in 1993.
A (not) historic return
As promising as it is, it is clear that this screenplay choice is more like a wet firecracker. After the aborted project of Star Wars in which Colin Trevorrow should have reunited Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, the director challenged himself to organize the reunion of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum by persuading them to go back hunting dinosaurs.
Nevertheless, and although Jurassic World 3 does not fall into the trap of free fan service – contenting itself with a few subtle nods to the first film – the meeting between the two franchises does not really have the desired effect. The fault, first of all, with a writing of the characters not very convincing. Alan Grant’s modesty is intact, Ellie Sattler still imposes as much and the megalomaniac Ian Malcolm has not lost his charm. However, the epic, nostalgic, moving side that we hoped to find 29 years after their first appearance on the big screen is not there.
What’s more, their relationship with the franchise Jurassic World is not fully exploited. Although the dynamic between Ellie Sattler and Claire Dearing works, we regret the weak chemistry between the characters of Alan Grant and Owen Grady. And for good reason, the latter matches more in one scene with Omar Sy than in ten takes alongside Sam Neill. The character of Chris Pratt – despite a well-orchestrated motorcycle chase scene – is relayed to the background. An argument that contrasts with the previous parts, marked moreover by a direction of actor sometimes sloppy, sometimes overplayed.
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“Dinosaurs eat men, and women inherit the Earth”
Nevertheless, this makes it possible to give pride of place to women in the film. Indeed, the characters of Bryce Dallas Howard and Laura Dern are the real central elements of the feature film. A post #MeToo strategic choice for the production, which will offer a new dimension to the cult line from the first part of Jurassic Park, pronounced by Dr. Sattler: “Dinosaurs eat men, and woman inherits the Earth. »
The female characters will take charge of the rescue of the whole team, even if it means facing the worst dinosaurs, with the help of the mercenary, Kayla, played by the excellent DeWanda Wise – surely the best protagonist of the epilogue.
Lost in the next world
But women are also highlighted thanks to the photography of Colin Trevorrow. We feel the director’s desire to offer a worked and refined blockbuster, through certain shots featuring Bryce Dallas Howard. However, this does not erase a too abundant scenario, which wants to condense in a film the narrative arcs of the veterans and the new recruits.
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The themes are too varied, despite the desire to offer the blockbuster an identity close to the ecological thriller. A subject with great potential finally overflown, which could have given a deeper leg to the feature film, after an interesting postulate at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
The action indeed quickly takes precedence over the substance, and loses us in the jargon of technologies, the excesses of cloning or even the true intentions of antagonists with hollow characterization. So many caricatural aspects reminiscent Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997). Like Spielberg’s film, Colin Trevorrow’s exploits the presence of dinosaurs in society, but the dialogue and editing are as wobbly as an entire script that drags on and hangs on the return of key protagonists.
This conclusion would perhaps have deserved to be separated into two films, in order to further develop the narrative arcs of the characters and to build a final worthy of the name. Despite scriptwriting intentions related to current environmental issues, female characters or even the staging, Jurassic World: the world after finally symbolizes the breathlessness of a franchise; a slow and painful extinction, which missed its bet.
Jurassic World: the world afterby Colin Trevorrow, with Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and DeWanda Wise, 2:26, in theaters June 8, 2022.
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