Thanks to some slick editing by Bernat Vilaplana and snappy dialogue by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, the second instalment of the Jurassic World trilogy, which is the fifth in the Jurassic Park franchise, is an entertaining romp with a Gordon Brown “moral compass” which pits dinosaur rescuers against dinosaur traffickers.

The latter of whom, spearheaded by the duplicitous Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine), are intent on selling their captive carnivores to the ruthless businessman Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) so that he and his wily auctioneer Gunnar Everso (Toby Jones) can make a literal killing by fusing the DNA of two of the most predatory species into the ultimate fighting machine which obeys human command.

Sure, there are more contrived close-shaves and preposterous plot twists than you can throw a sedative dart at – a dinosaur unlocking an elevator’s keypad with one swish of its dexterous tail a particular “jump the shark” moment. The actors spend a lot of the time looking up in fear and wonder at green screen CGI à la Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And the second half is as bloated as a Brontosaurus’s belly, particularly when the action moves from the expansive jungle of the fictional volcanic island of Isla Nublar to the ornate labyrinth of Sir Benjamin Lockwood’s (James Cromwell’s) Californian mansion.

But the two-time Goya-winning director of A Monster Calls and The Orphanage, J. A. Bayona, just about merits the compliment which the dinosaur-whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) pays to the dinosaur activist Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) after she successfully extracts a bag of blood from a woozy T-Rex: “Good job. You’re making this look totally normal.”

Bolstered by a pulsating score by Michael Giacchino (whose recent work includes Coco, War for the Planet of the Apes and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and some arresting imagery by Óscar Faura (a long-necked dinosaur crashing to the ground after being consumed by a volcanic inferno particularly memorable), the 12A-rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom treads a fine line between family-friendly moralising and adults-only violence.

It’s nothing you’ve not seen before and it’s unlikely to win any awards, but as blockbusters go it does exactly what is required for its financial bankers who are looking to double their $170m investment before releasing the final part of the trilogy in post-Brexit 2021. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Though, for the most part, seat belts are not required. Unlike Brexit!

Director: J.A. Bayona
Writers: Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly
Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum
Peter Callaghan
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