Why Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Deserves a Second Look

AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·

Why Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Deserves a Second Look

A retrospective look at Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom argues that the 2018 film deserves appreciation for taking bold creative risks that later sequels avoided.

When big entertainment franchises run for decades, fans often develop strict expectations about what a sequel should look like. Writing for Polygon, Brian VanHooker recently reflected on 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, arguing that the movie deserves more credit than it usually gets from the community. While later entries like Jurassic World: Dominion largely retreated to familiar formulas despite promising a world changed by prehistoric creatures, Fallen Kingdom genuinely tried to shift the direction of the series.

Most sequels in the long running dinosaur saga rely heavily on the enclosed jungle island setting that made the original 1993 film iconic. Fallen Kingdom takes a different approach by detonating its island setting halfway through the runtime and moving the action to a Gothic California mansion. Even though the movie stumbles with strange plot points like human cloning and predictable hybrid dinosaurs, it stands out as the only film in the seven movie franchise willing to disrupt its own status quo.

For digital entertainment fans who watch franchises evolve across streaming platforms like Netflix, creative risks are always a double edged sword. Taking a beloved IP in a fresh direction often alienates audiences initially, but it frequently ages better than safe, predictable sequels that simply recycle past hits. Fallen Kingdom might not be a flawless blockbuster, but its willingness to break the mold makes it a fascinating pivot point in modern cinematic history.

Tags: Film, Entertainment, Streaming, Pop Culture, Polygon

Original article: Polygon