The Jurassic Park series has been on a decline ever since Spielberg first introduced us to the digitally-recreated reptiles back in 1993, but it continues to be a box office juggernaut and an adventure for the entire family. And though Fallen Kingdom is unsuccessful in pushing the franchise towards a more sincere take, it does manage to usher it into an era of new possibilities and properly justify its title (but not the subtitle), subtly at first and then in the most on-the-nose fashion with Dr. Malcolm in its closing moments.

Fallen Kingdom is an incredibly good-looking sequel that fails to take the story forward. It’s a disappointing lead-up to the next episode that might not be required after what we’ve seen.