The Jurassic Games: Extinction

If you're looking for dinosaur action, this movie is loaded up with it. There's a good variety of dinosaurs and action. The story takes a more serious tone compared to the original release, and contains some on the nose retcons that I felt weren't necessary to retcon, but I really enjoyed the fight sequences and music. I liked that the film pulled through on the first film's final scene's promise of adding artillery to the dinosaurs, as well as adding power ups to the players. The actors put their 100% into the film, and it was fun to see the two leads of the previous film return for their roles.

Jurassic Games: Extinction ups the ante from it's 2018 predecessor in all things story and action. We follow a cast of characters that, unlike the original, are not criminals on death row, but the original play testers for the Games. This provides some much needed depth to the narrative that allows for a sense of empathy for the characters this time around. Instead of rooting to see somebody get eaten by a dinosaur, that feeling is now replaced with a feeling of suspense in that you now don't want to see these people meet a grisly fate. I really enjoyed this about story and ended up having a few new favorites of the group. The actress for Sage does a fantastic job here.

As far as action goes, it's nonstop. Every act in this film feels as if it could be the finale in another low budget dinosaur movie. They deliver on dinosaur action. No catfishing here. Whether it's a Star Wars-esque speeder chase through the woods, or an old fashioned gladiator style battle, or even a futuristic sci-fi looking raptor maze, there is tons of variety with the set pieces and scenarios these characters are thrown into. This type of setup also allowed for great pacing. We enter each level seamlessly with interwoven character moments and dialogue segments in between. It's just enough time to let the action breath before heading into another exciting dinosaur sequence.

All in all, The Jurassic Games: Extinction does something that the vast majority of low budget dinosaur films simply do not do. There is clearly a lot of heart and effort that went into the production of this film, and while it isn't a perfect film, it more than justifies a watch and even a rewatch. Recommended!