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This is basically "Jurassic Park III" all over again. It only repeats what previous Movies (not only in this franchise) have done before, without infusing any new ideas. That doesn't mean it's bad, even though the first half isn't particularly outstanding. But after they get to the island, the movie gradually finds its flow and starts to become entertaining. I happen to like "Jurassic Park III", I always have a good time with it and so I also had a reasonably fun evening with this one.

The major problem is that it feels much more than a new entry to the Monsterverse. A casual mentioning of Alan Grant and the classic musical cues are not enough to make this feel even remotely like it's part of the same franchise. Just as in Gareth Edwards "Godzilla" the visuals are great and the giant monster scenes are really effective. But just as in that movie, the characters are uninteresting, because they are all so underdeveloped, that I really couldn't bring myself to feel anything for anyone of them. Similarly Screenwriter David Koepp seems to have lost nearly all his talent for the great character scenes and the subtle suspense moments from the original. And the way they shoehorn in a family into this plot is really contrived.

Still, the jungle atmosphere is fantastic (especially in the cinema) and the cast is great, even through none of them gets anything significant to do. After it's disappointing beginning, I did end up having fun watching at least parts of this movie. What's most disappointing for me is that not only the feel of the predecessors is missing, but that it also retcons the last film. Having a world in which humans and dinosaurs have to live together would have been a great starting point for any kind of new story. Instead the dinos are all back on tropical islands and going extinct again. For the Franchise this is nothing short of a death blow, since it eliminates any way to narratively develop it further.

Now all you can do with it is to walk all too familiar grounds without any innovations except new monsters, who look all desicevly ugly. That can be still a fun way to spend an evening, it is however also a creative endpoint to the movie franchise.

The Worst Thing you can say about this Film in my opinion, is that is so by the numbers. It doesn't take any risks (except the money that went into making it of course), it has no radical new ideas we haven't seen elsewhere and it ultimately doesn't reach its potential. You could have done much more with this, since the story is very interesting. However despite it's not exactly short runtime, the whole movie feels rushed to me. We are suddenly on a road trip, the fact that the robot is her brother is accepted so fast I almost missed it and since the movie rushes through moments, instead of develop them, I simply never got the feeling that I actually got to know these characters or know why I'm supposed to be infested in them.

That is particularly sad because I really wanted to love this movie. I'm a big Sci-Fi Fan and I love everything with robots, especially when they are not just seen as an evil threat. So I found the robot characters and the theme of their fight for freedom very appealing, especially since the voice actors were all doing a great job also. The rest of the cast is just as great. But even though I love the work of both Milly Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt individually, and even though both try their best and give good performances with what their given, I just never really cared for their characters that much, since the movie never really gave me enough reason to do so.

But it's not like this a terrible or soulless movie. The effort is their, everybody is doing good work, but the script feels just like it's been put together from stuff we've already seen elsewhere, without adding much new ideas to the mix. Hopefully the Russo Brothers will find back to their old style with their next Marvel Movies, because even if this is a solid film, it could have been directed by literally anyone. The best parts of the movie for me are the interesting but (like so many things) underdeveloped Motivation of it's Villain and the arc of the unusual freedom fighter Mr. Potato Head and their short confrontation at the end was one of the best parts of the movie for me.

Despite all my criticism, this is a fun Friday Night Movie, when you don't really need the most involving story or characters you be overly infested in. I definitely enjoyed watching it, despite it's massive unrealized potential.

The movie is interesting, but never fully realizes it's potential. It's a slow burn, slice of life movie. There are no big turns or dramatic scenes. We never really get to know any of the characters, except for the main character Annie, and even that only to a degree. If you can accept that you are in for a mood piece, more than a romantic character drama, you can have a nice evening with this movie.

Luckily, the movie has Natalia Dyer in the lead role and she really makes the movie work as much as it does. You know you're watching a really good actor, when they can convey everything worth knowing about the character, without the script giving them much opportunity. I really loved her subtle performance, she really made me feel like she is the only character in this we actually get to know. The few other cast members all solid, but none of them is really that interesting.

Despite it's weaknesses, I really enjoyed watching this. It's nothing great, not a must see movie, but it's worthwhile nonetheless.