As they inevitably leave the island, you realise you’ve seen this film so many times before. Why not try something different? Why not have them work out how they’re going to survive with no prospect of rescue? Like, The Martian with dinosaurs?
My kids enjoyed it well enough but half the screening was notably bored. There are some tense scenes that work well and plenty of people getting chomped, so I wasn’t disappointed there.
But there is literally nothing I haven’t seen before. I’ve not read it for a while, but I think the T-Rex/raft chase is in the original novel. The lack of invention is honestly baffling.
The contrivance that brings children into the story means there are far too many characters. Despite the screen time invested, even the back stories of the main characters are paper-thin. You could sum up the remaining characters in a single sentence.
Finally, and this is my own personally nerdy beef, why do they go so woefully under-armed again? One guy, has one gun which is so ill-suited to the supposed purpose it is ludicrous. Where’s the .50cal armour-piercing long rifles? If you don’t want to kill it, why not light or sound? No-one has ever even chucked a flashbang at these things. Dinsoaurs have been living in the world, they must know how to kill or at least dissuade them by now!
P.S. yes, I have seen the Netflix animations
★★½