Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Fallen Kingdom blows up its island in the first act, then moves into a mansion and turns into a haunted house movie with a dinosaur auction. That pivot is bold and kinda nuts, and neither half gets room to breathe. The island half is a disaster movie that ends just as it gets going. The mansion half runs on villains so obviously villainous they practically twirl their own neckties. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard mostly run, duck and shout each other’s names. Jeff Goldblum is barely in it. J. A. Bayona does slip some real beauty in, though. One lonely shot on the dock as the island burns is the saddest image in the series, and a claw creeping toward a little girl’s bed at night feels like a classic storybook nightmare. It made $1.31 billion worldwide, because dinosaurs. A 4.4 because a handful of gorgeous shots can’t save a story that keeps changing its mind. $736 says you pass a pet store gecko and briefly price it like an auctioneer.

What works: J. A. Bayona stages a few gorgeous, spooky shots, especially the dinosaur on the dock and the creeping claw in the bedroom.

What doesn’t: The plot lurches between two half-movies, the villains are cartoonish, and the leads have nothing new to play.

Who it’s for: Dinosaur fans who will take a few great images over a story that makes sense.