After it was recently confirmed that Jurassic World will indeed become a trilogy, the rejoicing from fans of the original franchise and the more recent Jurassic World could be heard all over the globe. After receiving widespread critical acclaim from both fans and critics alike, Jurassic World became the first movie in history to gross over $500m in its opening weekend back in 2015 and so with this in mind, the hype surrounding this summer’s sequel is understandable.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is set for release as early as June 8th in some countries but given the mediocrity of the previous sequels in the franchise when compared to the original 1993 effort, should we be worried that Fallen Kingdom could suffer the same fate?

Jurassic World in Numbers

With a rather eye-watering $1.67bn worldwide gross, Jurassic World took the movie industry by storm in 2015. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard were rightly lauded for their performances, the special effects and CGI made the dinosaurs more real than ever, and the overall release and timing of the movie felt perfect. However, there is an argument to be made that Jurassic World is simply nothing more than an updated, modern-day Jurassic Park remake and that its success can be put down to the curiosity of a generation who had never heard of the original franchise and the morbid curiosity of the ‘old heads’ wondering if it would match up to the 1993 blockbuster.

Lego and Slots: Measuring Pop Culture Success

The success of the film spawned a number of entertaining video games including multi-platformer Lego Jurassic World, as well as a Jurassic World online slot game available online, at Jackpot City. As explained in this Jackpot City casino review, the site is extremely popular with Canadian gamers due to its generous welcome bonuses and the wide variety of themed slot games on offer which includes the likes of Tomb Raider and Kung-Fu Panda. The success of video games relating to the movie certainly did the franchise no harm with regards to its appeal amongst a younger audience who may not have seen the originals.

Jurassic World Was a Safe Bet

Our knowledge of dinosaurs has greatly improved since the early 1990s and the reboot represented a good chance to showcase this – for example, it’s now widely accepted that almost all Dinosaurs were covered in some type of feathers and incorporating this into the movie would have been a pretty interesting but bold and applaudable move.

Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow arguably played it a little safe hoping that the fact the movie doesn’t stray too far from the original 1993 blockbuster means that it can be enjoyed by every generation of dinosaur enthusiast possible. Of course, this makes perfect sense from a business perspective but with Trevorrow confirmed as the director for the next two films, it would be nice to see him push the boat out somewhat in order to minimize the risk of that same feeling associated with previous installments in the franchise.

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Source: Pexels

Valid Criticism or Unnecessary Nit-Picking?

Make no mistake about it – Jurassic World was a thoroughly enjoyable film. Was this because it was a genuinely above average effort or had we just forgotten about dinosaurs and consequently basked in the inevitable sunlight that nostalgia brings? Who knows. Just to be clear, we are all looking forward to Lost Kingdom and will be in the cinema in June with our popcorn to hand. However, for anyone who remembers the underwhelming nature of the franchise’s previous sequels, you can’t help but treat the upcoming effort with a little trepidation. Here’s hoping that these fears are unfounded.