Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. As expected, this became a fine presentation.
At all times, sharpness appeared positive. As such, I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined. I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any print flaws.
Teal? Check. Orange? Check. Color-related creativity? Nope. The hues followed predictable stylistic paths, but the Blu-ray executed them in a positive manner.
Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. The Blu-ray became a strong reproduction of the film.
Jurassic movies have always been sonic delights, and the DTS X track of Kingdom followed that tradition. Downconverted to DTS-HD 7.1, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner. Dinos, vehicles, weapon-fire, and other action elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape.
This meant nearly constant material from the surrounds. The back speakers delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.
Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.
Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. People invest major bucks in home theaters for audio like this, and Kingdom delivered the goods.
This package includes both 2D and 3D versions of Kingdom. The picture quality comments above examined the 2D edition – how did the 3D compare?
In terms of visuals, the two seemed pretty similar. The 3D felt a little softer at times, but not to a major degree, and the paid matched well in other ways as well, so I saw only marginal image degradation.
As for the stereo presentation, it added a very nice layer of depth. One shouldn’t expect a lot of “sizzle” from this version, as it lacked many clear standout moments.
Though some existed. For instance, underwater scenes of peril came with increased tension, as the 3D impression allowed the viewer to feel more immersed in the settings.
A few other dino-directed moments delivered nice punch as well. Still, the majority of the imaging focused on depth, and it did well in that regard, as the movie showed a fine sense of dimensionality. While not one of the great 3D presentations, this one became a more fun way to watch the movie.
When I faced the choice of which version to watch in the future, the issue became more complicated due to the existence of the film’s 4K UHD release. That one offered visual improvements over the Blu-ray.
So when I get in the mood to view Kingdom again, will I go 3D or 4K? I honestly don’t know. While I appreciate the picture upgrades of the 4K, I do enjoy the dimensionality of the 3D.
So call it a coin toss, as the superior visuals of the 4K become balanced by the excitement of the 3D. You can’t go wrong either way.
The Blu-ray presents a whopping 16 featurettes, and these begin with the three-minute, five-second On Set with Chris & Bryce. It includes comments from executive producer Steven Spielberg, director JA Bayona, and actors Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
We visit the set to learn how much fun Pratt and Howard are. Some decent behind the scenes shots emerge, but this mostly offers fluff.
With The Kingdom Evolves, we get a four-minutes, 33-second reel with Spielberg, Bayona, Howard, Pratt, producers Patrick Crowley, Belen Atienza and Frank Marshall, and co-writer Colin Treverrow.
“Evolves” looks at story elements and what Bayona brought to the film. Though brief, it gives us a smattering of decent insights.
Next comes Return to Hawaii, a two-minute, 41-second reel with Pratt, Howard, Atienza, Marshall, Crowley, supervising location manager Laura Sode-Matteson, visual effects supervisor David Vickery, SFX supervisor Paul Corbould, and special effects coordinator Roy Kim Cancino.
A discussion of the Hawaiian shoot, it delivers some useful nuggets about the effects but it doesn’t tell us much.
Island Action runs six minutes, one second and features Bayona, Howard, Pratt, Treverrow, Vickery, Crowley, Paul Corbould, SFX floor supervisor Ian Corbould, special effects supervisor Mike Meinardus, 1st AD Michael Lerman, and actors Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith. It looks at the execution of some action scenes and it turns into one of the better clips so far.
A take on animatronics comes with the five-minute, 53-second Aboard the Arcadia. It brings notes from Howard, Pratt, Bayona, Spielberg, Atienza, Smith, Treverrow, Marshall, and creature effects creative supervisor Neal Scanlon.
Though the title implies it’ll cover the film’s boat set, instead it just looks at the practical dinos used in that location. Bizarrely misleading moniker or not, it brings a good discussion of this aspect of the production.
We look at the newest dino in Birth of the Indoraptor, a four-minute, nine-second reel with Treverrow, Marshall, Spielberg, Pratt, Scanlan, creature effects sculptor Martin Rezard, creature FX paint finish design supervisor Henrik Svensson, creature effects puppeteers Phill Woodfine, Tom Wilton, Aidan Cook and Liam Cook, and actors Isabella Sermon and BD Wong.
This show examines the practical elements used for the on-set Indoraptor. Though it would’ve been nice to learn about the creature’s design, this still gives us positive notes about the subject.
Up next we find Start the Bidding, a three-minute, 18—second reel with Pratt, Crowley, Howard, Bayona, and actor Rafe Spall. It delivers a fairly superficial look at stunts, one that’s too short to offer much.
Death By Dino occupies a mere one-minute, 33-second with info from Bayona, stunt performer Ray Nicholas, and actor Ted Levine. We learn about some violent effects in this super-brief but oddly satisfying given its scope.
During the three-minute, six-second Monster in a Mansion, we hear from Pratt, Bayona, Treverrow, and Atienza. This show looks at influences and elements of a suspense scene. Like most of its siblings, it’s too short to get into detail, but it still boasts some useful insights.
In the three-minute, 48-second Rooftop Showdown, we find remarks from Pratt, Atienza, Treverrow, Bayona, Sermon, and storyboard artist Kurt Van Der Basch. It brings another view of elements connected to a specific sequence, and it seems adequate in that regard.
We revisit an original castmember in Malcolm’s Return, a three-minute, seven-second piece with Pratt, Howard, Crowley, Marshall, Spielberg, Bayona, Treverrow, and actor Jeff Goldblum. The featurette praises Goldblum and that’s about it.
VFX Evolved spans seven minutes, eight seconds with notes from Bayona, Vickery, VFX producer Dan Barrow, animation supervisors Jance Rubinchik and Glen McIntosh, digital artist Dorothy Ballarini, lead digital artist Suzanna Jandu, digital artist supervisor Ben Lambert, VFX supervisor Alex Wuttke, and CG supervisor Steve Ellis.
As implied by the title, we get some notes about dino CG effects here. The program looks at the topics reasonably well.
Called The Conversation, a 10-minute, 16-second panel features Howard, Goldblum, Treverrow, Pratt and Bayona. They chat about Goldblum’s prior Jurassic experience, working with practical dinos, stunts, and other memories from the shoot. Nothing scintillating appears, but “Conversation” brings some fun anecdotes.
With the one-minute, 26-second A Song for the Kingdom. Justice Smith sings a jaunty tune he wrote for the movie. It’s mildly charming.
Chris Pratt’s Jurassic Journals take up a total of 12 minutes, nine seconds. These offer 12 sequences in which Pratt chats with a mix of film participants that includes Pineda. Smith, Bayona, Howard, stunt double Rachelle Beinart, stunt performer James Cox, assistant script supervisor Kelly Krieg, set PA Jody Wiltshire, makeup artist Vivian Baker, hair stylist Mary Mastro, 1st assistant sound Chris Murphy, stunt edge car driver Dean Bailey, and diver Peter Harcourt.
As expected, this largely follows a comedic path, though we get a few nuggets along the way. I can’t decide if Pratt’s seemingly constant joking on the set would be fun or exhausting, but he’s enjoyable in these small doses. It’s also nice for some often unsung crew members to get the spotlight, and it’s amusing to hear Smith refer to family road trips when you know his parents are Will and Jada.
Lastly, Jurassic Then and Now spans three minutes, six seconds. It’s a compilation of shots from all five Jurassic movies. It’s nothing special, but I do kind of like the way it shows similar sequences across the series.
The disc opens with ads for Mortal Engines, Manifest, the Jurassic World: Evolution video game and the Jurassic World: Alive app. No trailer for Kingdom appears here.
Bogged down with strange and unnecessary choices, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom feels like a missed opportunity. It makes too many missteps to turn into a winning adventure. The Blu-ray brings very strong picture and audio along with a long but not particularly deep set of supplements. Kingdom isn’t a total loss, and its 3D version adds pep to the proceedings, but it could – and should – have been much better.
To rate this film, visit the prior review of JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
