Following the 2015 version of the movie Jurassic World, the latest version once again stars one of the most popular and likeable individuals in Hollywood today, Chris Pratt and assumes the official title of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Clocking in just over two hours, the movie isn’t exactly short and from the onset promises to give you your money’s worth.

Cast – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ted Levine, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, Justice Smith, B.D. Wong, James Cromwell, Geraldine Chaplin & Jeff Goldblum

Director – J. A. Bayona

Genre – Science fiction film/Action

Running Time – 2h 10m

The Plot

It’s been three years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.

As the plot suggests, the latest version of Jurassic World picks up from where the 2015 version left off with various debates of whether or not to preserve the dinosaur species. A rollercoaster ride that gives you just about enough to enjoy from a movie of its nature, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a welcome addition to the current crop of movies this year. It includes the right mix of action, intense moments as well as humour.

As expected, the movie includes fantastic scenery and graphics across the natural landscape to the actual creatures themselves. It is a beautifully shot movie with a solid plot and a cast that executes it in a great way. It definitely deserves to be seen in either IMAX and/or 3D format. Personally, I expected something from it and it delivered on that promise. No doubt people who were and still are fans of the franchise will enjoy this one.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a solid offering and a welcome addition to the overall Jurassic franchise. Based on how it ended my guess is there potentially will be another one. In Chris Pratt the franchise has a more than able lead who continues to not put a foot wrong in any of his latest movies. It’s tough to not describe it without giving too much away which I’m personally not a fan of. I prefer to rather have you judge it for yourselves. From me though it gets a solid 7.5 out of 10 rating. Officially in cinemas today, this needs to be seen in either IMAX or 3D.

Special thanks to Ster Kinekor for the radical screening at the newly revamped Sandton City cinema which we’ll further elaborate on soon. Also, be on the lookout for a special interview we did with Motheo Matsau (Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Ster Kinekor) at the screening. Continue watching this space!

Cast – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo & Anthony Hopkins

Director – Taika Waititi

Genre – Fantasy/Science fiction film

Running Time – 2h 10m

The Plot

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!

One of the movies I’ve been anticipating (no guesses why) has finally landed on the big screen. Needing no introduction, the character Thor has firmly established themselves in the Marvel Universe. Played by the oh so cool Chris Hemsworth (who I admit to having a small “man crush” on), our hero returns in a new edition simply titled Thor Ragnarok.

I always make it a point to check what the guys at Rotten Tomatoes (one of the most reliable movie sources) make of any movie before deciding whether or not it’s worth checking out. Surprisingly and utterly blown away to find out that Thor Ragnarok is rated at an astonishing 96% from a 100! A very and I mean very rare rating for any movie especially since the site includes the harshest of movie reviewers around. Losing my mind over the prospect, I couldn’t wait to check it out. Thankfully MNet Movies and Ster Kinekor came to my aid with a cool pre-screening.

Shot in Australia and featuring two Aussie actors in the main cast: Hemsworth and Cate Blanchett (who plays Hela, the first female villain to appear in the MCU), the movie’s events are set two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and perfectly sets up the next big MCU ensemble movie, Avengers: Infinity War.

It’s no secret I love comic book based movies and one of the reasons why is they allow you to escape the real world and into a fantasy world that’s usually mystical or magical in some way. Thor Ragnarok has this and more, including cool action sequences and hilarious moments throughout, the humour is what sold it the most for me. It’s a well put together movie with a cool plot that’s not difficult to follow or believe.

Unlike DC, which is usually dark and mysterious in its approach, Marvel has always been lighter, Thor Ragnarok is another good example of this. After finally seeing it I can declare that it’s the best superhero movie this year. Should be interesting to see if it takes the bragging rights outright especially with DC’s much-anticipated Justice League movie also coming through later next month…so once again, over to you DC!

Marvel comes through and kills it once again. Thor Ragnarok is less serious in its approach but the same can be said for many of Marvel’s other offerings. A good warm up for the main event, The Avengers: Infinity War, Thor Ragnarok will easily appeal to any movie watcher who just wants to check out a good, light hearted movie that also has cool action sequences. Best comic based movie for 2017 so far, go check it out…and no it has nothing to do with my man crush…okay maybe a little. Bottom line is you won’t regret it, Thor Ragnorak get a cool 4.4 out of 5 rating from me.