Just when one might think the underlying genre had tackled the concept in every imaginable way, director and writer Ryan Bellgardt entered the domain in 2018 with The Jurassic Games, a sci-fi flick where ten death row inmates were thrown into a virtual reality gauntlet against prehistoric beasts in exchange for freedom.
Now, he returns with a sequel, and like all sequels do, rewriting essential elements of the original film, with The Jurassic Games: Extinction – where domestic terrorists branded as “The Cavemen” face off against each other, with only one evading a lethal injection if they survive. Additionally, a lone survivor from the original Tucker (Adam Hampton) re-enters to dismantle it from the inside against his foe Jo LaFort (Katie Burgess) who has seemingly taken control of the games.
It's hard not to see the fun in Bellgardt's ideas – criminals facing off against each other as and against dinosaurs in a virtual reality game as murdertainment for the masses – as well as absurd. But when it comes to both the Jurassic and human elements of the film, they are impressively realized given the production scale. Characters donning Iron-Man esque helmets, the animorphs, and a wide variety of virtual reality landscapes (including volcanoes and a capture the flag maze filled with raptors) offer a familiar feel to carefully orchestrated digital landscapes such as Tron or prisoners on a murder spree such as The Condemned. With his extensive background in special effects, as well as a solid cast that commits to the bit without hesitation, there is plenty here to keep the film as grounded and visually pleasing as possible.
However, as bombastic as the ideas are here, there are simply too many operatives vying for control on-screen. Entering an arena against and turning into dinosaur animorphs screams unpredictability and chaos, and yet the script is following the rules the genre has been defined by. Whether the players strategize or play it safe to survive, the game's operating system (and there are several iterations throughout) is mostly concerned with maintaining the public's approval. This should essentially push more violence to do whatever it takes to meet audiences' fascination, but whichever choices the characters makes, the coding merely adjusts to what will garner the highest rating or social trends. Outside of few brief shots of viewers cheering or highlights of scenes turning out high and even higher ratings, there's not much at stake as far as the world-building goes. Bellgardt's script, The God (the Game’s Operating Device), the AI systems evolving to take over, or the human tech crews feels stuck in limbo, making victory feel more like a stalemate than a pressurized power keg.
Ultimately, brawls to the death, between gladiators, or criminals, will always have an enduring appeal. And, The Jurassic Games: Extinction, and its predecessor, is a fun ride with plenty of creative flourishes – one that can lead to a fun late night double-feature. For an independent film, the production value here is worth appreciating, especially as film veers further and further away from B-movie blockbusters. Despite its out of the box concept, even the execution of criminal punishment battling virtual dinosaurs can be pretty predictable.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Jurassic Games: Extinction is available on digital and on demand, and will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD on July 22.
