Jurassic World 2 Trailer - 11 Big Things We Learned

4. Chris Pratt's "Scared Run" Is Tonally Jarring

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Chris Pratt
Universal

Ever since it was announced, a lot has been said about how Fallen Kingdom will be darker and edgier than its predecessor, a tonal shift supported by the hiring of Bayona, a horror director.

But this first trailer, which, for the most part, aims to be deadly serious, contains a number of tonally-confusing moments - stuff that comes across as funny or amusing, but is supposed to be scary or tense.

Take this scene, pictured above. Owen Grady is supposed to be looking terrified as he runs for his life, a cloud of smoke and ash from the volcano starting to envelop him.

But Pratt looks like he's out on his morning jog around the block. Where's the fear, the panic? Where's the realisation that you're about to die? You can almost hear the director saying "focus on the tennis ball, Chris. Look here and run straight!" It's not very convincing at all.

Compare this to his "scared run" in the original Jurassic World, which was a little better, and at least managed to convey a sense of urgency:

Owen Grady Jurassic World
Universal

To be fair to Pratt, he's become so synonymous with funny, witty characters that it's hard to take him seriously at times, but in that Fallen Kingdom shot, he's not even trying to look scared.

Hopefully the actor's brash comedic tendencies don't clash with Bayona's preference for subtlety and suspense.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!