After 22 years, the successful Jurassic World is constructed on the ruins of the failed Jurassic Park. However when the brand new attraction – a super-smart dinosaur hybrid – escapes, it becomes a race against time to stop the Indominus Rex before a park full of visitors become a park full of lunch…

Jurassic World is the long awaited sequel to the Jurassic Park trilogy and whilst maintaining the high qualities of effects and excellent production design, somewhat successfully replaces a lot of other key factors with action and humour.

More so than other films, Jurassic World seems to work on an exchange system. Yes, there is a surprising lack of tension, any shocks are clearly forecasted, there is an over-reliance of references to the original film and the characters are largely one-dimensional archetypes BUT the music and visuals are breath-taking and uplifting, the new Indominus Rex is so awesomely cool, there’s a giant Mosasaurus that eats Great White Sharks in a Sea World parallel and there is Chris Pratt riding his motorbike with a hunting pack of trained Velociraptors!

I don’t usually mind the use of archetypes and tropes in creature features but occasionally I did feel at odds with the film’s somewhat outdated attitudes. For example, I don’t feel wholly comfortable with the way the movie treats being career-driven woman who is not overly fond of children as a bad thing, especially when we have had far more complex, interesting and positively viewed female characters in recent years, like Reba from the Lake Placid franchise.

Having said that, all the characters do get their standout moments and there is an abundance of humour sprinkled throughout the movie. Even if he is playing an unfaultable, perfect, morally righteous, Herculean example of a man, Chris Pratt is still undeniably likeable and oozes handsome charm with every silky line he says. With Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy under his belt, Pratt is cementing himself as the next big thing to hit movies, perfecting his unique blend of Robert Downey Jr and Tom Cruise.

It must be said though, that any criticisms immediately fall away when you reach the glorious, jaw-dropping finale. The Jurassic Park series has always done a relatively good job of hiding their B-movie creature feature origins but Jurassic World is the first to embrace the cheesy, wish fulfilment nature with open arms. The best way to explain the finale without spoilers is by saying, it’s like watching a kid playing with action figures – only they’re giant CGI dinosaur action figures and it is amazing.

Jurassic World manages to balance the seriousness of Godzilla (2014) with the silliness of Pacific Rim and the result is far more enjoyable than both of those movies combined. It may not be Jurassic Park but it is definitely the sequel that the movie deserved.