Like the original, the sequel is uneven, sometimes moving in fits and starts. But the new film never really loses its momentum, and its big set pieces deliver.

There's not much story or character development here, but you don't need that when you've got dynamite dinosaurs of all stripes and appetites.

It's sheer claptrap, but it's lively claptrap, with Spielberg skillfully reaching into his bag of shameless tricks to reinvent the chase movie and the cliffhanger.

Arguably the meanest film Steven Spielberg has ever made, this would work if it weren’t also just so smugly disinterested or if it had a point to make rather than meandering through middling themes and second-tier setpieces.