After almost three decades, the Jurassic Park film franchise is supposedly coming to an end. With the release of Jurassic World Dominion, all the wonder and awe that audiences have absorbed from the dino-sized series since 1993 has dried up, and director Colin Trevorrow has stated that the most recent entry is also the last.
Jurassic World Dominion brings back Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard from the Jurassic World films and throws them in the mix with the original Jurassic Park actors Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum.
In the wake of the last film in the franchise, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs have now been loose in the world for three years, and the world’s powers, along with the help of a biotech company known as Biosyn, have agreed to let them mingle with humans for the sake of humanity.
Jurassic Park Dominion follows two stories. In one, Owen Grady (Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Howard) try to protect the secrecy of cloned human Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Blue and her offspring, Beta; two of the only known Velociraptors left on the planet. In the other story, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) is investigating the ecological impact that a new, gigantic species of locust is having on the world’s crops and asks Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) to help her get answers on the origin of the species, suspecting them as Biosyn creations. They hope their contact at the massive genetics corporation, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum), can help them get to the bottom of things.
Okay, that is a lot, and right off the bat, I’ll be the first to admit that the intertwining of such different stories makes the film feel a little sloppy and convoluted. But, after the storylines of Jurassic World, which was essentially just a Jurassic Park remake, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which had everything from a volcanic island explosion to a dinosaur auction at a mansion, it was relatively easy for me to turn my brain off and enjoy all the other things on screen during Jurassic World Dominion.
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The obvious hook for this film is the inclusion of original cast members. In an unexpected turn from most legacy sequels that bring original characters back in supporting roles (Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Dominion gives its legacy characters a large amount of screen time, action, and story. Using fantastic veteran actors to balance things out with newer characters that fans never really resonated with was a great choice. All three beloved characters do a superb job of making us feel like they never left. They were especially helpful in balancing out flat moments that occasionally appear in the script.
The biggest difference between Dominion and the other films in the new Jurassic World trilogy is the shift in genre tone. Where the previous two films felt like they were trying to capture the scientific wonder and mystery of the original Jurassic Park film, the newest entry decided it would be an adventure film and went full steam ahead. Many moments in the new film felt like they belonged in The Mummy or Indiana Jones franchises, and to be honest, I didn’t hate the tonal shift.
Weirdly, the combination of shutting my brain off for the story and embracing the adventure aspect allowed me to truly enjoy myself at a Jurassic Park movie in the theaters for the first time in decades. The adventure feel was accompanied perfectly by Michael Giacchino’s score, a consistent bright spot throughout the new trilogy.
We also can’t forget the meat and potatoes of the film: the dinos! After Jurassic World, Colin Trevorrow stated that practical effects were of the past, as most of the dinos in the first film were CG-made. When J.A. Bayona took over for Fallen Kingdom and had a better mix of the two, fans were a little nervous when Trevorrow took the reigns back for Dominion. However, I’d wager to say Dominion has the most practical effects of any of the films, and they all look amazing.
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It was great to see old favorites return to the franchise, with great moments from the poison-spitting Dilophosaurus and the rampaging T-Rex. However, the film introduced several awesome new dinosaurs to the franchise and didn’t need genetic splicing and Predator-esque powers to make them formidable. The clear and terrifying new favorites included the Therizinosaurus, which had giant, scythe-shaped talons on each arm, capable of killing blows in a single swipe, and the Giganotosaurus, the largest land carnivore to ever exist.
It’s time for the Jurassic franchise to rest. I certainly don’t think Dominion is deserving of the immense amount of hate it has gotten, especially after the laughably absurd Fallen Kingdom. Still, the franchise has strayed so far away from the magical feel of the first film (and half of the second), and I feel it’s just incapable of invoking those exciting feelings anymore.
I had fun with Jurassic Park Dominion, but it was the kind of fun you have on a day with an old friend you’ll probably never see again. Little moments brought me back to being seven years old, in a theater all those years ago, but the realization that it isn’t the same and never will be set in quickly. The Jurassic franchise found a way (like life!) to last 30 years, but now it’s time for it to go extinct.
