Ever since the age of 3, I grew up watching the original āJurassic Parkā film. I had VHS copies of that film, its 1997 sequel āThe Lost Worldā, and 2001ās āJurassic Park III.ā It was one of the many films I watched every day after school. In 8th Grade, I picked up a copy of Micheal Crichtonās novel from my local Borders (RIP). Granted, I am aware that the book is radically different from the film but, that didnāt deter me from my love for either.
When it was announced that we were getting āJurassic Worldā in 2015, I was very enthusiastic. That film was a major step up from both āThe Lost Worldā and āJurassic Park IIIā. While it was basically a soft reboot and over-reliant on its formulaic story, I had quite a blast with it. I liked how they doubled down on the corporate greed side of things and Vincent DāOnofrio as the villain. Also, the final battle was nothing short of awesome. As for its 2018 sequel, āFallen Kingdomā, It was a massive step down. Despite one cool chase involving dinosaurs in a mansion (a la āDino Crisisā or āResident Evilā), everything else fell flat. With the latest āJurassic Worldā film, āDominionā, being teased as the āepic conclusionā, how will it stack up?
Following the events of āFallen Kingdomā, Dinosaurs and humans coexist. However, mankind is at stake once again when a group of mercenaries hired by a corporation named Biosyn kidnaps Maisie (Isabella Sermon) and Beta, the baby raptor born from Blue. While Owen and Claire (Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard) set off to find them, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum) return. The three of them end up investigating Biosyn after seeing an army of super locusts become weaponized to control the worldās food supply. Throughout their respective adventures, they must come together and survive.
I will start off with this: The dinos still look pretty good. The 1993 original is still the gold standard but, I read in Fangoria that both practical and digital effects were used when it comes to creating the dinosaurs. Even though there were plenty of scenes (most notably during the daytime) where it was telling what was CG, it didnāt take me out of the movie. I was still along for the ride. As far as the Giganotosaurus goes, Iām not entirely sure what Collin Trevorrow meant when he compared Giganotosaurus to the Joker. Thereās no clown makeup, no laugh, and worst of all, no personality. The creature doesnāt even show up until the last 30 minutes of this film with (Unlike the T-Rex in the original) little to no buildup. At least the Indominous Rex from āJurassic Worldā had some menace being built up before then.
As outright stupid as the ending of āFallen Kingdomā was, I still remained somewhat optimistic about āJurassic World: Dominion.ā Even though Maisieās reason to make such a steadfast decision (that Iām pretty sure killed more than a fair share of innocent people) was random and illogical, I at least hoped that this film embraced the complete and utter ridiculousness of it all. Sadly, it didnāt. Rather than get creative with a messy sandbox, writer-director Collin Trevorrow does what many tentpoles in Hollywood do nowadays: play it safe. Thereās an entire motorcycle chase in Malta that couldāve been a lot more fun but, felt flat and conventional. Claireās final girl circuit through the woods felt cliche and had zero tension whatsoever. The only fun moment that occurs is near the end of the climax. This was honestly the most crushing part to me: This movie failed to embrace the ridiculousness in its premise.
The cast is among the few redeeming qualities of āDominion.ā Itās great to see Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern back together for the first time in nearly 30 years. Itās even better than they have an ample amount of screen time and are actually given things to do in the film. Itās an absolute shame that what theyāre given to do is the bare minimum: a trite and uninspired McGuffin hunt. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard continue doing their best to inject life into characters that are so thinly sketched that they wouldnāt even pass for a Roland Emmerich movie. If I were DeWanda Wise, Iād call a chiropractor for carrying this movie as if her life depended on it. Similar to the rest of the cast, however, her character is given no personality. Aside from Jokersaurus being uninteresting, the rest of the villains are as well. Campbell Scott (best known for carrying the god-awful āAmazing Spider-Man 2ā) plays a bland, generic, corporate villain. Weāve literally seen this done over 65 million times. BD Wongās Dr. Henry Wu has an arc that ends on a complete cop-out.
Other returning characters such as Justice Smith from āFallen Kingdomā and Omar Sy from āJurassic Worldā are flat-out wasted. They, along with a few characters and ideas (laser-guided velociraptors)are brought in and then suddenly dropped with no explanation at all. The worst one of all, though, is Isabella Sermon as Maisie Lockwood. There seems to be a trend with these legacy sequels nowadays: have your main character be as sinfully flat as possible. I donāt want to come off as cruel to the 15-year-old actress but, her performance was incredibly wooden. Also, her character makes the dumbest decisions (again) in the entire film. I donāt necessarily blame her though: If āThe Book of Henryā is any indication, Collin Trevorrow doesnāt have a good track record when it comes to directing younger actors.
I wish that I couldāve just checked my brain at the door and enjoyed this film. Iāve done that with plenty of films (āUnchartedā, āGodzilla Vs. Kongā, āMoonfallā, etc) and managed to have a good time. However, with āJurassic World: Dominionā, I just couldnāt. With the concept of Dinosaurs running loose around the world, the least that could be done was make it fun. Instead, we were given a trite and safe movie. The characters, both old and new, are either devoid of personality or are given barely anything to do. The action feels lukewarm at best, hollow at worst. For a film in which its marketing is teasing an āEpic Conclusionā, āJurassic World: Dominionā doesnāt go out with a bang but, a thudding whimper.
Final Verdict:
Itās time to declare the Jurassic franchise extinct with āJurassic World: Dominionā, a tedious and derivative mess that ends on a lackluster note.