‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Review

Stars: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, Justice Smith, Omar Sy, B.D. Wong, DeWanda Wise | Written by Colin Trevorrow, Emily Carmichael | Directed by Colin Trevorrow

Whether you believe this is the final film in the Jurassic Park franchise or just the last film till they do a soft reboot, Jurassic World Dominion, after a year delay, roars into theaters this weekend looking to take everyone’s money. After a disappointing fifth film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, does the final film get the franchise back on track?

Jurassic World Dominion takes place four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, which resulted in dinosaurs living alongside humans and causing major repercussions with humans’ reign at the top of the food chain. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are now raising Charlotte Lockwood’s 14-year-old clone, Maisie (Isabella Sermon), in a cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, far away from anyone that would wish to do her harm. Owen also has his favourite raptor, Blue, and her baby, Beta, living nearby in the woods because Owen can somehow keep them in line with his hand and unspoken force powers. Their secluded and quiet lifestyle is interrupted when Biosyn, the arch-rival company of John Hammond in Jurassic Park, kidnaps not only Beta but also Maisie, resulting in Owen and Claire being thrust back into the world of dinosaurs.

Biosyn, now the leader in genetic research (sorry InGen), is helmed by Dr. Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott), the villain that hired Dennis Nedry to steal the embryos in the first film. While the outside world thinks Biosyn is just researching dinosaurs’ genomes for medical research on humans (stick with me people) and reassigning dinosaurs away from developed areas, the company is actually creating modified, giant locusts to eat the crops of farmers that do not buy genetic-altered seeds from Biosyn. Basically, Biosyn is evil and is trying to control the world’s food supply.

The plague of these giant locusts and the effects on the worldwide food chain allows the franchise to welcome back scientist/researcher Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) as this is now her expertise. After capturing a giant locust, she recruits Alan Grant (Sam Neill) to join her on a visit to Biosyn’s main research center, courtesy of an invite from Biosyn’s resident philosopher, Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum), to prove Biosyn is responsible for the plague of locusts and the eventual annihilation of the human race.

Old friends turned CIA employees, Franklin (Justice Smith) and Barry (Omar Sy), show up to help Owen and Claire search for Maisie in Malta and after exploring an underground dinosaur market and being chased by raptors through the streets, our heroes find out Maisie and Beta are being taken to Biosyn to be experimented on by mad scientist Henry Wu (B.D. Wong). After Owen and Claire add a pilot, Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise), to the team, all our main characters now arrive at either Biosyn’s research center or the neighboring dinosaur reserve. Our crew eventually all find each other and join our forces with our legendary characters to stop Biosyn and Dodgson from wrecking our planet while avoiding being eaten by a plethora of dinosaurs, both new and old.

The Good:

• So Many New Dinosaurs! The reason anyone goes to a Jurassic Park film is not for the plot but to watch what new dinosaurs are added to the franchise along with watching them eat humans and battling each other! Dominion does not disappoint in that aspect as director Colin Trevorrow adds an abundance of new dinosaurs, including the largest carnivore ever, Giganotosaurus, the newly discovered Pyroraptor, and the odd-looking but dangerous Therizinosaurus, along with a few returning favorites. The CGI on the dinosaurs fluctuate from amazing, especially in the fights, to a few looking like they have not evolved since the Lost World, the Jurassic Park sequel, not the television show. Trevorrow knew this was his last Jurassic Park film he would direct and decided to cram as many dinosaurs in the film as he can, which will appease everyone at any age.

• The Legendary Characters. Films often will announce the return of fan-favorite characters to upcoming sequel films only to disappoint fans with the characters appearing on-screen for five minutes or to be quickly killed off. Dominion does the opposite with the legendary characters of Ellie, Alan, and Ian by having them on-screen for the majority of the film and easily interweaving them into the storyline without seeming it to be unrealistic. It makes sense that Ellie, a soil scientist, would be investigating the deterioration of crops and the locust plague. It also makes sense that she resorts to recruiting the only person she can trust, Alan, to assist her on a top-secret mission to a facility that houses dinosaurs, Alan’s field of expertise. Finally, it also makes sense that an egotistical madman, Dodgson, would employ another egotistical philosopher Ian to tell his version of the future to young geniuses at Biosyn. The returning legendary characters may be fan-service to some but overall, they add to the importance of stopping Biosyn while also passing the torch and providing relevance to the new generation of heroes of Jurassic World. It might be the best use of legendary characters ever…I’m looking at you Scream.

The Middling:

• The Ending.As noted above, this is a non-spoiler review, so I will not reveal the ending to the film but let us just say it wasn’t the apocalyptic “end-times” finale that has been floating around on the internet. That is not to say the ending was a disappointment but I’m not sure where the franchise goes from here. Despite the marketing saying it is the “epic conclusion,” they are going to milk this cash cow for years and while I’m all for more dinosaurs on my screen, I’m not sure what compelling storyline gets them to another film. Or maybe another scientist opens another theme park.

• Biosyn’s Facility. While there is no “park” for humans to be dinosaur fodder at in Dominion, the film’s second and third act revolves around Biosyn’s research facility and the surrounding nature preserve, which substitutes for the traditional parks we have seen in the franchise. The change in scenery works as there are new areas to explore that do not seem repetitive from the previous five installments, while also providing a comfort with which we are familiar. The addition of snowy environments, while non-sensical, makes for a fun twist and something fans have been clamoring for some time.

The Bad

• Nothing. It’s the sixth film in a franchise that values dinosaurs over plot and common sense so take that into consideration. While it is far from a perfect film, it is the perfect summer popcorn film to watch and not overthink it.

Final Grade: B (Good)

Jurassic World Dominion may be the most diverse film in the Jurassic Park franchise as some may find fault with the bloated runtime of 2½ hours, lack of common sense when fighting dinosaurs (use the gun!) and some of the non-sensical plot points (curing cancer from dinosaurs DNA, clones, etc.), but overall, Dominion is a fitting end to the current franchise. For the die-hard fans, the film introduces a large assortment of new dinosaurs not seen on screen before, pays respect to our favourite characters from Jurassic Park, and still adds a twist to the redundant “dinosaurs run amok” storyline. After six films, a slew of great characters, and more ups than downs in the franchise (The Lost World!), it is still fun to watch humans run from dinosaurs. Farewell Jurassic Park franchise…well until the television series and the reboot.
______

You can catch Jason Brigger on the geek-centric podcast, The History of Bad Ideas, as new episodes are released every week at www.nerdly.co.uk or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and other podcasting apps. 
You can listen to their latest episode right here.