Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Jurassic World: Dominion was directed by Colin Trevorrow and stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum in the sixth film in the Jurassic Park franchise. In this film, dinosaurs are roaming free after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Owen and Claire go on a rescue mission to save Blue’s baby and their adoptive daughter Maisie. This film has gotten mixed to negative reviews. I enjoyed this film, especially more than Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. For me, Jurassic World: Dominion is not the worst Jurassic Park film. At the same time, it felt like it wasted its potential and once again did questionable things.
The best part about this film is the original cast returning. It’s great to see the characters Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm together again. Sam Neil is still great as Alan Grant. Laura Dern as Ellie Sattler is great as well. Neil and Dern still have great chemistry after twenty-nine years. Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm is great and the most entertaining part of the film. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are also still good as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing. The best thing the Jurassic World films have done is give Claire a good character arc and have her character grow. BD Wong as Dr. Wu goes through a bit of a redemption arc, which was nice to see. The one character I had an issue with was the film’s antagonist Dodgson, played by Campbell Scott. Dodgson appeared in Jurassic Park played by a different actor. It felt like they forced the character in because they couldn’t come up with a new, proper antagonist and wanted to use more nostalgia.
What hurts this film is the storyline involving locusts. This is a movie that should be about dinosaurs and how dinosaurs and humans are struggling to coexist. That was the premise set up from the ending of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The locust plot slows the film down. The other sad thing is the original characters are mostly tied to this plot. At the same time, the original cast managed to make it worthwhile and entertaining. The dinosaur is still great and fun to watch. Visually, it’s still a great-looking film. Michael Giacchino still provides a good film score, although it’s not as great and memorable as John William’s original score from Jurassic Park.
The other key storyline involves saving Maisie and the raptor Blue’s baby. This was the better story arc and had more dinosaur action. Isabella Sermon, who plays Maisie, is much better in this film than in the previous film. I wasn’t a huge fan of her being revealed to be a clone last film, so the focus on her being a clone in this film took me out a few times. They try to do a decent job of explaining it better and her purpose, but it still felt unnecessary to me. It felt like they barely learned from the story mistakes of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where the film had one story arc that worked and the other one felt unnecessary.
All in all, Jurassic World: Dominion isn’t terrible like critics said, but it wasted its potential. The story arc of saving Blue’s baby and Maisie works better than the locust arc. The dinosaur scenes are still cool and fun to watch. The original cast is still great and has great chemistry. It’s a great-looking film despite the story problems and still entertaining.
Final Grade-B-
What did you guys think of Jurassic World: Dominion? Let us know in the comments down below.