In preparing to see Dominion on opening night, I have spent the last several days re-watching the franchise. From its awe inspiring beginnings and its poor sequels that followed shortly thereafter. Years later the series got a reboot of sorts with Jurassic World. This too had a poor sequel that followed. And here we are now with the conclusion of the Jurassic era and Jurassic World Dominion.
The Story and the Cast
Set four years after the events of Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs freely roam among humans. During this time, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) has been working on protecting the dinosaurs from illegal breeding. She and Owen (Chris Pratt) live in a remote mountain cabin along with Maisie Lockwood (Isabelle Sermon) whom they protect. Because she is a perfect clone, both the government and a corporation called Biosyn want to get their hands on her and study her genetic makeup. You know, for the sake of science. Meanwhile, Blue the Velociraptor Owen trained appears unexpectedly with an offspring of her own. Life found a way as Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) once predicted.
Elsewhere, a once extinct species of giant locust has emerged and wrecked havoc on the planets crops and ecosystem. Investigating these events is a familiar face, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) who believes Biosyn is behind this global catastrophe. Her beliefs require proof however. Thanks to Ian, that proof is within reach as he invites Ellie to Biosyn. She’ll need help from an expert paleontologist though who could accompany her and collect samples, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill). From here, all roads will lead to Biosyn and its CEO Lewis Dodgson. If that last name is familiar, think Jurassic Park if you care (wink, wink).
And what is a Jurassic Park or World film without a new terrifying dinosaur threat? Yes, there is another new Apex predator our heroes must contend with.
Cast
One of big appeals for Jurassic World Dominion was reuniting the original cast. Having Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum return together was a treat. Unlike the Star Wars sequels, Dominion delivered on their reunion. In fact, the trio played a pivotal role in the story line. Make no mistake, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard remain the central figures of the film. Young actress Isabella Sermon reprises her role as Maisie Lockwood from Fallen Kingdom. Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda and Barry Sy also return but in smaller roles.
I really liked the casting of DeWanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie as Kayla and Ramsey respectively. Campbell Scott as the films antagonist channeling Steve Jobs if Jobs was a mad scientist, did a fair job. His character may have been the weakest of them all. BD Wong returns as well and his character has certainly had an interesting story arc with this trilogy.
Overall Thoughts
Nothing has come close to the wonder and jaw dropping experience Jurassic Park gave audiences back in 1993. Twenty-nine years and five films later, it still hasn’t reached that level. Perhaps it’s because films like this have been a dime a dozen. Still, while Dominion is no Jurassic Park, it’s still leaps and bounds better than Lost World and Jurassic Park III. If I had to rank the films it would be Jurassic Park, Jurassic World followed by Dominion, Fallen Kingdom, Lost World and Jurassic Park III.
Honestly, the film was at its best when both bookends of this franchise finally cross paths. There’s a sense of nostalgia in seeing Alan, Ellie and Ian together. And seeing them fight alongside Claire and Owen brings the franchise full circle. But nostalgia alone isn’t always enough. Again, just look at the Star Wars sequels for reference.
There was a line in Jurassic World that I believe sums up the films that followed the original perfectly. Claire tells Owen (in regards to the Indominus Rex), “Corporate felt genetic modification would up the wow factor.” In which Owen simply replied, “They’re dinosaurs. Wow enough.” That one line by Owen shines a light on the storytelling problems the franchise faced when trying to be bigger, bolder and scarier. Well, sometimes less is more.
Jurassic World Dominion Movie Review Verdict:
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
