Jurassic World: Dominion

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Isabella Sermon, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Scott Haze, Kristopffer Polaha
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: As dinosaurs become integrated into modern life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) must rescue Maisie (Isabella Sermon) after she is kidnapped. Meanwhile, Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Alan Grant (Sam Neill) investigate the creation of a swarm of locusts that threaten to destroy the global food chain.

Review:

Tim: I felt very little excitement going into Jurassic World: Dominion. Fallen Kingdom was by far the worst film in the franchise and the trajectory wasn't promising. In that light, Dominion is definitely a reversal, albeit a minor one. This film suffers from some of the same problems as the previous movie- namely, inane writing and absurd plot moments. However, it works hard to pay tribute to the original and rides a wave of nostalgia by bringing back so many original cast members. I'd say that Colin Trevorrow has managed to deliver a good movie here. So, in that vein, at least this is an improvement over the previous entry. Unfortunately, I'd still put Dominion as the 2nd worst film in the franchise.

I did feel some genuine enthusiasm and excitement to see the new cast and the original cast united on screen. I know that's fan service, but there's such a cool moment where we get to see Owen Grady and Claire Dearing look up and see Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant, and Ian Malcolm. That moment took 6 films and just under 30 years to achieve. It's truly a remarkable moment to think about these actors all sharing the same space. That was the highlight of the movie to me. As far as the story with these characters, it's a bit uneven. Maybe I have some bias because of the impact the original movie (and characters) had on me. But, I found Ellie, Alan, and Ian's story substantially more engaging. They are trying to track down proof that Biosyn (a bit on the nose, that name) genetically modified a swarm of locusts that threaten to destroy the global food chain and end life as we know it. That's amazing! It's not dinosaurs, but it's a compelling story that feels right for their characters and explains why they'd all need to reunite. The stakes couldn't be bigger and it was exciting and compelling. Owen and Claire are trying to track down their adopted clone daughter and a baby dinosaur who were kidnapped/dinonapped. It's not the same. I found their story significantly less engaging. Side note, the idea that they would save Blue's offspring and reunite them is one of the absolute worst parts of this movie. It continues to anthropomorphize these dinosaurs in a way that feels forced and illogical. Nearly all of those scenes were just terrible. This would have been a much better movie without treating Blue like a human. It's just... so bad.

Already, you can see the mix of positives and negatives that pervade throughout this film. A bigger issue with the script is how many illogical, convenient, or absurd moments happen throughout it. All these big blockbusters require suspension of disbelief, but this one asks us to go with a bit too many. I actually loved the idea of this happening on a dinosaur preserve/research facility. The theme park concept has long overstayed its welcome. That part of the film was actually interesting and worthwhile. I also loved the idea of dinosaurs as part of modern society. The movie tries hard throughout to convince us this would actually happen (and the dinosaurs wouldn't be hunted to within extinction again. It never fully sells this idea, but it's a wonderful one. That is what's so frustrating- this film actually makes a ton of good decisions that drive the franchise and the story forward. That was the hardest part! But, instead of delivering a great movie, the film sinks itself with so many eye-rolling moments. Side note here- I cringed every time Owen (or a host of other characters) paused dinosaurs in their tracks by lifting their hand at them. It's not cool nor is it believable, yet it happens far too frequently. One other note- it's beyond obvious how many moments in Trevorrow's film are throwbacks to scenes or sequences from the original. This movie heavily pays tribute to them. While I wish Trevorrow would have created his own iconic moments (of which they are few-to-none), it was kind of cool to see the impact Steven Spielberg's film still has on this franchise.

I loved seeing Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles on screen. This is an ensemble cast, so we don't get enough time with them, but there were solid moments. No classic ones, which is a bit disappointing, but I so enjoyed seeing the original cast reunite. I really do like these characters and it was great fun to see them each bring their experience and wisdom to update these characters. I loved that part of the film. Chris Pratt is fine, although I think his shtick and character haven't aged well over the course of these three films. He's a perfectly okay character. I thought Bryce Dallas Howard's performance was surprisingly bad. I just didn't believe much of what she was doing here. That really hurt the film.

The supporting cast is huge and mostly strong. Mamoudou Athie gave a great performance. I really liked what he did here. It's not his fault that his character moves from one convenient place to another. It was like whenever the writers got stuck, just have Athie show up and move the story forward. His character continually suffered from bad writing. I love Campbell Scott and he was absolutely perfect in his role. I thought he played that part to perfection. I always love seeing BD Wong and I was surprised how important he felt to this film. I'm glad he got decent screen time. Justice Smith has a small role, but it felt like he made the movie better with a solid performance. Isabella Sermon never really wowed me. She was decent, but never very good. I thought DeWanda Wise gave a mostly strong performance, but her character suffers from the terrible writing that helps sink this movie. Her character's motivations felt inauthentic and overly convenient. Still, the cast as a whole is one of the film's strengths.

The visuals were decent. I never really believed these dinosaurs were real and this movie still misses the believability that Spielberg achieved with the original. Still, the visuals were a bit better than the previous movie. I really liked the way the dinosaurs were depicted, especially the ones with feathers (which are much more accurate). I don't know if the visuals ever wowed me, but they mostly worked.

In the end, Jurassic World: Dominion at least ends this trilogy on a slightly better note. However, Trevorrow and everyone involved shouldn't be celebrating too much. This movie absolutely needed to be better. When your entire trilogy is worse than the original trilogy, that is frustrating to viewers. I liked a number of aspects of this film, but it feels like this franchise needs to go dormant for a while.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (I guess)