JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION is the third and final film in the JURASSIC WORLD trilogy, and the sixth overall film in the series that started with Steven Spielberg’s still-magnificent JURASSIC PARK in 1993. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, it also serves as a direct follow-up to JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018), and is tasked with picking up the many (many, many) plot-threads that were left hanging.
Four years have passed since the events of FALLEN KINGDOM. Dinosaurs are now roaming the Earth, with some in the wild, some in sanctuaries, and others in the black market. Former dino-handlers Owen (Chris Pratt), and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), are acting as caretakers to pre-teen Maisie (Isabella Sermon); a human clone who is sought after by genetics company Biosyn. Meanwhile, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), is reunited with Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), to investigate a possible connection between Biosyn and giant locusts that have been decimating farmlands.
Does that plot sound overcomplicated? You bet Jurr-ass-it is. FALLEN KINGDOM suffers from the same plague that sunk the previous film, as it is overburdened and overwhelmed with too many plotlines. The story zips from location to location, introducing endless strings of characters, going through the messy threads of human cloning, giant locusts, runaway dinosaurs, underground dino-markets, kidnapped raptors, air pirates, the CIA, and something about the extinction of the human species. It’s a headache to even sort through.
The pillars of the original JURASSIC PARK has always been (1), the dinosaurs, and (2), making it clear that the dinos are animals and shouldn’t be treated as evil monsters. DOMINION takes steps to get the latter point across, and it works better than it has since 1993. Another common element of the films are the human characters debating the ethics of dinosaur cloning and creation. That is present here but only in small, tacked-on doses, and it never seems thought-out well enough and comes out as word salad in a lame attempt to make the movie seem smart.
The dinosaurs look great; brought to life with CGI and practical effects. Most of the action sequences are well done; with a plane crash and a three-way dino-fight at the end a highlight. But there is also an over-long chase through Malta that overstays its welcome and is just obnoxious. The film seems to shoot for scale more than thrills, and the fun just isn't there. Michael Giacchino provides the score and re-purposes some of John Williams’ classic themes to decent effect.
Acting is passable, as most of the cast feels like they just want to get it over with. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard seem to have lost the chemistry they had in their first JURASSIC film together. The legacy cast of Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum are handled well, and the three of them step right back into their roles nicely. It’s great to see them again, but in the grand scheme, having them around doesn’t serve much of a purpose and what they do in the film could have been handled by anyone. There are also some surprise appearances from legacy characters from JURASSIC PARK that actually works. The show is stolen by young Isabella Sermon who is excellent.
A common theme through the JURASSIC PARK/WORLD films is that humans don’t seem to learn from their mistakes; they keep messing with genetic power and it keeps coming back to bite them in half. For DOMINION, fiction has caught up with reality, as no one from FALLEN KINGDOM seems to have learned anything…making the same mistakes along with new ones. For this franchise, it’s time for extinction.
BOTTOM LINE: Fuck it
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