Collette’s Review: Jurassic World Dominion

Jurassic World Dominion roars into theaters, but is it time for this franchise to become extinct?

I love Jurassic Park; it’s the movie that made me fall in love with film. The camera movements, the puppetry, and the suspense had me hooked. The reboot was fun and nostalgic. The sequel, Fallen Kingdom, had outstanding horror elements but lacked in the story. Now, the third installment is just an okay popcorn movie.

For a franchise built on dinosaurs, the story shifts from the animals and focuses on something entirely different. In Jurassic World Dominion, dinosaurs now live and hunt alongside the human race, but that’s never the threat; it’s just life. In fact, the main danger is so under-established that I was never really sure what it was.

The Story

Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt return for the adventure. They are now parents to Maisie (Isabella Sermon), whom we met in Fallen Kingdom. When she is taken by poachers (for scientific reasons), the pair begin their journey to find their daughter. All of your favorites from the original film return in a subplot that connects to the main story. Ellie (Laura Dern) and Alan (Sam Neill) make their way to a new dinosaur sanctuary when called upon by Ian (Jeff Goldblum), who notices some wrongdoings, and chaos issues.

The Issues

Fallen Kingdom suffered from a significant script problem, but the horror elements saved it. The film was engaging and kept you on the edge of your seat. Dominion, on the other hand, is less engaging. The script felt messy and unfinished. The dialogue was rough and, for lack of a better word, cheesy.

The scenes in this movie felt like they were all marching to a different beat. There was a mix of following the new heroes, following the old heroes and creating a world problem where the stakes felt incredibly low. The story shifted away from the dinosaurs and focused on more scientific villains.

The right amount of suspense could have saved this film. Unfortunately, the tension build-up never fully got the release you would expect. Most of the time, you see the jump scare coming, defeating its purpose. I do think time played a huge factor in the fallout. With the number of stories on the screen, Dominion was fighting against the clock, making each scene feel rushed and unresolved. Several new characters were introduced that we never fully had motivations or backstories for.

It was wonderful to see the original gang back together, but Dern, Goldblum, and Neill would have been better utilized as fun cameos instead of an underwhelming subplot. There were great callbacks with visuals and lines, but they felt thrown in last minute, which is unfortunate.

The Good

With the bad, there was also good. The visuals are stunning. There is some fantastic camerawork done in this film. The CGI and the puppets bring the dinosaurs to life, making them look incredibly realistic. DeWanda Wise was a tremendous addition to the cast, and I hope to see more of her character Kayla in the future. I wish we would have had more time with her in this, but her role would benefit from a spinoff TV series.

The Conclusion

Jurassic World Dominion may not win best picture, but it is fun. Unfortunately, the stakes are incredibly low, but there are a lot of really beautiful moments that give you a sense of nostalgia. This is a great popcorn film, one that kids will enjoy. It’s worth the watch if you’re a fan of the franchise. It’s entertaining for a casual viewer, but you may just want to stream it instead of running to the theater. Don’t get me wrong; it is entertaining. It’s just disappointing at the same time.