Movie Review - Jurassic World: Dominion

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Genre: Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 146 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Justice Smith
 
Description: Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, dinosaurs now live alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures in a new Era.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 23: AN ADVENTURE MOVIE

Review: The image we have of dinosaurs today was largely shaped by Steven Spielberg’s now classic film and masterpiece “Jurassic Park”. Science is now a lot further along in its knowledge of these creatures.

In the third film in the Jurassic World trilogy and sixth in the Jurassic Park franchise, humans have learned to live with the escaped dinosaurs. Biosyn, a multinational company with good intentions, has started a reserve in the Italian Dolomites and is taking care of the global dinosaur population. However, they are particularly interested in Maisie Lockwood, a girl who is a clone of her own mother, a deceased scientist from the time that Jurassic Park was build.

Maisie lives in the forest in the U.S. with Owen and Claire, who have each found their own way of dealing with the dinosaurs. When Biosyn also appear to be responsible for the extinction of global agricultural crops and threatens to disrupt the food chain, it’s time for action. None other than Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ian Malcolm and Dr. Ellie Sattler all turn up to fight Biosyn and find out the truth.

There’s a lot going on in this film. Even with over two and a half hours on the clock, it seems to be cramming to give so much plot and so many characters space. It is therefore striking how nicely everything falls into place. The storylines of the old and new group largely run separately, but do interlock constantly. Even new characters, such as the tough Kayla Watts, are given ample space and a full role.

You would almost forget that this movie is mainly about the dinosaurs, but director Colin Trevorrow constantly uses them when they help the story along, or simply guarantee spectacular action. Trevorrow also throws in some food for thought, but doesn’t rub it in.

It is clear that the makers have an enormous love for 1993’s “Jurassic Park”. It is expressed in shots that are borrowed one-on-one from Spielberg’s masterpiece. You could see it as cheap copying or paying an homage to a film that pioneered the use of computer effects and old school animatronics. Trevorrow didn’t shy away from these either.

“Jurassic World: Dominion” is getting mixed reviews. But I look at it this way: I knew going in, that it was never going to top “Jurassic Park” and no movie in this franchise ever did, will or tried to. The plot might be a little bit so-so, and there is a lot of fan-service and nostalgia in “Jurassic World: Dominion. I loved seeing the old and new gang, together and apart. The film was highly entertaining, we got to see a bunch of dinosaurs, some we already knew and some for the first time. The action is fast paced and it didn’t bore me for one second. Is it a great movie: no, but it’s still good, enjoyable and fun. And as a “Jurassic Park” fan, I loved all the hints to the original and the fan-service. So, I won’t talk crap, because I liked the film and it entertained me.

Rating: 3,5/ 5