Jurassic World: Dominion Movie Review

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Written by: Emily Carmichael & Colin Trevorrow (screenplay by), Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow (story by), Michael Crichton (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Dichen Lachman, Mamoudou Athie, Isabella Sermon
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, Biosyn operatives attempt to track down Maisie Lockwood, while Dr Ellie Sattler investigates a genetically engineered swarm of giant insects.

Verdict
There isn’t much to this movie other than a lot of dinosaur destruction. It throws in a lot of different dinosaurs, almost too many as you won’t know what they are unless you’re familiar with dinosaurs. It has a lot of characters, even a few from the original in an attempt to make this more credible. It’s also too long as this is mostly dinosaur destruction with a few other ideas thrown in. There doesn’t seem to be much restraint in the script. The length is evidence that the writers and director could do basically whatever they wanted.
Skip it.

Review
I haven’t liked any of the Jurassic World movies, yet I keep watching them. I guess that’s why they keep making them. The prior two have felt like big budget b movies. They’re trading in on the name and it works. Jurassic Park was great, and none of the other movies in the franchise have close.

I needed a recap of some of the characters as the movie acts like I should know who the clone is. Owen, Claire, and the Velociraptor Blue were in the Jurassic World reboot and the following sequels. Maisie Lockwood was introduced in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, a human clone that was part of a ret-con to give John Hammond from the original Jurassic Park a partner.

Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt play Claire Dearing, Owen Grady

If you want dinosaurs, this movie includes a lot of them. It doesn’t name hardly any of them though. In just the first few minutes we get a large dinosaur causing damage. The second movie brought dinosaurs stateside and now humans and dinosaurs are at odds fighting over space. The movie briefly touches on animals rights, illegal breeding, selling, and how to cohabitate. Some of these dinos really are harmful though. I wondered if the movie would explore this idea and provide some kind of resolution. It has no intention whatsoever.

Any Park or World movie is going to be compared to the original Jurassic Park. It’s fair as the first movie got it right. There’s a certain amount of silliness to this movie with Owen riding and rustling dinosaurs. The first movie treated the creatures with reverence and awe. In this movie it’s a joke. What are the odds that Blue just happens to create a home next to Owen and Claire? It’s an extreme plot contrivance so that a man can make a promise to a dinosaur. The way this treats them is kind of silly, and I don’t think the movie’s intention is for me to think this is dumb.

Campbell Scott, Laura Dern, Sam Neill play Lewis Dodgson, Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant

This uses Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to give the movie validity, pitting them against a a huge genetic company that wants to control the world’s food supply. It’s conspiratorial because that’s easy. They meet with Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who has a lot of information at exactly when the plot needs it.

There’s certainly a bit of big dumb action movie as Owen and Claire team up with a group to run through a market fighting and shooting. Dinosaurs all over the place provide a backdrop for fights, fire, car crashes, and more. This movie throws everything at you. Let’s not forget weaponized raptors. Claire outruns a raptor on foot, yet Owen can’t escape one on a motorcycle. I will give the movie credit, the plane takeoff that ends this action sequence is pretty cool.

Sam Neill, Isabella Sermon, Chris Pratt play Alan Grant, Maisie Lockwood, Owen Grady

This also includes a lot of dinosaurs. It’s a situation where less is more. This shows so many dinosaurs that it dulls the impact. We don’t get that raptor or T-rex moment like the first Jurassic Park. The raptor made a big impact because it was one most people weren’t familiar with. The movie showed us why this dinosaur was so cool. This movie just throws them all in rapid-fire. There are a lot of dinosaurs destroying and dinosaur destruction for no real reason. This almost feels like a Godzilla movie with a huge budget. That might be why this movie exists, just so two huge dinosaurs can fight.

The movie does have a couple of cool moments, but there’s so much excess throughout that it’s diminished. This movie tries to do and include everything. The subplot to get Grant and Sattler into the plot is mostly filler for a plausible reason to have them meet Owen and Claire. Most of this is mindless at best. If another one releases, I likely will watch it once it hits streaming, but it’s clear what this franchises goal is and it’s not the kind of movie I want.