Once again, we’re back with another prequel/requel/existing franchise. No, that’s not always a bad thing, but wouldn’t you just love more originality to come out of the movie business? I get it: it’s safer to fund something that has already proven itself as an audience-bringing blockbuster. I do get it. But do these Hollywood execs not realise how these franchises came into being in the first place?! You think Steven Spielberg would have got to make Jaws were it not for Universal Pictures taking a chance on it? Sure, it was made on a $9 million budget, but adjust that for inflation and it’s about $50 million in today’s money. Primarily, this is a PSA: START TAKING MORE CHANCES, HOLLYWOOD.
But I digress. Jurassic World Dominion is the third in the requel trilogy of box office classic Jurassic Park. It is what it is. In this one, we re-join our friends Owen and Claire in hiding as they try to shield the coveted Maisie Lockwood from evil palaeontologist corporation, Biosyn. With dinosaurs now inhabiting the Earth alongside humans however, their quest to protect Maisie becomes only more difficult.
Yeah I don’t know… I feel like everyone was especially harsh about this one? I actually kind of enjoyed it. It generally feels like critics are overly harsh to me, to be honest, and the idea that every movie should be on the level of The Godfather or 2001: A Space Odyssey is quite frankly detrimental. Maybe people should stop willing these action-packed, adventure-filled blockbusters to be the pinnacle of movie making and just take them for what they were meant to be: enjoyed.
If you were going in expecting original 1993 Jurassic Park levels of brilliance, there’s no wonder you were disappointed. But I have to say, why would you do that to yourself?! You knew it was never going to be that, and it’s not even the best movie in this particular trilogy. It’s not Spielberg-directed, there’s no Richard Attenborough, and honestly if you were expecting greatness, it feels more like a you problem. Sorry ‘bout it. Moving on…
When you look at the movie as a whole, Dominion is not bad. The best thing about it is obviously the return of old friends Laura Dern and Sam Neill, and their scenes together are nostalgic comedy gold. It should be noted though that newcomer DeWanda Wise is an addition that brings fun and a new flavour to the franchise. If anything, it’s just a shame she wasn’t introduced earlier.
The story itself is pretty predictable and feels a little “painting by numbers” but listen, there’s still a lot to like. Most obviously, there are a lot of dinosaurs in this one, the stand out being the sequence in which Bryce Dallas Howard is forced to hide in a grassy swamp in a fight for her life. It’s brilliantly shot and deeply disconcerting, and proof there are things in this one that mirror what made the OG so great.
Again, it’s not the best in the Jurassic canon. It’s a little long and not all that unique, but the CGI is decent, there’s nostalgia but not too much, and it kept me personally interested throughout. Harsh reviews be damned, I had a good time.
Jurassic World Dominion is currently available to stream on Sky Cinema and Now TV in the UK.
TQR Category Ratings:
Performance: 
Cinematography:
Soundtrack:
Costume & Set Design:
Plot:
Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
The Quayside Review 