Welp, it looks like the gates to Jurassic Park/World are finally closing. Jurassic World: Dominion, the third installment of the Jurassic World trilogy, is the final piece of the Jurassic Park franchise. Picking up in a world that’s become the Flintstone’s Bedrock where dinosaurs and humans are living with each other, Dominion brings together the teams from Jurassic World (Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard) and Jurassic Park (Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum) to combat a new creature that threatens to destroy the human-dinosaur balance.
While the first Jurassic Park is a classic for being a sound design pioneer and giving dinosaurs a platform to kick some ass, the subsequent films and reboot have been a shining example of the law of diminishing returns. Each film got progressively worse. Does Dominion give this franchise an ending fitting of its impact on cinema, or does it continue the goofs that have plagued the Jurassic World films since day one? Well, I have some good news and some bad news for you.
The good news? As a wrap-up for the Jurassic World trilogy, Dominion is a pleasant surprise that gives a little life to a series that never came close to touching the source material from which it was spawned. It showcases marked improvement over the previous Jurassic World movies in several ways, but some key elements place Dominion as the superior one of this group.
The most apparent is the greater focus on the dinosaurs. Dominion avoids the pitfall of forcing subplots involving aspects of the humans’ lives that were ancillary to the story by giving us the one thing we’ve wanted since the reboot began – more dinosaurs. The dinosaur battles and attacks come in bunches and drive the film. The obligatory scenes to set up the story’s villains/threats run a bit long, but putting the dinosaurs first gives Dominion the fastest pace of the Jurassic World series.
Reducing the Pratt-Howard tandem also proved to be a step in the right direction for Dominion. New Edition’s Ralph Tresvant accurately captures Pratt and Howard’s coupling with his words to some unlucky lady in NE’s hit “You’re Not My Kind of Girl” – the chemistry just isn’t there. Instead of having those two do the heavy lifting this time, Trevorrow wisely spreads the wealth amongst the returning Jurassic Park crew and Jurassic newcomer Dewanda Wise. Neil and Dern provide the sparks Pratt and Howard lack, while Goldblum offers some comic relief via his character’s signature snark and some doomsday prognosis. Despite feeling awkward at times with a contrived hip-hop bravado, Wise fits in nicely with the squad, especially in the action sequences.
While the return of the OG Jurassic cast gives Dominion a boost, it’s not the only contributing blast from the past. The sound department produces a product that rivals the first Jurassic Park movie. Again, the first film was a pioneering film in cinema due to being the first film to use Digital Theater Systems (DTS) technology. Dominion’s sound design matches that quality with every roar, either from dinosaur or engine, coming through crystal clear.
Now, suppose you’re looking at it as a grand finale to the Jurassic Park franchise. In that case, Dominion is a sad reminder of how far the property has fallen since its groundbreaking debut.
Despite involving more dinosaurs, Dominion continued the Jurassic franchise’s de-evolution into an overly human-driven story. Like the Godzilla or King Kong movies, very little, if anything, is needed from the humans aside from scientific explanations and running. Yet, Trevorrow and Co. continue to find a way to make Jurassic films with cliché human plot points and themes like family, romance amid chaos, and of course, evil corporations.
Another low point for Dominion, and arguably the franchise, is the bad CGI. The dinosaurs look amazing, but the editing and effects for some of the chases rival the putrid levels of Morbius. In a few scenes, characters “run” through an attacking swarm of prehistoric mutant locus unscathed and like they’re walking through the rain.
The floor for Dominion is its redundancy. While there’s something to be said for maintaining continuity, especially when dealing with a trilogy/series, Dominion stays so close to the earlier films that it becomes those films. The same corporate greed vs. nature story in every movie of the Jurassic World series, all written by Trevorrow with no deviation from that plot. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.
Jurassic World: Dominion is the cinematic version of being a Washington Commanders fan. Sure, there are 2 or 3 good wins, but the euphoria from those victories dies as soon as you realize there are four times as many Ls alongside those wins. The increased use of the dinosaurs and chemistry brought by the Jurassic Park trilogy returnees are enough to keep you interested, and the sound quality will amaze you. However, the continued dependency on human stories no one wants, the goofed CGI, and redundancy aren’t enough to make Dominion memorable or save the Jurassic franchise from its freefall. Only watch this one if you're a die-hard Jurassic Park fan.