‘Jurassic World Dominion’ – Review
It’s blockbuster season, and cinema doesn’t get larger than the Jurassic World franchise. And director Colin Trevorrow is ready to tale audiences back to the excitement of the collision of man vs dinosaur in the final chapter of the groundbreaking science fiction saga in Jurassic World Dominion. And this is a blockbuster that delivers a solid rush.
Four years after the Lockwood estate incident, dinosaurs now live — and hunt — 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.
Stepping back behind the camera and following up his work on 2015’s Jurassic World is director Colin Trevorrow, and he takes everything up a notch in this, the final instalment of the beloved Jurassic saga. For more than 29 years audiences have been enthralled by this epic franchise which redefined what cinema could be thanks to utterly groundbreaking visual effects first seen in 1993, before revamping the presence of man’s interaction with dinosaurs in 2015’s Jurassic World. Now the final chapter awaits, and it’s a story of the past and the present crashing together that will decide the fate of which species, human or dinosaur, will hold sway over our planet.
Trevorrow takes his time with this story bringing a duel narrative that includes the newer characters of Jurassic World, Chris Pratt as Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing, with those of the original cast including Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler and Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm. And it’s fantastic to see these characters united on screen as they fight to save humanity and dinosaurs. With a story that includes corporate conspiracies and a dangerous extinction-level event, Trevorrow revs things up, and by the beginning of the second act, the action gets exhilarating. This first burst of excitement comes in the form of Pratt’s Owen Grady who is engaged in a high-speed motorcycle chase through the city of Malta, as he tries to outrun a pack of Atrociraptors. And it’s a hell of a sequence to witness that will pin you to your seat with adrenaline.
In addition to a good dose of action, Trevorrow digs deep into the horror and scares of Jurassic World Dominion, and of all of the Jurassic films to date, Dominion is certainly the scariest. Looking back to Steven Speilberg’s work on the original 1993 blockbuster, Trevorrow is able to tease out a terrific level of suspense and horror that is sure to make you uneasy, and there are some scary jump scares that will rattle audiences to their core. This combination of action and scares keeps the narrative unpredictable, making this film a complete rush to witness right up until its climactic end.
As an audience member and long-time fan of the Jurassic franchise, it’s a lot of fun to see the return of the original cast including Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. And their appearances here are no mere cameos. These original characters are vital to the film’s narrative, and it’s great to see Grant, Settler and Malcolm interact with Owen and Claire as they do everything in their power to save human and dinosaur kind. This dual-narrative presence provides the perfect balance of nostalgia and contemporary fun, and each character gets their own unique moment to shine.
For audiences who are wanting a fun rush at the movies, Jurassic World Dominion makes for a very enjoyable time. It’s packed full of giant set pieces, fast-paced action, and quirky banter and delivers the nostalgia that we all remember and love. This one is just a fun time out at the movies.
Image: Universal Pictures
