Jurassic World Dominion Movie Review

“Jurassic World Dominion” is the culmination of the “Jurassic Park” movie series. This franchise has had its ups and downs. But the dinosaur craze from thirty years ago might not seem as fresh and exciting. Is the time ending when “Dinosaurs Ruled the Box Office”?

Based on events from the prior series of movies, this one starts with humans living in a world that has become the Dinosaur’s habitat. Due to a situation where all of the prehistoric animals were released in the wild, there is a mad dash to find and capture them. There is a company named Biosyn Genetics, led by CEO Dr. Lewis Dodgson (played by Campbell Scott).

He has on his staff one of the OG (original gangsta) from “Jurassic Park” (an ‘OG from JP’). That is Dr. Henry Wu (played by BD Wong) Dodgson also brings on the noted scientist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). He is also an ‘OG from JP’. Biosyn is collecting all the dinosaurs and keeping them in their research facility in the Italian mountains.

A guy named Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt) was a Dinosaur expert / trainer. This was at the old “Jurassic World” park, until the volcano blew up the facility and sent the people and dinos scattering. Owen was able to make a bond with a Velociraptor named Blue. Now in the wilds of Northern California, Blue has had a baby (called Beta).

Owen lives there with Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), who had also worked at the “World” park. She has since become a true advocate for dino rights, and wants to end black-market smuggling. They are raising a young girl, Maisie Lockwood (played by Isabella Sermon). She was revealed to be clone of a famous genetic scientist.

Dinos are not the only thing creating havoc and chaos (Dr. Malcolm would approve!). There are giant locust bugs, as big as cats, in the Midwest. They seem to be some type of genetic type of created mutant. It has Dino-DNA, and it never swarms on crops grown on Biosyn seeds. That’s not suspicious at all right?

Well, a famous paleobotanist is on the case. It is Dr. Ellie Sattler (played by Laura Dern). She too is another ‘OG from JP’. She knows that these massive bugs are created using ancient DNA, so she calls upon an old friend to assist in her study. That would be world-renown dinosaur expert Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill). But of course — he is also an ‘OG from JP’.

Owen and Claire find that Maisie and Beta have been kidnapped, uh — also dino-napped. Following the trail to Malta, they track poachers and black-market smugglers and underground bazaars. But after a wild chase in the streets, they meet somebody willing to help them find Maisie. Kayla Watts (played by DeWanda Wise) has run semi-legal cargo with her plane.

But she had seen Maisie (and Beta) being transported to the Biosyn facility. Dr. Wu needs to study how raptor Blue could reproduce, and how Maisie was cured of a fatal disease. Kayla, against her better judgment, will give Owen and Claire a lift to the mountain dinosaur retreat. But first Owen will need to shake off those pesky Dinos chasing his motorcycle…

Sattler and Grant have found a different way into Biosyn. They are invited by old friend Ian Malcolm. Ellie is looking for some proof that Biosyn is behind the Big Bad Bugs. Malcolm has come to work and lecture and give some more status to the company. But even he thinks there are some bad vibes going on behind all the CEO Dodgson ‘Google work environment on steroids’ antics. The two scientists are met by Biosyn’s main PR guy, Ramsay Cole (played by Mamoudou Athie). He assures them that all is well, and everything is above board. But they don’t see Kayla’s plane coming in and being attacked by a flying dinosaur from hell.

Claire Dearing gets separated in the Dino-Retreat, away from her partner Owen Grady. Owen and Kayla have survived the crash-landing, but they may not be able to survive new attacks from Dinos on the prowl. Claire is being chased, too. But this time she does not have her high heels. Sattler and Grant have been able to infiltrate the top-secret research labs. They had help from Ian Malcolm, who wants out of there.

Maisie Lockwood, and baby raptor Beta, are under the care of Dr. Wu. Of course, Maisie finds a way to escape and she also lets Beta go free. CEO Dodgson is seeing that his BioSyn Gentics empire is starting to crumble. Dodgson tells Ramsay Cole that if this place should fall apart, he can get funding for both of them to start all over. But Ramsey might not want to come along for that ride.

This is fast becoming a “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” for everyone. Will the Dinos feast on the Biosyn staff? Will the gigantic locusts escape and cause havoc? Will the overwhelming number of characters find a way to survive? Are the ‘legacy’ actors (Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, BD Wong) wonderful to see once more? Is there any juice left in this series, or should it be frozen in amber?

“Jurassic World Dominion” is the culmination of what started in 1993 with “Jurassic Park”. After three movies, it re-spawned into a follow-up series, starting in 2015 with “Jurassic World”. Now with the third movie in the “World” series, might the “Jurassic” movies be headed for extinction on their own? Have they become overly big and bloated, somewhat like the lumbering Brontosaurus?

It is great to see some very familiar faces back with the Dinos. But it is tough to make a coherent story that combines the “Park” characters with the “World” characters. With so much retread story beats, it is hard to get super excited about the plot. The acting is really fine, and the special effects of the Dinos is right up there on top. But when it all combined for a contrived story that outlives its welcome…

“Jurassic World Dominion” — time to settle in for some fine special effects and really good action, and just pretend the story line is extinct.