It has been four years since dinosaurs were released into the wild, and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are still fighting to protect them. But when their adopted daughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon) is kidnapped, along with Blue's infant, they find themselves embroiled in a corporate conspiracy. All the while, three survivors of the original park are investigating a global food crisis, one with links to the technology that built Jurassic World.
The poster for Jurassic World: Dominion promises "the epic conclusion to the Jurassic era". Unfortunately - but not unsurprisingly - it is a promise that the movie does not keep. That's not to say that it's all bad, because there are some fun and thrilling moments (occasionally involving an actual dinosaur or two), but it never really comes close to "epic". How could it when the very thing that Jurassic World has been building towards (a world in which humans and dinosaurs must co-exist) is side-stepped in favour of a story that's more about locusts than it is dinosaurs. That's right, the prehistoric behemoths have become a side note in the franchise that is famous for bringing them back to life. Even the Mosasaurus - who has been promised an adventure in the open ocean for two movies now - is only given a cameo appearance attacking a fishing boat.
On top of setting up this curious side-step, Dominion falls into the same trap as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; it wastes a whole lot of time unnecessarily retconning what has gone before it. All of which leaves the movie feeling rather bloated. Something a whole host of gratuitous cameos doesn't help - that and the rather uncelebrated return of a Jurassic Park villain (Campbell Scott). As is tradition with the Jurassic World trilogy, Blue is shown to be even more special than she was in the last instalment, despite only making a brief appearance. Tied into this is Maisie - the major focus of the great and unnecessary retcon - she proves to be rather important, and somehow rather uninteresting. Isabella Sermon is simply there to play the clichéd annoying teenager, apart from being Owen and Claire's motivation for doing anything, that is.
The Jurassic World stars really have been given the backseat in the closing episode of their own trilogy, thanks mainly to the return of the stars of Jurassic Park. Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum definitely get the more interesting story (everything is relative) as they once again involve themselves with the more living dinosaurs - and other things. DeWanda Wise does make a great addition as one of the few pilots crazy enough to fly through dinosaur infested airspace. It might be great to see the JP trio back in action, but there isn't really any joy in seeing them team up with their JW counterparts. If anything, Pratt and Howard's characters are left feeling surplus to requirements - seeing Owen promise a dinosaur he'll bring their baby home like Liam Neeson in Taken only makes matters worse. The same can be said of BD Wong's Doctor Henry Wu, who has cleverly slithered his way through the rest of the franchise. It feels like the good doctor appears here simply because he can, clinging to that retcon in what feels like a weak attempt to take the character full circle.
There are however, some fun action sequences, including a visit to an illegal dino market and a chase through the streets of Malta. After all, what's a Jurassic World movie without a motorcycle and some fast dinos? Although this time the fun comes from seeing Owen and Claire running away from them. And it's Claire who gets one of the movie's most terrifying scenes; hiding from a dinosaur in a murky swamp. All of which look fantastic thanks to some incredible visual effects (both animated and animatronic), although one dinosaur does look like it's wearing a Condorman outfit. The problem is, despite all these visuals that should help immerse you in this world, the dinosaurs still feel like they've been tacked on to the plot. It's their movie essentially, and they don't really feel like a part of it (anyone noticing a recurring theme?). This all becomes painfully clear in the final confrontation in which Rexy takes on the franchise's latest gargantuan; Giganotosaurus. It's a fight that should bring this so-called "epic conclusion" to a thundering close. Instead, this minor inconvenience for our heroes is left feeling like an after-thought.
With its prehistoric stars feeling rather left out, Jurassic World: Dominion proves to be neither epic nor much of a conclusion. A few good action sequences and the return of some beloved characters are not enough to save the trilogy/franchise closer from disappointment.
2/10
What did you think of Jurassic World: Dominion? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com.
Comments
Post a Comment