Jurassic World Dominion   ☆

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Isabella Sermon, and Campbell Scott

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow

Tagline: The epic conclusion of the Jurassic era.

he Jurassic World trilogy arrives at an underwhelming conclusion with Jurassic World Dominion, a ridiculously boring (and boringly ridiculous) instalment that does not leave you looking forward to the franchise’s eventual, inevitable revival.

The movie unites the cast of the Jurassic Park films with that of its sequel series but squanders the opportunity to do anything truly memorable with this chance while failing to make a case for its very existence.

Things pick up a couple of years after Fallen Kingdom. De-extinct dinosaurs now share the planet with humans, their significant ecological impact on the world making for a fascinating scenario that the movie is not particularly interested in exploring. Instead we have former Jurassic World employees Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) secretly raising cloned teenager Maisie (Isabella Sermon) who is being chased by a genetic research corporation that wants to study her DNA, while paleo-scientists Ellie (Laura Dern) and Alan (Sam Neill) try to stop a plague of formerly extinct giant locusts.

Riveting stuff this is not.

Everything basically falls flat. The story is lazy, the writing bad, the editing, at times, extremely poor. The stakes never feel as high as they should. With its dull heroes continuously donning iron-clad plot armour, there is no palpable sense of danger at any point in this overlong adventure, no moment of relief on the other side of the many action sequences. The lack of tension and excitement drains the episode of suspense, and the lack of believability makes for frustrating viewing.

Which is a shame given how solid the start of the franchise was and how interesting the sequel series could have potentially been. The return of the original cast should have been an exciting, memorable highlight; instead it delivers little beyond fan service.

Jurassic World Dominion lacks the magic of the 1993 classic and makes do with hollow nostalgia baiting. The first Jurassic Park adventure is such a significant, beloved film; it’s sad to see things degenerate to this level of nonsensical dumbness.

Rating system: *Not on your life * ½ If you really must waste your time ** Hardly worth the bother ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only
*** Good enough for a look see *** ½ Recommended viewing **** Don’t miss it **** ½ Almost perfect ***** Perfection