A Jurassic Sequel That Doesn't Digest Exciting, New Structures Well Enough (Jurassic World)

65 million years ago, giant lizards ruled the earth but nature decided to kill them. 30 years ago, humans decided to play God by creating a park filled with Dinosaurs. Jurassic Park is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Like every successful film, Hollywood decides to make a large franchise out of it. So, two sequels were made, and although fan favorites, were less received nonetheless compared to the original which led to the end of the franchise. That changed when Colin Trevorrow was tasked with revitalizing the franchise through Jurassic World which at the time became one of the highest-grossing movies. Now, within its sixth installment, Jurassic World Dominion promotes itself as the epic conclusion to the Jurassic saga. 

Dominion takes place 4 years after the events of the Fallen Kingdom where Isla Nublar is no more and Dinosaurs now roam the modern world, collapsing the ecological system. This all-new entry lives up to the title we were introduced to back in 2015 now officially a Jurassic World. But even that brings its own problems and terrors, whether it involves the humans in the storyline or the audience watching it. 

This sequel not only catches us up on Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and their new life as parents, raising Maisie Lockwood (Isabelle Sermon) but we finally get to see what the legacy characters, Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant, and Ian Malcolm been up to since they're last appearances. We are also introduced to a handful of new characters that are considerably more memorable than expected. But despite the many payoffs we see with character arcs, Jurassic World Dominion does not feel like the proper dino adventure fans will be expecting. 

With two main storylines converging and many locations involved in this sequel, this is indeed the largest scale a Jurassic movie can go as we enter this new era that was promised to be explored by the end of the predecessor. Unfortunately, a number of inclusions to the main storylines do fall flat despite the main premises being compelling. One storyline involves Owen and Claire going on a rescue mission that takes them to Malta which features one of the best action sequences in the franchise. Another storyline involves the legacy cast reuniting to figure out a particular mystery that leads them to another biotech company bothering with DNA experimentation and dino affairs. 

Like I said, both of these storylines are enough for fans to be fed with but there is just something lacking when you are watching this long supposed swan song to a 30-year-old sci-fi fantasy franchise. Whether it has something to do with having the lack of Spielbergian spirit or with how they deal with most creatures that are featured this time around, a lot of Dominion is jarringly forgettable. When it came to paying tribute to the franchise itself, the sequel doesn't shy away from nostalgia or easter eggs, but it does exceptionally well it comes to finally reaching the probable scenario the franchise as a whole has been leading up to. Secrets are revealed as a recycled twist that will leave fans shocked and in awe, unfortunately, not in a big way. 

My expectation of this sequel was that this would be the backdoor heading towards the styles of James Gurney's Dinotopia. It is not all the way fulfilled but if Universal plans on expanding this world despite it being considered as something that has run its course, this can be explored further. An example of this could be highlighted when the main two storylines finally converge at a park-like facility which really downgrades the whole idea of worldwide adventure I know longtime fans were waiting for. This is why the events of Malta really stick out with how not only the outside world but also underground gangs and poachers are utilizing dinosaurs. 

But what was interesting was how the technology introduced all those years ago was being used in other different ways whether wonderful or terrifying. The arcs that center around both the legacy characters and Maisie were fun to witness but it really strays too far when the target audiences are expecting more Dino brawls. The storylines and the many characters involved brought about thoughts of how all of these arcs and potentially a few more could have been delved into deeper if Dominion was a 6 part miniseries... or at least a much longer movie. Things would be so much smoother and certain new things, we would care about a little more. 

Fans of Netflix's Camp Createcous animated show will also be disappointed, left questioning the canonicity of the franchise's first small-screen expansion. However, I wasn't expecting it any differently since the show's events are pretty separate and we are seeing it concluding next month with the show's final season. Now that Jurassic is ending is it finally time to abandon this world? I guess we will have to find out how well this movie does. That way Universal can have their own large franchise to milk every year like Disney does with Star Wars and probably how Warner Bros is planning to with the Wizarding World. 

To conclude, Jurassic World Dominion is still the popcorn adventure flick you still want to catch on the biggest screen possible. Fans of the franchise will be happy with how certain things turn out as they tie up huge loose ends while also leaving a few tidbits open-ended. But I can safely say that not everyone is going to have a good time with this especially people who have enjoyed every other Jurassic movie before this.