Jurassic World: Dominion (Movie Review)

 ***This review will contain spoilers***

Summary:

Four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, 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.

Opening Scene:

After the events at the Lockwood estate, we are given an update on the free roaming dinosaurs and how they and the humans have adapted to co-existing. As expected, a black market bloomed to take advantage of these poor creatures. Of course, to help fight the illegal poachers Biosyn genetics was awarded sole collection rights to the dinosaurs to test them for pharmaceutical purposes. I don't know if it was done on purpose but the CEO of Biosyn; Lewis Dodgson strikes a remarkable resemblance to Bill Gates. Funny how they both say they do thing to 'help' humankind yet their net worth increases by the billions. Biosyn genetically modified locusts to destroy crops from farmers while simultaneously saving their own. Thus, they would be able to control the food supply. Sounds familiar, especially, since Bill Gates has been buying acres upon acres of farmland. 

It's about time that we had some sort of update about characters from Jurassic World. Barry, Vivian and Lowery all work for the CIA. It felt like seeing an old friend with Barry being back in the picture, especially, since he helped Owen raise the raptors. 

Maisie, Owen's and Claire's adopted/kidnapped daughter, gets kidnapped, as well as Blue's baby 'Beta'. It's nice they keep Blue around but it would have been 100 times better if Blue tagged along with Claire and Owen to get the girls backs. It feels like that would have more sense, especially, when they went against the trained raptors (didn't they say that it was impossible to do?) and when they faced many more dinosaurs at Biosyn. It would have been more fun with Blue and she could have bonded with Claire over motherhood. It was weird how they kept pushing that 'mom' narrative on Claire throughout the whole movie. Plus what better way to pass the torch over to Maisie and Beta for the newer generation to take the Jurassic mantle. 

Most of the movie focused on the original Jurassic Park cast. Which I wouldn't have an issue with since I grew up watching them, however, the actual storyline is severely lacking. I have watched the original trilogy so many times over the years since I was a little kid but I can barely go through a rewatch with this one. Did they think the nostalgia is supposed to overshadow the shaky storyline?

As if it wasn't bad enough that the dinosaurs died twice by fire. We've got it for a damn third time. Burning locusts to bring the end of this temporary sanctuary for the remaining dinosaurs. Can they ever catch a break? 

This wouldn't be a Jurassic movie without an epic dino battle. We've got the classic T-Rex paired up with Therizinosaurus or Becky with the long ass nails 🤣🤣 vs Giganotosaurus. It was a nice and short fight. They essentially turned the Giganotosaurus into a kabob. Pretty epic fight. 

Rating:

I am giving Dominion 3 stars on 5 which is very generous considering I can barely sit through a rewatch without wanting to scroll on my phone. It definitely felt like the ending of an era with the OG and newer cast colliding together. However! There is a new Jurassic film coming out in 2025 with Scarlett Johansson. I'm excited to see the new era of Jurassic films.