Friday, June 10, 2022

Jurassic World Dominion - Movie Review


The Movie: Jurassic World Dominion

The Director: Colin Trevorrow

The Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, Justice Smith, Scott Haze, Dichen Lachman, Daniella Pineda

The Story: 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 in a new Era.


The Review:
Expectations are high for what is perceived to be the final entry into one of the biggest blockbuster franchises of all time and meeting those expectations is probably an insrmountable task. As well received and iconic as Steven Spielberg's initial effort into the franchise was and still is, nearly every film since then has fallen short, some much more than others, I think partially because it's just hard to make a movie of that caliber and have it be that good, there's a special magic involved that doesn't come around very often.

Director Colin Trevorrow returns to helm this possibly final installment after successfully reinvigorating the franchise with 2015's Jurassic World. This time around, he brings back that big, blockbuster event feel that was missing from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with a globe trotting, high flying adventure that almost feels a little too fast paced at times. There is so much happening in this movie with lots of travel from location to location which makes it feel like an Indiana Jones style adventure and so many story lines are woven together or at least cross paths at different times, I feel like I want to watch it all again so I can properly digest all of the different characters and everything they have going on.

For some, the movie might feel too bloated but I really enjoyed a movie that just whisks you along on a crazy adventure without having to stop and explain every little detail along the way. Is it a perfect movie? Of course not. If you really start to think about the story can you easily pick it apart? I'm sure you could although not sure why you'd want to. This is a movie about dinosaurs, just have fun. Spraking of dinosaurs and fun, one of the most fun things that we get to see from the dinosaurs is random news clips and footage of deadly dinos of all shapes and sizes chasing people around. Not sure if I'm explaining that properly but you'll get what I mean when you watch the movie.

One of the things that may get confusing for people is the volume of characters that Trevorrow and co-writers Emily Carmichael and Derek Connoly jam into every moment of the movie. We get to see the further adventures of the primary characters played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard and the story brings back the key players from the first movie, reprised by Laura Dern, Sam Niell, and Jeff Goldblum. Seeing this iconic trio mingling with prehistoric beasts cranks up the nostalgia factor and you can clearly see how much fun they are having revisiting these beloved characters.

Aside from the returning cast members, there are plenty of homages and callbacks to not just the original movie but to the entire franchise and, while more new dino species have been added, it's really all about the t-rex and the velociraptors who might just be the stars of the entire series. It's always amazing to see dinosaurs on the big screen and the Jurassic Park series as a whole has never disappointed from a visual standpoint in that regard and it's always fun to see the creative ways they are put to use whether it's a brief moment on screen or as part of a major action sequence.


The Verdict:
Jurassic World Dominion levels up the dinosaur action while taking a stroll down memory lane and bringing the franchise to what could be its ultimate climax, or inevitable demise depending on how you take it all in. This should definitely be on your list of movies to see on the big screen this year.





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