Jurassic World Dominion review – Roaring end to the series

Jurassic World Dominion brings back classic characters to tell a new story that has absolutely no right to be as compelling as it is. 

It’s never easy to close a chapter on a series that is larger than life, with the memories fans have collected over the years of water shuddering, extinct dinosaurs brought back to life on the big screen, and the iconic roar of a T-Rex. 

There is something about Michael Crichton’s fictional vision of how humans would use genetic engineering that is so terrifying you almost wish it was real. It started with Steven Spielberg’s revolutionary robotics on-set and it’s ended with a story the originals frankly failed to master. 

The dinosaurs are no longer off the coast of Costa Rica and Earth is being tested in a way never seen before. 

Getting right what The Lost World got wrong

Cast your memory back to The Lost World. Brief storytelling on a small piece of John Hammond’s Site B: Isla Sorna led to the capture and release of a T-Rex into civilization. Somehow, having a giant Tyrannosaur wreak havoc in San Diego led to the most uneventful film. It was almost so disappointing that it stole away any appetite for these extinct animals to be seen off the shores of their islands again. 

• Read More: The new characters in Jurassic World Dominion.

If you felt that way, too, hold onto your butts. Jurassic World Dominion has exploded onto the big screen and it’s ready to change your mind. 

Dr. Alan Grant ends a 21-year hiatus from the Jurassic franchise to reunite with famed mathematician Ian Malcom and paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler. The romantic tension between Grant and Sattler is back, too, but there are more important things to worry about. 

New dinosaurs appear, while an old villain returns

InGen is toast. It’s been replaced by Biosyn, a company headed up by the mischievous Lewis Dodgson. Remember him? In the original Jurassic Park movie, he bribed Dennis Nedry to steal embryos, who then died mid-mission. In Dominion, the company owns a huge plot of land for dinosaurs called Biosyn Alley. At first, it looks like a paradise, but things are not what they seem. 

A devastating flock of locusts is tearing down human food supplies in agricultural regions of the United States, after mutating with dinosaurs. Alan, Ellie, and Ian find themselves in the middle of a side quest to prove Biosyn is behind the whole thing. This existential threat – coupled with the fact that dinosaurs are wild in many countries due to black market trading – is a big enough hook to build a film around. Toss in a cloned child being hunted for an enormous bounty or the theft of a creature close to the family, and you’ve got enough to think about as you’re crunching away on that popcorn. 

• Read More: Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum interview.

The beauty of Jurassic World Dominion is that all of these storylines are connected perfectly by old and new characters. The bond of Owen Grady and Claire Dearing grows stronger than ever as each mountainous problem arises. Malcolm’s charm hits the right nostalgia notes, with the script even adding new layers to his character. In one keynote speech, he says: “We’re racing toward the extinction of our species. We not only lack dominion over nature. We’re subordinate to it.” 

New creatures such as the Giganotosaurus, Pyroraptor, Therizinosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, and the Dimetrodon, add obstacles the characters could do without. From ice battles to laser-sight raptors, the fear factor (older fans will appreciate) is back and better than ever. 

The Verdict – is Jurassic World Dominion good?

This action-packed Dino adventure brought the band back together which can sometimes feel like it’s happening just for the sake of it. People love a bit of nostalgia, right?

However, Jurassic Park Dominion is a storytelling masterpiece that is considerate of not just the old, but the new. Teenager Maisie Lockwood steals the show with a narrative that takes the imagination to a place where Michael Crichton’s great fictional world should – the unthinkable. 

If this is to be the end of the road, it’s a stellar way to close the curtain on a series that has captured the hearts and minds of generations.