When it comes to trilogies, it’s hard to stick the landing. Jurassic World’s third entry, Jurassic World: Dominion, misses the mark when it comes to a satisfying conclusion for investing in the Jurassic World chapter. The film is a slight upgrade from the confusing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but not by much.
If there’s one thing that Jurassic World: Dominion gets a solid A+ on, it’s the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs look more life-like than ever before, and there’s plenty of dino action for those who just want to see them fight. Unfortunately, the dinos get thrown into a plot where the main villains are ultimately genetically altered locusts that are destroying crops and are on the brink of causing global famine. It’s a lot.
Even though Jurassic World: Dominion is the end of the Jurassic World chapter, there are absolutely no stakes in this movie. It’s difficult to get emotionally invested as the characters try to stop — of all things in a dinosaur action flick — locusts.
Bryce Dallas Howard does her best to elevate the terrifying moments as she faces off with the most dinos in the movie. There are a few scenes where you are genuinely scared for her. Claire is almost always in constant peril. As for Chris Pratt, he has a truly thrilling scene in Malta involving a motorcycle and some dinosaurs, but he definitely took a backseat in regards to action in this movie.
DeWanda Wise was a great addition to the Jurassic World universe. Her character, Kayla Watts, has instant chemistry with both Owen and Claire. Kayla is a no-nonsense pilot who gets wrapped up in Owen and Claire’s adventure in her quest to try and do the right thing.
The original Jurassic Park trio — Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum — definitely make the most of what they’re given. The effortless synergy between these three actors, who starred in the first Jurassic Park movie nearly 30 years ago, comes back instantly in Jurassic World: Dominion. There is some wish fulfillment with two of the characters in this trio, and it’s a joy to witness amidst all the other chaos.
The problem with the last two Jurassic World movies is that they struggled to push the narrative forward in a meaningful way. After the way Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ended, Dominion could have revamped the story and course-corrected to bring this chapter to a rewarding and perhaps shocking conclusion. Jurassic World: Dominion fumbled its chance and now it appears that the franchise may be over — for good. Jurassic World: Dominion hits theaters on June 11.