‘Jurassic World Dominion’ – Dino-sized Disappointment

After five films of running from monsters in a jungle, the last Jurassic film had a drastic upping of the stakes. The dinosaurs are loose, and humans are at their mercy. The film opens with scenes of prehistoric creatures invading people’s everyday lives – a pterodactyl at a wedding, a mosasaur emerging from the depths, interrupting a fishing expedition. The planet is up for grabs. For life to continue, humans will have to co-exist, submit, or dominate their dino neighbours.

For a story of that scale, it’s no wonder the film brings back so much of the cast. The trio of Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Dr Ian Malcolm reunite, as do the stars of the last two films. While seeing these iconic characters back on the screen is admittedly a treat, the result is a film that follows so many characters and stories that it ends up chasing its own supersized tail.

The movie also has trouble sticking to any particular genre. At one point, the film is a western, with Chris Pratt riding valiantly on horseback to corral a group of hadrosaurs and retiring to his hand-built homestead. At another, it’s a conspiracy spy thriller with Bryce Dallas Howard exploiting her contact at the CIA. Sam Neill becomes Indiana Jones, complete with a last-ditch grab for his iconic hat in a moment of danger. Then, once again, it’s a Jurassic Park movie, with characters running from monsters in a jungle.

At the very least, you can enjoy the thrill ride, but even that has drawbacks. It’s style over substance and fashion over form. Jurassic World Dominion has plenty of fun action, but prepare to seriously suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy. “A so movie fi lie” will undoubtedly be a common refrain from audience members as the film gives you one unbelievable action scene after the next. Dominion is a far cry from a series that started out with painstaking attempts at realistic science fiction.

Yet, for all its problems, Jurassic World Dominion is frustratingly fun and chock full of mesmerising effects. The movie’s visuals are awe-inspiring, and the depiction of dinosaurs among us is done with incredible creativity. At a certain point, Ellie Satler laments the first time she ever saw a dinosaur, how, suddenly, something mythic became a thing right in front of her. Jurassic World Dominion doesn’t recapture that magic. Instead, it’s a dizzying frenzy that delights as much as it disappoints, but, at the end of the day, if you’re going to see dinosaurs, you should see them on the biggest screen while you can.

Rating: Half Price

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.