Film Review: Jurassic World- Dominion

 

Overlong but enjoyable conclusion to the Jurassic Era

Like many, I’ll never forget that moment in the original Jurassic Park when we catch our first sight of `real` dinosaurs. As a child I had been disappointed on discovering there was no footage of these amazing creatures and I dragged my parents to every conceivable replica whether in museums or theme parks and avidly watched every stop motion dinosaur film makers attempted. Yet what I really wanted was to see them in their majesty. Then in 1993 I did. For generations of people who had childhood memories of wishing they could see dinosaurs it was a wonderful reward and one of the best cinematic moments I will ever see. Nearly thirty years on we’ve seen so many dinosaurs and sundry other digitally generated images that simple wonder has been replaced with an ever ambitious demand to be impressed. We don’t even get surprised by them any more. Now we have what is billed as the final Jurassic film, the sixth offering from a franchise that can now only follow those who copied its visual genius. Can Jurassic World- Dominion come anywhere near to those thrills we experienced in 1993?

 

The first thing to say is that, yet again, we have a blockbuster that overstays it’s welcome and peaks a long way before the actual climax. I’m not sure why this happens so often these days but a film has to be riveting to justify a run time beyond two hours. This film does have a lot of content in that it tries to draw together the principal characters from both wings of the franchise which is fine and works well but there are some unnecessary additions to a story of which this is supposed to be the climax. A plague of enormous locusts, the story of a cloned girl and yet more evil corporate shenanigans would make decent movies in their own right but shoved in here they create too much content for them to be given the space they need. 

The main idea of having dinosaurs and humans trying to live alongside each other is surely strong enough on its own? All the way through there are plenty of interesting ideas or theories but none are properly worked through because there isn’t time. While you have to acknowledge that the writers are trying to do something different, I’d argue that the final film in a series is not really the time for this many new twists. This is one of those films that seems to end, then there’s more, then it seems to end, then there’s more. Back in 1993 if you’d told me I’d actually get fed up with yet another dinosaur popping up I would never have believed you but there are times when this film manages to make dinosaurs a bit…boring!

It’s a shame because when the set pieces work they really work! The film’s stand out sequence in Malta with multiple characters being chased is a thrill ride, cut fast and packed with dynamic action using the cramped locations and it’s the most exciting thing the franchise has offered since the first film. There is also a stunningly realised scene involving a vintage cargo plane while later perils in a dinosaur infested jungle are good value especially a very Spielberg- like moment when poor Claire Dearing (who seems to get attacked more than anyone else!) is underwater and a Dino starches itself out and sniffs the surface.

Bryce Dallas Howard has a good film and her chemistry with returning Laura Dern is great. Likewise, it’s good to have  Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum back, the latter in fine fettle as Ian Malcolm continues to grab the best lines while spouting absolute philosophical nonsense! Chris Pratt on the other hand gets little to do after the early scenes except run and fight back, the nuances of his character somewhat missing. Of the new characters, DeWanda Wise ‘s Kayla Watts is a spin off franchise waiting to happen (I really hope so!) though her somewhat speedy changing of sides in this film is an example of how even the lengthy running time isn’t enough to encompass a lot of subtlety. Similarly, Mamoudou Athie’s promising Ramsay starts helping out our heroes because…? Our villain this time is a variation on the ethically challenged deluded type we’ve seen before though Campbell Scott’s performance adds some variety to the character.

Once we breach the two hour mark we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with the action starting to look familiar and in the end everyone runs off as three dinosaurs have a barny as if even our characters can’t be bothered to be frightened any more. The film’s ability to shock also drops when it starts to become clear not one of these characters is actually going to be killed however much they are put through. By the time they get to safety there’s nary a bruise or a cut between them! It’s a fun film alright, preferably to be seen at the cinema but with diminishing returns as it goes on. Afterwards it struck me that none of the sequels have ever quite managed to match something as effective as a cup of water shaking as something very large approaches!