MARCUS CHEONG watched the latest in the Jurassic Park franchise (and the final in the Jurassic World trilogy)…
Jurassic World Dominion (AU – M/UK – 12A/US – PG-13)
In A Word: Frenetic
A Pyroraptor, Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) in Jurassic World Dominion, co-written and directed by Colin Trevorrow. PICTURE: © 2022 Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
The sixth film in the Jurassic franchise brings the ‘World’ trilogy to an end. Jurassic World Dominion relies heavily on nostalgia, as the cast from the original film return to team up with the current generation of dino dodging survivors.
Dominion feels like two different movies merged into one. The first plot follows Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), the velociraptor trainer and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) now a dinosaur activist, that live hidden in the woods where they raise the cloned girl, Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) from Fallen Kingdom. When Maisie and the cute baby velociraptor are kidnapped by the nefarious corporation Biosyn, Owen and Claire set off on an international hunt to rescue their adopted daughter.
“There is a lack of clarity to the plot, characters and overall the meaning of this film. Dr Alan Grant sums it up succinctly when he exclaims, ‘This isn’t about us!’ Indeed, despite the ensemble of human talent assembled in Dominion, the real stars of the show are the dinosaurs themselves.”
The second plot features Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neil), Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who reunite after discovering genetically modified locusts are causing an ecological disaster. Together, they must infiltrate the Biosyn facility to expose the source of the threat and save the world from certain doom.
These two stories suffer from a lack of focus as it blends genres haphazardly. It is a kidnap thriller one moment, a heist film the next, then a Bond-like spy story fused with some scary movie moments thrown in. Then there are escape sequences only to be followed by an infiltration back into the facility they just escaped from.
It is not just the plot that is muddled, some of the characters switch allegiance from once side to another without any real explanation about their sudden change of heart. The antagonist, Dr Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott) is an eccentric mashup of Jobs, Gates, Zuckerburg and Musk, however it is never made clear what he is trying to do.
There is a lack of clarity to the plot, characters and overall the meaning of this film. Dr Alan Grant sums it up succinctly when he exclaims, “This isn’t about us!” Indeed, despite the ensemble of human talent assembled in Dominion, the real stars of the show are the dinosaurs themselves.
With three decades of advancements in CGI and animatronics since the first film, the creature effects are impressive. There are more dinosaurs than ever before and the action occurs on a wider canvas. There are frenetic chases on the streets of Malta, awesome moments in ice capped peaks, high flying aerial encounters, underground amber caverns thrills and a desperate effort to survive the jungle teeming with reptiles. The experience of watching this film is akin to being strapped into a theme park ride. We are whisked from scene to scene at a rapid pace, to receive jump scares from the next featured dinosaur.
Amidst the message of environmental responsibility and respect for nature, this final installment of Jurassic World attempts serves up a heartwarming theme of parental love. Maisie learns that Owen and Claire would do anything to save her, and thus she finally understands the love of a parent. It is not a subtle message, for even the mother Velociraptor gets it as she gives Owen one last knowing look before disappearing into the forest with her rescued baby.
Despite the flaws in Jurassic World Dominion, audiences will still flock in to see what made the original so successful, giant dinosaurs, roaming around the screen that bring a sense of awe and wonder when brought to life so realistically on the screen.
