Jurassic World Dominion is the latest movie to join the Jurassic franchise. The movie takes place four years after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom where dinosaurs were taken off the island and released into the world. If you've been following along with the events of my Jurassic Park Week where I have released many articles and reviews leading up to the release of this movie, it has become clear that I have been very excited to see Jurassic World Dominion. Since the movie's release on Thursday, I have already seen the movie twice and I can tell you right now that I was not disappointed.

Leading up to seeing Jurassic World Dominion, I rewatched all five Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies. I was amazed at how much the special effects improved from movie to movie. Even the difference in quality between the first and second movies was phenomenal. Jurassic World Dominion does not stray from this pattern. After Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I thought that the dinosaurs wouldn't get any more authentic. I was wrong. The dinosaurs in this movie are truly astounding and magnificently beautiful. However, this could already be seen in The Prologue short film released late last year. (By the way, it is a good idea to watch both this short film and the Battle at Big Rock short film before watching Jurassic World Dominion. They are great short films and provide some background information for Jurassic World Dominion.)

Jurassic World Dominion took a bit of a different turn than all of the other Jurassic movies. This movie could have easily fallen into the trap of repeating what has been seen in previous movies. Luckily, the movie did not focus on dinosaurs running around Earth and eating people. The movie put much more focus on the genetic power and its other uses other than building dinosaur-theme parks. In fact, Jurassic World Dominion didn't show that many dinosaurs running around cities and destroying stuff. This came as quite a surprise to me after watching the movie for the first time. I was also slightly disappointed at this lack of dinosaurs. However, after the second viewing, I can fully understand why they chose this. The way this movie's storyline went was much more nuanced than having dinosaurs running around and eating people as was the case in the original Jurassic Park but has been lost in some later movies.

However, when the dinosaurs did run around and eat people, it was done really well. There is one sequence that goes for about fifteen minutes of this big dinosaur chase in Malta. The sequence is truly incredible with so many dinosaurs. Additionally, the lack of dinosaurs in previous parts of the movie help makes this part of the movie so amazing. The sequence is full-on with a lot to take in. My first viewing was in an IMAX cinema so it was a lot of dinosaurs. I'm glad I was able to watch the movie again the next day to take more in (on a much smaller screen).

This movie featured characters from many different Jurassic movies. The characters of the Jurassic World movies were of course there. However, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum also returned to reprise their roles from the original Jurassic Park movie. We even got to see the return of Lewis Dodgson and Henry Wu. Jurassic World Dominion sees the actors and actresses playing these characters at their best. The stars of the original Jurassic Park perfectly return to their roles whilst we get to see some of the best acting from the Jurassic World stars. I particularly have to mention that this is the best we have seen of Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing. Even new stars DeWanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie portray loveable characters.

I doubt that there will ever be any film composer who will ever be as great as John Williams. However, Michael Giacchino has done an incredible job of taking over the Jurassic franchise from John Williams. Jurassic World Dominion features some of his best work as his score mirrored the scores of previous Jurassic films as well as introduced some new themes. In fact, many moments throughout the film mirrored previous Jurassic movies. There were lots of little references to the previous movies that warmed my heart.

Jurassic World Dominion was supposed to be "the epic conclusion of the Jurassic era". However, at first, it didn't feel like this epic conclusion. It certainly brought from all six movies everything together but it didn't feel like the end of the six movies. I was actually hoping and expecting to cry at the end of this movie. I didn't. This was supposed to be the final Jurassic World movie, however, it ended with the possibility of more movies. I would be surprised if they don't decide to make more movies. Originally, I thought that this wouldn't be what is best for the franchise. However, if they manage to come up with some new and original ideas, I'm not going to complain if they make more movies.

If you like any of the Jurassic movies, you will really like Jurassic World Dominion. It is probably going to be enjoyed more by Jurassic fans, however, it will still be enjoyed by casual movie-goers. Some things make more sense to those who have seen all the movies but it is a fun ride for those who haven't seen any of the movies. 

I thought that it was very concrete that Jurassic Park is my favourite Jurassic movie (and my all-time favourite movie) and that Jurassic World is my second favourite Jurassic movie. However, Jurassic World Dominion may have changed that. I am still not entirely sure where it sits as I've only seen it twice and Jurassic Park and Jurassic World at least five times. Nevertheless, Jurassic World Dominion is an amazing movie. It is a real piece of art. It is certainly one of the best Jurassic movies with some of the best acting, music and dinosaurs we've ever seen.

And for those who have read my article on the opening scenes of the Jurassic movies: don't worry, Jurassic World Dominion has not let me down with its opening scene.

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum

Year released: 2022

My rating: 9.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 12/06/2022