First Jurassic World Dominion Reviews Will Make Your Head Spin
When Michael Crichton first wrote his novel "Jurassic Park" back in 1990, he probably didn't imagine that it would become a beloved cinematic franchise that would keep audiences coming back for more and more dinosaur action over the years. Although after the first trilogy of movies ended with 2001's "Jurassic Park III," it looked like that was it for the likes of Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Satler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). But like the very dinosaurs themselves, Universal revived the franchise in 2015 for "Jurassic World" — which sees an improved, supposedly safer, version of the park.
Of course, those safety measures (once again) couldn't contain prehistoric beasts. And the end of its sequel, "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," drastically changed the status quo of the entire planet as dinosaurs escape out of a Northern Californian compound. This poses a tantalizing question — what would the modern world look like if dinosaurs roamed free? Obviously, this idea is at the very heart of the franchise, and it's clear that these creatures are such a powerful force that it's almost impossible for humans to coexist with them.
Thankfully, "Jurassic World Dominion" is here to escalate things even further. The impressive trailers from the sequel revealed a globe-trotting adventure, with Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) racing through different continents trying to escape various ancient beasts. And just to make things more exciting, Neill, Dern, and Goldblum are all returning to their roles from the original movie.
Thankfully, the first reactions from critics recently arrived online, so let's take a look at whether "Jurassic World Dominion" is worth your time ... or if it's a giant pile of dino-dung.
Most critics tore into Jurassic World Dominion
Unfortunately, a lot of critics weren't impressed by Colin Trevorrow's second "Jurassic World" outing, with many blasting it for a simple plot and poorly thought-out character arcs. Obviously, the main draw here is the dinosaurs and the carnage they're inevitably going to cause, but a captivating human story is necessary to make audiences care about the action unfolding on-screen. Gizmodo and iO9 reporter Germain Lussier called it the worst entry in the entire franchise, saying, "It's too long, it's wildly repetitive & the dinosaurs are window dressing for multiple uninteresting, unrelated stories. The actors do their best but [it's] all just overindulgent & pointless. One of, if not the, worst in the franchise."
It seems many think the story from Trevorrow and Derek Connolly tries to do too much, but achieves nothing by the end of the film, which is definitely disappointing. Meanwhile Variety and The A.V. Club critic Courtney Howard tore into the film by saying it doesn't follow the concept it's selling the audience, to instead focus on other (and less engaging) storylines. She tweeted, "It ignores the premise it should've had from the start, instead synthetically engineering 2 entirely different, uninteresting & hollow stories that it struggles to connect."
This a sentiment echoed by Thrillist critic Esther Zuckerman, who simply says, "Jurassic World Dominion is easily one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen." Ouch. But does the highly anticipated sequel have any redeeming qualities? In fact, not everyone is feeling so negative about the film. Some critics think it's a unique adventure with interesting ideas.
Some praised Jurassic World Dominion's creepy and inventive action scenes
Not everyone was so disappointed with "Jurassic World Dominion" though, as some critics praised Trevorrow's approach this time around. Fandango's Erik Davis noted how impressed he was with the horror-tinged dinosaur scenes — which is always great to hear since Steven Spielberg's original movie had its fair share of scares. The critic also praised the increased presence of Jeff Goldblum's iconic Ian Malcolm, while noting that the movie achieves in being, in his words, "A solid finale."
That's a vastly different reaction to those calling it the worst of the franchise! But Davis isn't the only one who is hugely impressed with the sequel. Collider's Perri Nemiroff noted that she loves how Bryce Dallas Howard gets much more to do this time around, saying, "[Jurassic World Dominion] rocks an excellent mix of practical & digital effects. Dinos look GREAT. Dimetrodon scene is ... right up my alley. Bryce Dallas Howard runs away with the movie – & new trilogy for that matter. Claire experiences one heck of an arc & Howard soars with it."
In fact, Variety's Jazz Tangcay thinks the film masterfully uses the original trio to its advantage while balancing the fine line of nostalgic crowd pleasing. She tweeted, "It's non-stop Dinosaur action. And Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill's return hit the nostalgic spots. I just love them."
Whether "Jurassic World Dominion" will divide fans as much as it has with critics remains to be seen, it's entirely possible that audiences will be more receptive to the adventure because of the dino-action, rather than looking for well-plotted character arcs. Let's hope it doesn't flop at the box office!