Jurassic World: Dominion

A downside to the dominance of the superhero genre has finally revealed itself: other traditional blockbusters really have to do something different to stand any chance of making a lasting impression.

It’s a statement tinged with sadness as it’s the final film in what has been a pretty solid sequel trilogy, but unfortunately Jurassic World: Dominion doesn’t quite do it.

It’s been an enjoyable journey and this final entry sits with its recent brethren as being a solidly entertaining slice of family-friendly horror and action. It’s certainly ahead of Fantastic Beasts as far as recent ‘legacy’ series go but behind its sci-fi cousin Planet Of The Apes.

Dominion goes the Top Gun: Maverick route and brings back original cast members Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum for a legacy sequel and these three bring a touch of charisma and nostalgia to a current cast lacking a little of the memorable. What follows is classic Jurassic: a bit of dinosaur rampaging, a bit of corporate corruption, a bit of rescuing, a bit where a background character gets eaten, you know the drill.

Considering you know what to expect, the set pieces here do stand out. A mid-film section starting with a bike vs. raptor chase in Malta, then a plane crash (!) and then two separate dinosaur encounters is absolutely relentless and thrilling, culminating in a one-shot sequence of nail-biting intensity with Bryce Dallas-Howard’s Claire holding her breath underwater as a sightless dinosaur sniffs from above.

That’s one of a smattering of absolutely picture-postcard shots as well, with the cinematography here stunning in parts. There’s even a shot of a T-Rex stopping just perfectly behind a circular water fountain to form the Jurassic logo which is particularly satisfying.

Additional Easter Eggs include call outs to Indiana Jones and Apocalypse Now, and even the immortal Goldblum declaring “Jurassic World? Not a fan” – he’s unsurprisingly the MVP here, despite getting a little less screen time than you’d want. This lack of presence is simply down to the sheer amount of characters at play here, which the film does pretty well to balance (albeit over a hefty two and a half hour run time which isn’t entirely necessary.)

So it’s pretty, it’s entertaining and it contains lots of juicy dinosaur action so why the slight trepidation?

It’s simply a little predictable, a little humdrum, a little safe and a little old-fashioned. Like Death On The Nile before it, this is a great example of a traditional blockbuster, a Saturday night-in banker or an enjoyable cinema trip but the format and the style is as extinct as the dinosaurs themselves.

3 stars ***