June 8, 2022
Review: 'Jurassic World: Dominion' a Super-Sized Adventure
JC Alvarez READ TIME: 2 MIN.
When filmmaker Steven Spielberg set out to prove that dinosaurs could be made to come alive by adapting best-selling fiction writer Michael Crichton's book to the big screen, he opened up a Pandora's Box and kicked off a decades-long flight of fancy. "Jurassic Park" was a hit, and with its cutting-edge technology and special effects it really did make the audience believe that those mighty beasts had come to life. Inevitably the film demanded a sequel, and then another. Three decades later, writer/director Colin Trevorrow brings it all full circle.
In "Jurassic World: Dominion" the dinosaurs have gotten out of their theme park confines and into the world. If we learned anything from the original trilogy, it's that life finds a way... of breaking down every barrier and getting out of the cages. Fortunately, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are on hand to help save the day.
As the film opens, the ecological disaster that follows the dinosaurs' escape is every bit as horrifying as one could imagine. There are giant Mosasaurus hunting fishing ships in the oceans and Gallimimus terrorizing children in parks. But when the giant locusts show up eating up crops all across the country, that really sets bells a-ringing!
The stakes get personal when poachers encroach on Claire and Owen's hidden home and steal their ward, Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), a perfectly engineered clone, along with the offspring of Owen's trained Velociraptor, Blu. Both hold a secret that might ultimately tip the balance of survival in mankind's favor, but a treacherous organization has other plans. This leads Owen and Claire on a chase across the world, and, as fate would have it, they are not the only ones curious about the natural disaster taking over. Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) has recruited her long-time friend Alan Grant (Sam Neill) for a mission.
The pair reunite with their one-time colleague Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). Once they cross paths with Owen and Claire (and their adventurous pilot Kayla [DeWanda Wise]), all bets are off! That's when the chasing, running, and screaming begin. The scares are definitely on a grander scale, and the dinosaurs have never looked more real or more dangerous.
Keeping with the Hollywood trend of the "requel" (a phrase coined in the new "Scream" franchise), in order for "Jurassic World: Dominion" connects the original movie trilogy with this follow up, and raises the stakes by bringing in the legacy heroes. But at the end of the day, it's dinosaurs – the coolest audiences have ever seen – and our band of heroes, who have endeared themselves to us over the film franchise's 30-year course, that we're here for. So that just leaves one thing...
Whom are audiences going to root for in "Jurassic World: Dominion?" The film is worthy of its evolution, and the largest bucket of popcorn will be required – just remember not to feed the dinosaurs!
"Jurassic World: Dominion" is in theaters June 10, 2022.
Native New Yorker JC Alvarez is a pop-culture enthusiast and the nightlife chronicler of the club scene and its celebrity denizens from coast-to-coast. He is the on-air host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Out Loud & Live!" and is also on the panel of the local-access talk show "Talking About".
