Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) * *

 

Directed by:  Colin Treverrow

Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Campbell Scott, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Isabella Sermon, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, B. D. Wong

Jurassic World: Dominion attempts to invoke the magic of Jurassic Park by bringing back three of its original cast members (Neill, Dern, and Goldblum) to reprise their roles here.   This leads to a case of overcrowding in the hero department as dinosaurs roam the Earth years after being cloned.   The idea of dinosaurs inhabiting the planet along with humans was an amusing aspect of The Flintstones.   Now, in the sixth installment of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise, let's face it:  This scenario is played out.  The fascination of having living, breathing dinosaurs around has been replaced with the complexity of a video game.   The dinosaurs are creatures to be shot at or avoided.   What a shame.

As the movie opens, the world isn't thrilled with having to share space with the free-roaming prehistoric creatures.   A billionaire (Scott) opens a sanctuary somewhere in Europe which will hold and study dinosaurs.   Soon, giant, genetically-enhanced locusts are destroying crops all over the world, except for those grown by the billionaire's company, Biosynth.   Hmmm.   Dr. Ellie Stadler (Dern) is on the case.  She recruits Dr. Alan Grant (Neill), who still carries a torch for her, to go with her to Biosynth, steal locust DNA, and then take it to Congress or the New York Times or something.   However, if it is obvious the locusts were trained not to eat Biosynth-produced crops, then it's obvious something is afoot and Dr. Stadler need not go out of her way.

Meanwhile, there is business of a cloned granddaughter of John Hammond, the creator of the original Jurassic Park, who is living with Owen (Pratt) and Claire (Howard) out in the desolate woods in hopes of protecting her.   I'll be honest.   I don't recall how the cloned girl Maisie came into being, but here she is to exist as someone to be kidnapped and studied by Biosynth.   This company has a lot of balls to juggle. 

Working for Biosynth is Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum), who lectures on the premises about the ills of corporate greed and human interaction with other species which will soon cause the extinction of life on Earth.   As I recall, Goldblum appeared in the last film spouting off the same rhetoric, although it isn't clear why he is employed by Biosynth.   Many other things are not made clear in Jurassic World: Dominion, such as:

*  How does Owen sticking his palm up in a "talk to the hand" motion actually calm ferocious dinosaurs?

*  Why is it always raining when the dinosaurs are shown at night?  Even if it's not raining anywhere else?

*   How does Owen speed around Malta on a motorcycle avoiding villainous, trained raptors and know exactly where to turn to evade the creatures?   Thankfully, he knows where every escape route is.  Maybe he has been to Malta many times.   

*   How does Owen not freeze to death after emerging from a plane crash with no layers except a shirt which exhibits his new physique?  And then plunging into a freezing cold lake to avoid a dinosaur?  

I could go on.  But, why bother?  Jurassic World: Dominion has all the trappings of a franchise which has lost any sense of wonder and surprise.   The dinosaurs are simply excuses in which to have more chases, fights, and destruction.   It's all rather ho-hum by now.  And actually pretty much was after the initial Steven Spielberg blockbuster almost thirty years ago.