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Blazing Minds (92 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Nov 1, 2021 (Updated Nov 3, 2021)
So it was another midnight screening over at my local Cineworld last night, or should that be this morning, for the showing of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, a movie that I’ve been dying to see, not for the dinosaurs, but for the return of Jeff Goldblum to the franchise.
It’s been three years since the incident at Jurassic World back in 2015 and now the dinosaurs and the island are threatened by extinction from the volcano that is about to wipe everything out, but the dilemma is, do you save the dinosaurs or do you let them die!
Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) wants to save the creature and luck would just so have it that Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), who is the old partner of Hammond (Richard Attenborough), wants to save them as well, bringing them to an island sanctuary to stop them from being wiped out of existence for the second time. But as with any well-laid plans, things are bound to take a turn for the worse.
It’s been three years since the incident at Jurassic World back in 2015 and now the dinosaurs and the island are threatened by extinction from the volcano that is about to wipe everything out, but the dilemma is, do you save the dinosaurs or do you let them die!
Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) wants to save the creature and luck would just so have it that Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), who is the old partner of Hammond (Richard Attenborough), wants to save them as well, bringing them to an island sanctuary to stop them from being wiped out of existence for the second time. But as with any well-laid plans, things are bound to take a turn for the worse.
Sean J (5 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Jul 5, 2018 (Updated Jul 8, 2018)
Enjoyable that sets up what should be an epic final film
The Fallen Kingdom takes place some time after the first Jurassic World film. The volcano on the island of Isla Nubla is becoming active and there are the questionable morals of whether the dinosaurs should be saved or not and so begins the adventure. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return along with a cameo from Jeff Goldblum reprising their roles of Owen, Claire and Ian Malcolm respectively. The film follows the same routine as the previous 4 teasing the story in the initial 5-10 minutes, followed by the usual character based introductions that lead into the story. It's a tried and tested method and though familiar still works for these films. Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom has a darker tone than the original and builds to its conclusion feeling a little rushed. The pace of Jurassic World kind of felt right however this just seems off. The acting is very good, special effects are great. A solid film that sets up the third Jurassic World film very nicely for something epic, if done right.
Olivier Assayas recommended Nashville (1975) in Movies (curated)
Ross (3282 KP) rated Thor: Ragnarok (2017) in Movies
Dec 4, 2017
Hulk smash plenty (2 more)
Jeff Goldblum
More cameos than an Edwardian garden party
Having suffered through the first Thor film, given up on the second one, and detested him in the Avengers films I wasn't expecting to enjoy Thor all that much and was really only in it for the Hulk. However I was pleasantly surprised. Chris Hemsworth seems to have learned to act in the last few years, and seems to have developed an awareness of comic timing.
The film sees Thor team up with Loki, Hulk and a former Valkyrie to defeat Thor's sister Hela and avoid Ragnarok as she looks to lead an army of the dead throughout the galaxy.
There is a great deal of comedy throughout the film but also top notch action sequences, most notably Thor vs Hulk and Hela's assault on Asgard.
Having been disappointed with the absence of Thor and Hulk from Captain America: Civil War (Huffy Cry-baby) I had hoped this film would make amends, and it did indeed.
Of particular enjoyment was the theatrical interpretation of Loki's death where Matt Damon and the other Hemsworth act out Loki's apparent death, overseen by Sam Neill's Odin.
The film sees Thor team up with Loki, Hulk and a former Valkyrie to defeat Thor's sister Hela and avoid Ragnarok as she looks to lead an army of the dead throughout the galaxy.
There is a great deal of comedy throughout the film but also top notch action sequences, most notably Thor vs Hulk and Hela's assault on Asgard.
Having been disappointed with the absence of Thor and Hulk from Captain America: Civil War (Huffy Cry-baby) I had hoped this film would make amends, and it did indeed.
Of particular enjoyment was the theatrical interpretation of Loki's death where Matt Damon and the other Hemsworth act out Loki's apparent death, overseen by Sam Neill's Odin.
Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Friends in TV
Aug 30, 2019
The one with all the FRIENDS
Friends is a show about 6 people-
siblings Ross and monica Gellar (still suffering with sibling rivalry) monicas neighbours from across the hall Joey tribbiani (a struggling actor, with the IQ of a child but a heart of gold) and Chandler Bing (the groups comedian and Ross's college roommate) monica's High school bestie Rachel Green ( queen Rachel. Who does whatever she wants in her little Rachel land) & phoebe buffay (wacky, unpredictable and very odd).
The characters and their daily lives are what makes this show great as it mirrors the reality of every day people, although there have been shows since it ended that have had a similar impact on viewers, none have truly come close to being as genuine.
Heart warming storylines, legendary one liners and quotes we all still use today, there's Love, Laughter, Lust, Loss and great cameos from brad Pitt, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams, Paul Rudd, Bruce Willis and so many more, it's easy to see why after nearly 20yrs since it ended, it's still here.
Its 2019 & I have personally watched this show from beginning to end (with a little help from Netflix) 7 times an will continue to do so.
siblings Ross and monica Gellar (still suffering with sibling rivalry) monicas neighbours from across the hall Joey tribbiani (a struggling actor, with the IQ of a child but a heart of gold) and Chandler Bing (the groups comedian and Ross's college roommate) monica's High school bestie Rachel Green ( queen Rachel. Who does whatever she wants in her little Rachel land) & phoebe buffay (wacky, unpredictable and very odd).
The characters and their daily lives are what makes this show great as it mirrors the reality of every day people, although there have been shows since it ended that have had a similar impact on viewers, none have truly come close to being as genuine.
Heart warming storylines, legendary one liners and quotes we all still use today, there's Love, Laughter, Lust, Loss and great cameos from brad Pitt, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams, Paul Rudd, Bruce Willis and so many more, it's easy to see why after nearly 20yrs since it ended, it's still here.
Its 2019 & I have personally watched this show from beginning to end (with a little help from Netflix) 7 times an will continue to do so.
David McK (3185 KP) rated Jurassic Park (1993) in Movies
May 26, 2020
I've just realised (at the time of writing) that this movie is nearly 30 years old.
Man, I feel old.
Taking some liberties with Michael Crichtons's source material (Hammond dies and was not a very nice man; Grant likes kids), this is a disaster movie with stunning effects (that still hold up pretty well today) for the time, even if our understanding of the 'headline' dinosaurs has changed somewhat in the intervening years since its release (Raptors were the size of chickens, had feathers, and were NOT pack hunters. or so we now think).
Set on a tropical island hit by a storm just as the owner is given a pre-release tour to special invited guests to show off his scientific breakthrough - cloned Dinosaurs, because that's ALWAYS a good idea … - a series of events leads to the power going down, and the 'exhibits' breaking free to wreak havoc amongst those guests. And, lets not kid around the bush here, despite having the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Richard Attenborough, Sam Neil, Laura Dern and - uh- Jeff Goldblum ("life, uh, finds a way") amongst the cast - the real stars are those dinosaurs.
All the sequels (4 so far, with a 5th ion the way in Jurassic World: Dominion) pale in comparison.
Man, I feel old.
Taking some liberties with Michael Crichtons's source material (Hammond dies and was not a very nice man; Grant likes kids), this is a disaster movie with stunning effects (that still hold up pretty well today) for the time, even if our understanding of the 'headline' dinosaurs has changed somewhat in the intervening years since its release (Raptors were the size of chickens, had feathers, and were NOT pack hunters. or so we now think).
Set on a tropical island hit by a storm just as the owner is given a pre-release tour to special invited guests to show off his scientific breakthrough - cloned Dinosaurs, because that's ALWAYS a good idea … - a series of events leads to the power going down, and the 'exhibits' breaking free to wreak havoc amongst those guests. And, lets not kid around the bush here, despite having the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Richard Attenborough, Sam Neil, Laura Dern and - uh- Jeff Goldblum ("life, uh, finds a way") amongst the cast - the real stars are those dinosaurs.
All the sequels (4 so far, with a 5th ion the way in Jurassic World: Dominion) pale in comparison.
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated The Fly (1986) in Movies
Mar 13, 2021 (Updated Mar 15, 2021)
Come Fly With Me...
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Fly, Directed by David Cronenberg, 1986
To the victor go the spoils. To the reader, go the spoilers.
We watched The Fly the other night. I observed, with fond amusement, that the energetic and quirky Jeff Goldblum always seems to star as himself. In this film, he plays a scientist named Seth Brundle. His offbeat handsomeness pairs well with the pale beauty of Geena Davis, who stars alongside him as journalist Veronica Quaife. As the two characters hit it off, I tried to ignore the fact that Goldblum’s character came off as somewhat creepy.
Then we were introduced to Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, who is also her boss. Stathis, played by John Getz, is unhinged. His performance was exaggerated, almost a caricature. He presents himself as the pinnacle alpha-male. Talk about a stalker. His attempts to control Veronica, and his jealousy, were epic. I commented that the scariest thing about this movie was Veronica’s ex. Little did I know what the rest of the film had in store.
Seth, an undiscovered genius, has invented a transporter. Seth shows Veronica how his invention works by transporting her stocking from one pod to another. Veronica wants to publish a story about it, but Seth insists that his technology is not ready. Seth and Veronica become involved, and she helps document his experiments.
Later, things get hairy. Naturally, they want to see if the pods are capable of transporting living beings. Instead of experimenting on a bug, or a mouse, or a smaller creature, they attempt to transport a full-sized monkey.
Suffice to say, things do not go well. Kudos to the special effects team for creating that pile of retch.
More modifications are made, and another monkey survives the transportation trip.
The romance grows between Seth and Veronica. I had a hard time buying into the chemistry between Goldblum and Davis. They both seemed a little distant. Regardless, the love story pushes forward. There is even talk of the pair going away together “like an old married couple.” Then Veronica’s boss throws a wrench in the mix. Veronica is forced to deal with his antics. Seth, who is also a bit of a jealous type, gets drunk and sends himself through the transporter, since the monkey seemed fine.
Then there comes the stuff of nightmares. Seth isn’t himself. He is immediately charged with manic energy. He performs quite an impressive gymnastics routine (thank you, stunt Goldblum).Veronica is clearly distraught that her boyfriend is losing it.
The physical metamorphosis begins. Seth develops weird, wiry hairs protruding from a cut on his back. His sex drive goes wonky, and when he alienates Veronica, he finds a random lady from a bar to sleep with. His complexion worsens dramatically. He discovers that his machine has melded his genetic information with the DNA of a fly that was in the pod of the transporter with him. THE DNA FUSED AT A MOLECULAR LEVEL. This, my dear viewers, is not good. Not the sort of thing you can get addressed at your nearest urgent care clinic.
Things get worse, and incredibly gross, from there. Fingernails fall off and bug juice oozes. The makeup and special effects departments did an extremely convincing job. I felt incredibly bad for this seemingly highly intelligent man. My boyfriend kept calling for a flame thrower.
Veronica tries to help, and is empathetic. But watching your newfound love deteriorate so rapidly, and being powerless to help, is extremely traumatic. Davis brought her A-game to this portion of the performance. And, true to the sci-fi soap opera plot, she discovers that she is pregnant with Seth’s baby.
I don’t want to spoil the ending for you. But do you imagine this story ends well? I had hope. But it was squashed like a bug. If you have the stomach for good, old-fashioned movie gore, and you like Weird Science with a touch of Bad Romance, this film is for you.
To the victor go the spoils. To the reader, go the spoilers.
We watched The Fly the other night. I observed, with fond amusement, that the energetic and quirky Jeff Goldblum always seems to star as himself. In this film, he plays a scientist named Seth Brundle. His offbeat handsomeness pairs well with the pale beauty of Geena Davis, who stars alongside him as journalist Veronica Quaife. As the two characters hit it off, I tried to ignore the fact that Goldblum’s character came off as somewhat creepy.
Then we were introduced to Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, who is also her boss. Stathis, played by John Getz, is unhinged. His performance was exaggerated, almost a caricature. He presents himself as the pinnacle alpha-male. Talk about a stalker. His attempts to control Veronica, and his jealousy, were epic. I commented that the scariest thing about this movie was Veronica’s ex. Little did I know what the rest of the film had in store.
Seth, an undiscovered genius, has invented a transporter. Seth shows Veronica how his invention works by transporting her stocking from one pod to another. Veronica wants to publish a story about it, but Seth insists that his technology is not ready. Seth and Veronica become involved, and she helps document his experiments.
Later, things get hairy. Naturally, they want to see if the pods are capable of transporting living beings. Instead of experimenting on a bug, or a mouse, or a smaller creature, they attempt to transport a full-sized monkey.
Suffice to say, things do not go well. Kudos to the special effects team for creating that pile of retch.
More modifications are made, and another monkey survives the transportation trip.
The romance grows between Seth and Veronica. I had a hard time buying into the chemistry between Goldblum and Davis. They both seemed a little distant. Regardless, the love story pushes forward. There is even talk of the pair going away together “like an old married couple.” Then Veronica’s boss throws a wrench in the mix. Veronica is forced to deal with his antics. Seth, who is also a bit of a jealous type, gets drunk and sends himself through the transporter, since the monkey seemed fine.
Then there comes the stuff of nightmares. Seth isn’t himself. He is immediately charged with manic energy. He performs quite an impressive gymnastics routine (thank you, stunt Goldblum).Veronica is clearly distraught that her boyfriend is losing it.
The physical metamorphosis begins. Seth develops weird, wiry hairs protruding from a cut on his back. His sex drive goes wonky, and when he alienates Veronica, he finds a random lady from a bar to sleep with. His complexion worsens dramatically. He discovers that his machine has melded his genetic information with the DNA of a fly that was in the pod of the transporter with him. THE DNA FUSED AT A MOLECULAR LEVEL. This, my dear viewers, is not good. Not the sort of thing you can get addressed at your nearest urgent care clinic.
Things get worse, and incredibly gross, from there. Fingernails fall off and bug juice oozes. The makeup and special effects departments did an extremely convincing job. I felt incredibly bad for this seemingly highly intelligent man. My boyfriend kept calling for a flame thrower.
Veronica tries to help, and is empathetic. But watching your newfound love deteriorate so rapidly, and being powerless to help, is extremely traumatic. Davis brought her A-game to this portion of the performance. And, true to the sci-fi soap opera plot, she discovers that she is pregnant with Seth’s baby.
I don’t want to spoil the ending for you. But do you imagine this story ends well? I had hope. But it was squashed like a bug. If you have the stomach for good, old-fashioned movie gore, and you like Weird Science with a touch of Bad Romance, this film is for you.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies
Jun 10, 2022
Time For This To Go Extinct
Like it was millions of years ago, the time of the dinosaurs is coming to a close. With JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION, we end the Jurassic World trilogy (after having the Jurassic Park trilogy) and it is high time we do so.
A retro-film (as I’ve been calling these nostalgia-flicks that bring back old actors/characters from previously beloved properties), JURARSSIC WORLD DOMINION is entertaining enough - but the creative brains behind this franchise is just running out of clever ways to put the same group of characters in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur.
Written by Emily Carmichael based on a story by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow and Directed by Trevorrow (returning to helm this franchise after Directing the first Jurassic World flick, but not the 2nd), JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION follows our favorite bickering couple, Clare (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) and their pseudo-pet Velociraptor, Blue as they, once again, go into the Jurassic World fighting a money-grubbing Corporate Billionaire who wants the genetic technology for his own, greedy purposes and not what might be for the good of all - the Earth, the Humans and the Dinosaurs. Along the way good ol’ Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (the always quirky Jeff Goldblum) are, somehow, shoe-horned into this story.
And that, ultimately, is the issue with Dominion, the script feels like an amalgam of characters that needed to be serviced and set-pieces that needed to be shown, but the overall story-line and character development (not that there is much here) is shoved to the side, so at the end the emotional connection to this film - and it’s characters - is negligible.
What little character interest there is here is based solely on the charisma of the actors and they are…good enough. Pratt, of course, is able to carry the center of this flick as Owen Grady - but he doesn’t seem to be occupying the center square with the twinkle in his eye that he had in the first Jurassic World film. Bryce Dallas Howard is plucky enough as Clare, but this actress has been gaining traction lately as a “go-to” Director (like her father, Ron Howard) and that is probably a better career trajectory for her. Sam Neill and Laura Dern are “game enough” in what they are asked to do, but they both look just a bit tired of running around in front of green screen dinosaurs. Only Jeff Goldblum shines as Ian Malcolm and that’s because Trevorrow, wisely, decides to let Goldblum be Goldblum - odd and quirky.
Of the other actors in this film, DeWanda Wise (FATHERHOOD) really shines as a pilot who helps out the gang. On the other hand, Dichen Lachman (SEVERENCE) is completely wasted as a “top-notch” henchman that is pretty inept. However, it was good to see Omar Sy (who was in the first JURASSIC WORLD movie and then became a star thanks to his work on the French TV show LUPINE - which is terrific, by the way) back in the fold as it was good to see Campbell Scott back up on the big screen as the villain of the piece - a role that he brings an interesting twist to but, ultimately, the role leads to nowhere.
And that’s the issue with this film, the characterizations lead to nowhere, for Trevorrow focuses most of his attention on the battle scenes and the scares - and while not all of them are exciting and unusual, I did find myself jumping in my seat on more than one occasion and there is one scene with Bryce Dallas Howard escaping a dino in a swamp that was pretty intense.
Go see JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION if you’ve seen the other 5 - you’ve already invested this much time, you might as well complete the series. But, this film really brings nothing new and is, ultimately, less than what one hopes for in this type of film.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
A retro-film (as I’ve been calling these nostalgia-flicks that bring back old actors/characters from previously beloved properties), JURARSSIC WORLD DOMINION is entertaining enough - but the creative brains behind this franchise is just running out of clever ways to put the same group of characters in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur.
Written by Emily Carmichael based on a story by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow and Directed by Trevorrow (returning to helm this franchise after Directing the first Jurassic World flick, but not the 2nd), JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION follows our favorite bickering couple, Clare (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt) and their pseudo-pet Velociraptor, Blue as they, once again, go into the Jurassic World fighting a money-grubbing Corporate Billionaire who wants the genetic technology for his own, greedy purposes and not what might be for the good of all - the Earth, the Humans and the Dinosaurs. Along the way good ol’ Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (the always quirky Jeff Goldblum) are, somehow, shoe-horned into this story.
And that, ultimately, is the issue with Dominion, the script feels like an amalgam of characters that needed to be serviced and set-pieces that needed to be shown, but the overall story-line and character development (not that there is much here) is shoved to the side, so at the end the emotional connection to this film - and it’s characters - is negligible.
What little character interest there is here is based solely on the charisma of the actors and they are…good enough. Pratt, of course, is able to carry the center of this flick as Owen Grady - but he doesn’t seem to be occupying the center square with the twinkle in his eye that he had in the first Jurassic World film. Bryce Dallas Howard is plucky enough as Clare, but this actress has been gaining traction lately as a “go-to” Director (like her father, Ron Howard) and that is probably a better career trajectory for her. Sam Neill and Laura Dern are “game enough” in what they are asked to do, but they both look just a bit tired of running around in front of green screen dinosaurs. Only Jeff Goldblum shines as Ian Malcolm and that’s because Trevorrow, wisely, decides to let Goldblum be Goldblum - odd and quirky.
Of the other actors in this film, DeWanda Wise (FATHERHOOD) really shines as a pilot who helps out the gang. On the other hand, Dichen Lachman (SEVERENCE) is completely wasted as a “top-notch” henchman that is pretty inept. However, it was good to see Omar Sy (who was in the first JURASSIC WORLD movie and then became a star thanks to his work on the French TV show LUPINE - which is terrific, by the way) back in the fold as it was good to see Campbell Scott back up on the big screen as the villain of the piece - a role that he brings an interesting twist to but, ultimately, the role leads to nowhere.
And that’s the issue with this film, the characterizations lead to nowhere, for Trevorrow focuses most of his attention on the battle scenes and the scares - and while not all of them are exciting and unusual, I did find myself jumping in my seat on more than one occasion and there is one scene with Bryce Dallas Howard escaping a dino in a swamp that was pretty intense.
Go see JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION if you’ve seen the other 5 - you’ve already invested this much time, you might as well complete the series. But, this film really brings nothing new and is, ultimately, less than what one hopes for in this type of film.
Letter Grade: B-
6 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies
Jun 16, 2022
The Therizinosaurus and Pyroraptor sequences. (2 more)
The final dinosaur battle.
Jeff Goldblum
No chemistry between the cast. (2 more)
Not enough dinosaurs.
Human drama overshadows anything remotely dinosaur related.
You Can't Squeeze Gold From a Dried Up Fossil
Four years after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs now roam free and are a part of everyday life. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) have been taking care of Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) while living in a cabin deep within the Sierra Nevada mountains. Biosyn Genetics now utilizes the dinosaurs as a means to try to cure the world’s most devastating diseases.
Maisie’s unique clone DNA is suddenly the world’s only hope for surviving against a swarm of de-extinct giant locusts that is growing in number, spreading from continent to continent, and attacking the source of the world’s food supply. Biosyn kidnaps Maisie along with Beta; the offspring of Blue, the velociraptor Owen trained, who reproduced Beta asexually. Meanwhile, with the help of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) recruits Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) to break into Biosyn in an attempt to prove that they are the ones responsible for the giant locusts.
The big drawing point of Jurassic World Dominion is that not only is it the first time Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill have been together in a Jurassic Park film since the original, but you get to see them interact with the main characters of the Jurassic World films. The problem is that it wasn’t worth the wait. The highlight of the Jurassic Park films are the dinosaurs and it seems like Dominion purposely keeps its audience away from what they came to see for the majority of the film. To make matters worse, all of the human interactions fall flat. What little comedic humor the film tries to provide is met with blank stares and there seems to be more time spent talking about relationships between characters, teenager woes, and villainous characters who have suddenly turned a new leaf over actual dinosaur goodness.
Why anyone decided that Owen’s trademark pose of his arm being extended with his palm being the only defense between them and a wild dinosaur mauling them to death is beyond anyone’s comprehension. It’s done so often here and what’s even more frustrating is that it works every time. The film throws in these sappy and melodramatic excursions that simply aren’t worth the hassle. Claire and Owen attempting to be parents is excruciating and the way this film has decided to force Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant into an awkward, romantic fling is more uncomfortable than it is satisfying.
The film does offer a few highlights, but not nearly enough amongst its close to 150-minute runtime. The motorcycle chase in Malta is the film’s most entertaining action sequence and the pyroraptor scene on top of the ice is also incredibly thrilling. The three-way dinosaur battle during the finale of the film is cool, but it feels like it’s been done previously. As the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films progressed, they seemed to always try to be topping the T. Rex and yet were never really able to.
Dominion includes the Giganotosaurus; an apex predator that is bigger and meaner than the T. Rex. The finale sees the T.Rex battling the Giganotosaurus with the help of a Therizinosaurus. Earlier in the film, the Therizinosaurus and its long, sharp, finger-like appendages provide the only nod to horror and classic monster movies Dominion provides as it stalks Claire in the jungle near the main Biosyn facility.
The film spends a lot of time focusing on human drama that you don’t care about. Claire and Owen bounce around the world as they try to find Maisie. They’re taken to an underground dinosaur fighting ring by Barry Sembène (Omar Sy), who now works for the CIA. They go on a wild goose chase as they trail behind Rainn Delacourt (Scott Haze), the man who kidnapped Maisie, and then Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman), a dinosaur smuggler that has a direct line to Biosyn.
What’s disappointing is more of the film could have been devoted to Santos and the dinosaur black market since they are two of the most interesting aspects of the film. Dominion tries to make up for it by making pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) the most intriguing new character, but her inclusion feels like it’s too little too late.
With Jurassic World Dominion, a Jurassic World film where dinosaurs are now free and interacting with the modern world shouldn’t feel this longwinded or this tiresome. There are a few action sequences that are worthwhile and Jeff Goldblum has a few great one-liners (“You made a promise to a dinosaur?”), but the film is a monumental disappointment overall.
The film has already made over $415 million at the worldwide box office, so the interest in the franchise is still there. But the chemistry between the cast is almost non-existent and it feels like the film is running on fumes as it tries to offer something new from what is otherwise dried up fossil fuel. If the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise is to continue, it desperately needs to go in a refreshing and unseen direction. Now that all of the nostalgia is out of the way, fans deserve a refreshing and unique adventure over what is otherwise a glorified rehash.
Maisie’s unique clone DNA is suddenly the world’s only hope for surviving against a swarm of de-extinct giant locusts that is growing in number, spreading from continent to continent, and attacking the source of the world’s food supply. Biosyn kidnaps Maisie along with Beta; the offspring of Blue, the velociraptor Owen trained, who reproduced Beta asexually. Meanwhile, with the help of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) recruits Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) to break into Biosyn in an attempt to prove that they are the ones responsible for the giant locusts.
The big drawing point of Jurassic World Dominion is that not only is it the first time Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill have been together in a Jurassic Park film since the original, but you get to see them interact with the main characters of the Jurassic World films. The problem is that it wasn’t worth the wait. The highlight of the Jurassic Park films are the dinosaurs and it seems like Dominion purposely keeps its audience away from what they came to see for the majority of the film. To make matters worse, all of the human interactions fall flat. What little comedic humor the film tries to provide is met with blank stares and there seems to be more time spent talking about relationships between characters, teenager woes, and villainous characters who have suddenly turned a new leaf over actual dinosaur goodness.
Why anyone decided that Owen’s trademark pose of his arm being extended with his palm being the only defense between them and a wild dinosaur mauling them to death is beyond anyone’s comprehension. It’s done so often here and what’s even more frustrating is that it works every time. The film throws in these sappy and melodramatic excursions that simply aren’t worth the hassle. Claire and Owen attempting to be parents is excruciating and the way this film has decided to force Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant into an awkward, romantic fling is more uncomfortable than it is satisfying.
The film does offer a few highlights, but not nearly enough amongst its close to 150-minute runtime. The motorcycle chase in Malta is the film’s most entertaining action sequence and the pyroraptor scene on top of the ice is also incredibly thrilling. The three-way dinosaur battle during the finale of the film is cool, but it feels like it’s been done previously. As the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films progressed, they seemed to always try to be topping the T. Rex and yet were never really able to.
Dominion includes the Giganotosaurus; an apex predator that is bigger and meaner than the T. Rex. The finale sees the T.Rex battling the Giganotosaurus with the help of a Therizinosaurus. Earlier in the film, the Therizinosaurus and its long, sharp, finger-like appendages provide the only nod to horror and classic monster movies Dominion provides as it stalks Claire in the jungle near the main Biosyn facility.
The film spends a lot of time focusing on human drama that you don’t care about. Claire and Owen bounce around the world as they try to find Maisie. They’re taken to an underground dinosaur fighting ring by Barry Sembène (Omar Sy), who now works for the CIA. They go on a wild goose chase as they trail behind Rainn Delacourt (Scott Haze), the man who kidnapped Maisie, and then Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman), a dinosaur smuggler that has a direct line to Biosyn.
What’s disappointing is more of the film could have been devoted to Santos and the dinosaur black market since they are two of the most interesting aspects of the film. Dominion tries to make up for it by making pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) the most intriguing new character, but her inclusion feels like it’s too little too late.
With Jurassic World Dominion, a Jurassic World film where dinosaurs are now free and interacting with the modern world shouldn’t feel this longwinded or this tiresome. There are a few action sequences that are worthwhile and Jeff Goldblum has a few great one-liners (“You made a promise to a dinosaur?”), but the film is a monumental disappointment overall.
The film has already made over $415 million at the worldwide box office, so the interest in the franchise is still there. But the chemistry between the cast is almost non-existent and it feels like the film is running on fumes as it tries to offer something new from what is otherwise dried up fossil fuel. If the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise is to continue, it desperately needs to go in a refreshing and unseen direction. Now that all of the nostalgia is out of the way, fans deserve a refreshing and unique adventure over what is otherwise a glorified rehash.
David McK (3185 KP) rated Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) in Movies
Aug 14, 2022
Insect park?
Jurassic Park (the original) is a masterpiece of cinema.
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.
Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.
Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.
Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World has it's moments (the raptors in the long grass), but also has the annoying-kid-doing-gymnastics-while-a-Raptor-watches.
Jurassic Park 3 takes some scenes from the original novel (most noticeably the aviary) that were left out of the previous films, but also has the stupid ringing phone that a dinosaur has swallowed that remind the viewer too much (and not in a good way) of Peter Pan and Captain Hook crocodile.
Jurassic World follows the same format as Jurassic Park, except goes larger. It's not a bad movie.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom goes in a completely different direction, going the haunted house route in the second half, and ends with the dinosaurs released on the mainland.
Which is where Jurassic World: Dominion picks up, roughly four years on from the ending of Fallen Kingdom. Lots have been made of the fact that this also reunites the original cast - Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum - alongside the newer duo of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The problem, however, is that more is quite often less, which I found to be the case here - plenty of action (and dinosaurs), yes, but also, well, just missing something :(