Harry Situation Reviews: Jurassic World Dominion
The end of a saga 65 million years in the making.
Jurassic World Dominion is the third installment in the Jurassic World trilogy and the sixth installment in the overall Jurassic Park franchise. Colin Trevorrow returns as director and writer along with Jurassic World/Jurassic Park alumini Christ Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, Isabella Sermon, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum.
Set four years after the events of Fallen Kingdom, humans are forced to share a world where dinosaurs roam once again. Owen Grady (reprised by Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (reprised by Bryce Dallas Howard) are now the adoptive parents of Maisie Lockwood (reprised by Isabella Sermon) and are trying their best to protect her from the world. Things change when they find that their old friend Blue the Velociraptor has an offspring of her own that is taken. Grady and Dearing do all they can to try and get the little dinosaur back.
Elsewhere, the survivors of the original Jurassic Park, paleontologist Doctor Alan Grant (reprised by Sam Neill); paleobotanist Doctor Ellie Sattler (reprised by Laura Dern); and mathematician Doctor Ian Malcolm (reprised by Jeff Goldblum); are brought to a facility owned by BioSyn, the rival company of Ingen. There they discover that they have been making new dinosaurs of their own such as the fierce Pyroraptor, the odd looking Therizinosaurus, and the extremely dangerous Giganotosaurus.
The Jurassic Park franchise has always been special to me. It's the whole reason I'm obsessed with dinosaurs. It's because of the first film it's why I wanted to be a paleontologist. And these Jurassic World movies have been a hit or miss with me. The first Jurassic World was a surprising fun thriller that took home over a billion dollars at the box office. And Fallen Kingdom was a piece of shit.
So the first positive I want to get out of the way is the cast. Having the original cast back is a sight to behold. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum were great. It was so fun seeing them together and interacting again. Plus, it was fun seeing the OG cast interact with the new cast. Everybody was great in this. Although if I had to pick which group is my favorite, I'm going with the OG group. Maybe that's a personal bias for the original film but, then again, why wouldn't I pick the original cast members, right?
And of course where would the franchise be without its groundbreaking effects. The special effects were top tier in this film. I haven't seen a splendid use of both visual and practical effects since the original film. Emphasis on the practical side. I feel that's something that the other two Jurassic World movies were missing out on.
As a dinosaur fanatic I did enjoy seeing the dinosaurs, especially the new ones. After six films we finally have feathered dinosaurs in a Jurassic movie. My favorites being the Pyroraptor and the Therizinosaurus. And let me just say that the Therizinosaurus is an absolute badass. While it only had a small amount of screen time and I'm in love with this dinosaur. I cannot wait to add it to my parks in Jurassic World Evolution 2.
But now is is the time to talk about all the bad. First up, the writing. This is the third film director Colin Trevorrow has also served as one of the lead writers for this new series of Jurassic Park movies. And this is also the third time he's proven that is not a good writer, and it shows with the main story. The main story is all over the place. First the got the stuff regarding Blue and Beta, the Velociraptors. Then there's Maisie, the human clone (and most unlikable character in the franchise). Then there's Grant, Sattler, and Malcolm fucking around at Biosyn. Then you got Dr. Henry Wu (reprised by B.D. Wong) and his conflicts with Biosyn CEO Lewis Dodgson (played by Campbell Scott). Yeah, that's right. Dodgson! Dodgson! We got Dodgson here! Eh, nobody cares.
Bottom line, the story is all over the place and it is such a mess to follow. Personally, I don't think Trevorrow understands balance, which might explain why the plot keeps jumping around. It's funny how people bitch about never getting a chance to see how his version of Star Wars Episode 9 would have turned out when they forget that he fucked up the Jurassic franchise with Fallen Kingdom.
More so, the other issue I have is when he tries to insert quirkiness into the story. That seems to be habit in each Jurassic World movie. Everyone has to make some sort of joke or somebody has to do something that seems out of the norm in an attempt to seem quirky. Trevorrow is trying to apply the same formula from Marvel into Jurassic Park, which is seriously unnecessary. I mean, it's fucking Jurassic Park. We want to see dinosaurs eat people for crying out loud not Owen Grady justify why he's carrying a baby Velociraptor on his back.
Overall, Jurassic World Dominion is a fine popcorn flick. I think this movie is better than Fallen Kingdom. It's certainly an improvement. However, it falls short from being good due to its poor writing. But I definitely had more fun watching this than Fallen Kingdom and I wouldn't mind seeing it again... when it hits Redbox.
There's been speculation that this will be the last Jurassic Park film in the franchise. It's certainly promoting itself as such. I don't believe that this is the last Jurassic Park movie, and honestly, I hope the franchise never ends. If the first Jurassic Park got me interested in dinosaurs and paleontology, then Jurassic World is probably doing that for this new generations of children. That's one of the spectacles of the franchise. If a kid somewhere wants to learn more about prehistoric life in the past and maybe make a career out of it that is awesome. So I say keep making movies. One day Universal Pictures might make their Fast & Furious/Jurassic Park crossover... in the next 65 million years or so.
Positives:
-The OG cast & New Gen cast
-Outstanding visuals & practical effects
-New (feathered) dinosaurs
-Fun action
Negatives:
-Attempt at quirkiness
-Colin Trevorrow's writing
-2 1/2 hours? Really?
Final Grade: C+
So those are my thoughts on Jurassic World Dominion. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? What's your favorite moment from the Jurassic Park franchise? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!
Best Quote:
Dr. Ian Malcolm: "Jurassic World? Not a fan."
#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #dinosaurs #scifi #action #thriller #paleontology #JurassicJune
Jurassic June: Majungasaurus
Name: Majungasaurus (Ma-jung-ga-sawr-us)
Named after: the Mahajunga Providence of Madagascar
Majungasaurus was a bipedal theropod dinosaurs that ruled prehistoric Madagascar during the last days of the dinosaurs, roughly 70-66 million years ago. It grew to about 25-28 feet in length and 2 meters in height. It may not have been a very big carnivore, as compared to Tyrannosaurus Rex, yet it was the largest carnivorous dinosaur to have been found in Madagascar, meaning it was likely the region's apex predator at the time.
When it was first discovered only the top part of the skull was known. This initially led paleontologists to believe that this was the skull of a pachycelphalosaurid. However, upon further findings, it was revealed to carnivorous dinosaur with a small horn atop its head, above the eyes.
This is also (so far) one of the few dinosaurs to have fossil evidence that suggest this animal was known to have engaged in cannibalism, with teeth marks found on some specimens that matched the teeth of similar to its own.
#JurassicJune #dinosaurs #paleontology #dinosaurs #education #science #facts
Jurassic June: Einiosaurus
Name: Einiosaurus
Which means: "Buffalo lizard"
Einiosaurus was a medium sized ceratopsid dinosaur that roamed the plains of North America, 75 million years ago. It grew to about the size of a large steer, and 15-20 feet in length from snout to tail, a little smaller and shorter than its famous cousin the Triceratops.
Like all ceratopsids Einiosaurus was a long frill on the back of its head and a long horn above its snout. What makes this dinosaur unique from other ceratopsids is the horn is unusually curved forward.
Its remains have been found exclusively in Montana and no where else in the United States. This dinosaur shared the same territory along with the ornithopod Orodromeus, the hadrosaurs Maisaura and Hypacrosaurus, smaller therapods such as Bambiraptor and Troodon, and the tyrannosaurid Daspletosaurus.
#JurassicJune #dinosaurs #paleontology #education #facts #science
Jurassic June: Therizinosaurus
Name: Therizinosaurus (Ther-riz-zino-sawr-us)
Which means: "Scythe lizard"
Therizinosaurus was a bipedal theropod dinosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, roughly 70 million years ago. It stood about 6 meters in height and grew to be 30-40 feet in length.
Therizinosaurus and members of its family were certainly an oddball breed of dinosaurs. They're close cousins to many different carnivorous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor yet they evolved into developing a diet for vegetation instead of meat. The most distinguishing features of this large herbivore are the set of 50 centimeter long claws on its forelimbs. What it may have used these claws for is up for debate. It likely used them to pull or swipe at vegetation that may have been out of reach of its long neck, though it is possible it may have used them as defense against predators. It was likely to have been feathered, like most of its theropod family members.
Therizinosaurus will make its world debut on the big screen for the first time in the new film Jurassic World Dominion.
#dinosaurs #paleontology #education #facts #JurassicJune
Jurassic June: Mononychus
Name: Mononychus (Mon-no-nye-cus)
Which means: "Single claw"
Mononychus was a very small bipedal dinosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous Period, approximately 70 million years ago. It was a very small dinosaur, growing up to 3 feet in length and one foot in height. In many ways than one it resembles a modern bird, like a chicken or a turkey with a long snout and tail.
What gives this dinosaur its name is the single digit claw on its forelimbs. This claw was likely used to scrap at dead trees to get at the insects nesting inside.
#JurassicJune #dinosaurs #paleontology #education
Jurassic June: Nanuqsaurus
Name: Nanuqsaurus (Nan-nuke-sawr-us)
Which means: "polar bear lizard"
Nanuqsaurus was a bipedal theropod dinosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous, 71-68 million years ago. It is a close cousin of the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex, with its large skull and short forelimbs composing of two individual phalanges. Unlike its cousin this dinosaur was only half the size and length, measuring up to 20-25 feet in length.
This dinosaur made its home in what would be known as modern day Alaska. It shared its habitat with other dinosaurs such as smaller theropods like Troodon and Dromeosaurus, the duck-billed Edmontosaurus, the dome-headed Alaskacephale, and the battering ram like ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus, which happens to be one of my all time favorite dinosaurs.
Winter would have been a common during this time period, given its location during the Late Cretaceous, so it was likely that this dinosaur had a coat of feathers to help keep it warm.
#JurassicJune #paleontology #dinosaurs #science #facts #education