★★★

starring: chris pratt, bryce dallas howard, sam neill, laura dern, and jeff goldblum 

REVIEWER: lyall carter

The future of mankind hangs in the balance as humans and dinosaurs coexist following the destruction of Isla Nublar.

Some dinosaurs, having escaped the illegal dino auction at the Lockwood Estate at the end of 2018’s Fallen Kingdom, are roaming free in the wilderness. Others are being exploited through a growing dinosaur black market with big pharma looking to use them to cure a raft of diseases. When they’re not occupied liberating and protecting dinosaurs, Claire and Owen are busy sheltering Maisie Lockwood from the outside world and those who wish to use her genetic material for their own ill gotten gains. 

Jurassic World: Dominion is an interesting creature to wrangle with. Narratively it's a mix of Jason Bourne meets a hybrid of a Jurassic Park/World flick with the first two acts of the film being dedicated to rescuing the kidnapped and uncovering a sinister plot that will wipe out food supplies leading to a worldwide famine. 

And apart from the dino cameo’s, these first two acts don’t really feel like a Jurassic movie. It really does feel like an espionage film with some solid action sequences and some not so grounded, at times cartoony, villains. It’s not until the last act of the film that it feels as if we’ve returned to Jurassic World as our cast of characters looks to make their escape through a dinosaur infested habitat. 

At its best Jurassic World: Dominion is an entertaining popcorn flick, stacked with action and moments of nostalgia. But at its weakest points the espionage and dino wrangling elements feel at odds with one another, lacking the intimacy and general sense of peril of previous installments. 

The return of the legendary duo of Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum from the 1993 classic is a breath of fresh air. Not because the Pratt and Dallas Howard duo are dull by any stretch of the imagination but because they have all the fun, breezy moments and dialogue. The duo are also given ample screen time with the electrifying Goldblum seemingly running wild to hilarious effect. 

Jurassic World: Dominion is an interesting beast to wrangle with, that while having its entertaining moments is a film of competing narrative tones.