Jurassic World: Dominion

A decidedly underwhelming sequel, Jurassic World: Dominion follows several characters, including Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady, Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, and Sam Neill’s Alan Grant, as they’re forced to spring into action after it becomes clear that a genetics company has nefarious intentions. Filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, armed with his and Emily Carmichael’s screenplay, kicks Jurassic World: Dominion off with a less-than-engrossing opening stretch that details the mistreatment of dinosaurs at the hands of various human characters, with the curiously (and needlessly) mean-spirited atmosphere essentially (and effectively) preventing the viewer from working up much interest in or enthusiasm for the sluggishly-paced proceedings. And although the initial appearance of Goldblum and Neill’s legacy figures, as well as Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler, provides the movie with an all-too-absent burst of energy, Jurassic World: Dominion progresses into an erratic midsection littered with meandering interludes and ineffective set-pieces – with the latter personified by a frustrating and thoroughly disappointing Malta-based action sequence that’s hardly able to generate the excitement and thrills one might’ve anticipated (ie Trevorrow bungles the entire thing with an overuse of aggressively jittery visuals). The picture builds towards a predictably larger-than-life third act that admittedly does fare better than the majority of its preceding events, but it’s simply not enough to compensate for a film that predominantly comes off as a massive failure and missed opportunity that contains virtually none of the awe and wonder of the earlier installments.

** out of ****