“Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?”
That quote from Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) in the original Jurassic Park in 1993 is the basic premise of Jurassic World Dominion. Grant, alongside Paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) return to the franchise for the first time together since the original film.
The three legacy characters eventually cross paths with Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and new characters Ramsay Cole (Mamoudou Athie) and Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) and they team up to survive against dinosaurs at a facility run by Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott, recast from the first film).
Dominion takes place a few years after dinosaurs were freed to run free amongst humans at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Owen and Claire live secluded in the woods with Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), who freed the dinosaurs and was implied in the last film to be a clone of her grandfather’s daughter.
The raptor Blue has given birth to a baby raptor who Maisie names Beta. Poachers near the secluded home capture both Maisie and Beta, setting off the main events of the film.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sattler investigates the presence of formerly extinct giant locusts in Texas. She suspects the corporation Biosyn (run by Dodgson) is behind the return of the locusts, since they only plants left uneaten by the locusts are Biosyn seeds. Sattler recruits her former partner and lover Dr. Grant for help in exposing Biosyn. At Biosyn, Grant and Sattler reunite with Dr. Malcolm, who discreetly gives them clues to where they can find information about the locusts. They also meet Ramsay, who leads them on a tour of the facility and is more than he appears to be.
It is revealed that Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), who engineered the original dinosaurs at Jurassic Park, is responsible for the giant locusts and is working for Biosyn. However, when he meets with Maisie, Wu expresses regret for his actions and wants to learn more about Maisie and her mysterious past to help him right some wrongs.
Owen and Claire eventually track Maisie to Biosyn, and Kayla joins them, feeling regret over not helping Maisie when she watched the girl be taken during an exchange. They reach Biosyn and cross paths with the legacy characters and face off against the dinosaurs in the facility.
While the film could have fallen into the trap of having legacy characters return only to have little screen time, it manages to avoid doing so. The film features a perfect blend of the legacy characters and the new characters, without putting too much focus on one over the other. In addition, both Kayla and Ramsay have significant roles to play in the story, which adds to the fullness of the story.
Critics have complained the franchise has run its course with this film. However, this film is both familiar and fresh. It’s not set at a Jurassic theme park, but instead around the world. It has characters we’ve known for nearly three decades and characters we’ve known since 2015 and beyond. Dominion ultimately takes the franchise into a new direction and could set up potential sequels, though it would also be a fitting end to the series as well.
Jurassic World Dominion is out now in theatres. If you’re a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise, it is definitely a film to see, and it will answer the questions raised by Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom.
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