Jurassic World Dominion (2022) **1/2

If I can just get a minor nitpick out of the way up front—it really bothers me that there is no colon in the title of Jurassic World Dominion (2022). I don't understand why there isn't one (the other Jurassic Park films that necessitate colons have them) and I am of the firm opinion that there should be. Now that I've said my peace on that subject...

JWD was solid summer blockbuster fare but overall a letdown. The situations all felt too familiar and the melding of legacy (Park trilogy) and new (World trilogy) characters thing is already played out from other franchises. Some of the technical aspects were a bit wonky as well—I found the editing very choppy on numerous occasions and a few scenes were lit far too dimly. On the plus side, a few action sequences were legitimately thrilling (even if they felt more like they belonged in a James Bond film).

Chris Pratt did his holding-his-hand-up-and-looking-intense thing just fine, Bryce Dallas Howard did her wide-eyed-stunned-reaction thing just fine, and the other World trilogy characters were...just fine. The Park trilogy characters were actually less impressive and, while a few scenes had a little of that old magic, they mostly played as fan service. The reasoning for bringing together all the characters felt like a stretch and the plot involves a good deal of sermonizing. 

I'm glad that the series has supposedly come to an end, as—at least for this viewer—it's run its course. Dominion is my least favorite of all the JP films (I'm of the minority opinion that 2018's Fallen Kingdom (review) was the best of the World trilogy and also the second best film of the franchise). One thing is for sure—Jurassic Park (1993) (review) will always remain a classic that set the bar impossibly high (it's one of my Top 100 Films).

Jurassic Park Franchise Films Ranked