Jurassic World: Dominion ★★

Colin Trevorrow

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum

Seven years and one massive volcano eruption later, the Jurassic World saga comes to an end with Dominion. We find ourselves in a world where dinosaurs live among us; in the forests, on the streets and eating people on scooters like they’re an after-dinner mint.

The whole cast are back for this one as well, with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard sharing the screen with the classic trio of Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. The stage is set for an epic conclusion. One that will stand next to the recent hit, Top Gun: Maverick, as a legacy comeback for the ages.

Not so fast. Far from a comeback for the ages, Dominion feels like a wasted opportunity to create something unique that can stand up against the original.

The dinosaurs become a sideshow here, and are only really wheeled out so that someone can run away from them for a bit. One of the oddest plot decisions arrived when a plague of locusts are discovered that are slowly but surely destroying all human food sources. This is the key motive for the movie because, for some reason, dinosaurs living all over the world isn’t exciting enough?

There are a selection of redeeming features though; some Dino conflicts are tense and good fun, even if the tension is under-exploited. Plus, Jeff Goldblum carries the movie whenever he’s on screen; forever charming and good natured, his presence lights up even the corniest of scenes.

However, the Goldblum charm couldn’t save this one. The set pieces have no tension because we’ve seen it all before, while the legacy callbacks to the previous movies serve as a gimmick rather than developing the story in any real way.

A franchise with such potential, ends with a fizzle. Maybe one day they’ll reboot things with more invention, more adventure and less locusts.

Jurassic World: Dominion available in cinemas now