zoë rose bryant’s review published on Letterboxd:
This is perhaps one of the most profoundly stupid movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life, but there’s also no way anything could’ve been worse than Fallen Kingdom, so from the very start, at LEAST it had that going for it.
I certainly won’t sit here and debate someone on Jurassic World Dominion’s script - why is the plot literally about LOCUSTS, lmao? why are we still wasting time on this clone stuff? why is it so poorly paced at the start and overstuffed? - BUT, for me at least, going in with rock-bottom expectations and not expecting anything near the quality of the first film in this franchise (something I did when I saw the original Jurassic World as well) still allowed me to have a pretty fun time with it, all things considered.
I mean, let’s be honest - having the OG trio back does a LOT of heavy lifting. It’s not like they’re given anything absurdly interesting to do - with Neill and Dern on locust duty for most of the movie - but their mere presence is pleasing for long-time fans, and unlike a lot of legacyquels, THESE classic characters are not wasted, on the screen from the first scenes to the final frames.
But, in all honestly, the real star of the show for me was DeWanda Wise, someone I’ve adored in ing parts in comedies like Someone New and Fatherhood for a few years now but who levels up to the blockbuster space in a BRILLIANT way here, arriving with consuming confidence from her very first entrance and remaining the most mesmerizing presence on screen until the end credits roll. Cast her as Storm - or in ANY tentpole franchise - ASAP.
And, although Colin Trevorrow is no Steven Spielberg - and quite a few early action setpieces are poorly shot and edited, such as the mess in Malta - all throughout the breakout at BioSyn in the third act, I felt that classic Spielbergian terror for the first time in this rebooted franchise, complete with many classic, chilling shots, and that’s what made me leave the film on a high, reminding me of the horror of this central premise and the fear I felt watching the first film for the first time.
Look - Jurassic World Dominion is no action or horror classic, and it’ll be forgotten in a month or so except by the studioheads who scientifically engineered it to make a billion dollars at the box office. But as a three hour theatrical experience, I was mostly thrilled and entertained the entire time, and don’t really regret seeing it in IMAX and turning my brain off for some dino action bombast.
