In this final chapter of the Jurassic Park franchise, director Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) has a huge challenge on his hands. Trying to conclude a story after six films would be difficult for anyone, especially with the first possibly being considered some of the best filmmaking of all time. Trevorrow has a great lead cast to draw in crowds to the theaters, and the majority of everyone on the planet has some fascination with dinosaurs. However, it’s still a difficult task to pull off, and, unfortunately, this ending conclusion falls short of anything great or memorable. It has a few redeeming qualities but overall ends up being a huge disappointment.
One of the redeeming qualities is the fun tone of the film, and that’s what most audience members come to the theater for overall. There aren’t any dull moments from beginning to end, and it’s for sure going to keep your attention. Focusing on the story, the start of the film began with so much promise of how our world would look if we actually coexisted with dinosaurs. It’s a scary scenario for sure, but it’s a question most people have asked ever since we learned about these extinct creatures back in grade school. Taking on this perspective during the first act of the film will have you overjoyed to witness how our environment could change if this were a reality.
The cast in this film is nothing short of amazing. Every important cast member from the past has returned, and they all have something to do instead of just taking up space on the screen. There is an actual narrative that provides a reason why they all are back together. The nostalgic aspect of their presence is cranked up to the highest level and it is beyond glorious to see them back. Their roles are very well respected too. Once you see them you can instantly tell they’re an expert in their area of study which makes all their dialogue more believable. It will do nothing short of making you smile from ear to ear. Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm’s involvement was possibly the best. He was smooth and intelligent, and his comedic timing was perfect. The film easily would’ve suffered if he was absent during this final bout.
Those are most of the highlights of the film, which is sad due to there not being many. The worst part of the entire film is the story. It started off great, exploring a new world where dinosaurs are taking over, but that plot is abandoned for some illogical reason. This movie is NOT about dinosaurs period! They’re just large creatures that are used for action and to take up screen time. The dinosaurs are present and the characters interact with them throughout the film, but they’re second fiddle to another plot device that’s not as appealing. There’s nothing wrong with exploring new territories with different species and technology, but not at the sacrifice of the spectacle everyone wants to see. It’s sad due to the fact that we all know there’s always some mad scientist trying to play god in some large corporate conglomerate itching for world domination. It’s a great concept that we’re all accustomed to, but the film missed a large opportunity in combining that plot point with dinosaurs.
As far as the action is concerned there were no stakes whatsoever. Every character was able to escape death as if they were invincible. There were no intense edge of your seat moments where you were shrouded in suspense in fear that our heroes were not going to make it. Two characters even crash landed a plane in a sea of ice and were able to walk away with no scratches or bruises at all. Another group of characters who were surrounded by raptors and had loaded weapons decided not to shoot, but to drop their guns and run away. Seeing as at this time in the story civilians interacting with dinosaurs was becoming a normal way of life, it should’ve been common sense that you can’t outrun a raptor on foot. It's just not happening. Those are just a few examples of lackluster action scenes that took up the majority of the runtime. They weren’t boring, but were not fulfilling either.
There were even more illogical plot holes that took up the duration as well. In some instances characters are ironclad in their decision-making, but then thirty seconds later complete a one hundred and eighty degree shift changing their mind with no explanation or with weak motivation. Also if the antagonist has a goal they’re trying to achieve they don’t always go about it in the best way. The idea is to work smarter, but they chose to make it harder. There are just too many unbelievable aspects of the plot and story that don’t make much sense and will leave you frustrated with a headache and asking “Why?”
Overall I still had a tiny bit of fun but wanted more. This is far better than the previous film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but that isn’t saying much at all. There was so much potential to make this film great, especially with all the money and resources that went into production. This wasn’t the cast’s fault because they were great. The story is the biggest culprit here on why this film was not as entertaining as it should’ve been. I only wish we could’ve witnessed humans teamed up with dinosaurs battling another evil group of humans and dinosaurs in an all-out war battle royal, but maybe my expectations were too high. If this film focused more on humans coexisting with dinosaurs I’m confident the end product would’ve been far more superior than what we were left with.
5/10