Brief Summary
This video critiques "Jurassic World: Dominion," highlighting its failures in filmmaking, tension, and thematic depth compared to the original "Jurassic Park." It praises the diverse dinosaur designs but criticizes the poor execution of action sequences, lack of character development, and the undermining of core themes. The video suggests that other recent media, such as "A Quiet Place," "House of the Dragon," and Spielberg's "West Side Story," better capture the spirit and filmmaking quality of the original "Jurassic Park."
- The film fails to create tension and meaningful character moments in its dinosaur encounters.
- Action sequences are poorly edited and lack a sense of geography and escalating tension.
- The film undermines the series' core themes by portraying dinosaurs as subservient and characters as overly empowered.
- Other recent media better embody the spirit and filmmaking quality of the original "Jurassic Park."
Intro
The "Jurassic Park" franchise is known for its decline in quality after the first film. While the original film had narrative depth, later installments have relied on exciting dinosaur-centered action scenes. "Jurassic Park 3" had production issues but featured a memorable pterodactyl scene, and even "Fallen Kingdom" had well-staged moments of dinosaur carnage. The key to enjoying theme park movies is the ride itself. However, "Dominion" fails in basic filmmaking and editing, undermining the series' themes.
Death By a Thousand Dinosaurs
"Jurassic World: Dominion" features visually diverse and fully realized dinosaurs, including the quetzalcoatlas, dimetrodon, and pyro raptor. The film incorporates feathers into the dinosaur designs and gives each dinosaur a sequence to display its power. However, the film refuses to kill off its characters, and the dinosaurs are pure filler to break up the plot. The only new dinosaur that makes an impression is the Therizinosaurus, whose introduction creates real tension as Claire must escape without alerting the beast. The scene works because Claire must use her wits and remain calm, creating a visceral feeling of dread for the audience.
Fast and Cretaceous
The "Jurassic Park" series has tried to outdo the original film with the scale and inventiveness of its set pieces. "Dominion" attempts to top them all with a multi-layered chase through Malta involving deadly dinosaurs. The scene resembles a globetrotting chase from "Fast and Furious" or James Bond, with the dinosaurs acting as mere obstacles. The atrociroptors are perfectly subservient to their overlords, lacking the intelligence and cruelty that made the raptors compelling in previous films. The action scene obliterates the notion that these raptors are effective killing machines and messes up the flow needed to maintain a lot action scene.
Bring in the Clown
Each "Jurassic Park" sequel introduces a new Alpha dinosaur, and in "Dominion," it's the Giganotosaurus. The scene evokes the iconic T-Rex escape from the original "Jurassic Park," but it falls apart from the moment it starts. The Giga simply walks around the Jeep the characters are hiding behind, and the cast awkwardly moves towards the ladder to safety. The cage rips open, clogging the Giga's mouth, and everyone else climbs the ladder in rapid edits. The cast sticks together like kids on a school field trip, and there's no splitting up for distractions or moments of chaos. The scene builds to a whimper as the Giga crashes through the glass, and the cast's stiff interactions with it give away the effect.
A Compromise
There is much more terrible filmmaking in "Dominion," but the focus shifts to great filmmaking that builds upon the original "Jurassic Park." The magic of the classics does not belong to the franchises they spawned. Other recent media embodies the spirit and filmmaking that "Jurassic Park" defined. "A Quiet Place" uses sound design to create tense scenarios, while "House of the Dragon" explores the illusion of control over dragons. To understand Spielberg's craft, watch "West Side Story" and pay attention to how the blocking reveals character, the camera creates emotion, and every action is meaningful to the story.
