“Jurassic World: Dominion” was released only a few days ago and those who have not yet seen it are anticipating the roars and sights of dinosaurs that they have grown to love since the franchise began nearly 30 years ago. While the movie just came out, there is a lot you should do to refresh your memory before going to the theater.
The film will be the sixth feature film in the “Jurassic Park” movie franchise, which also includes a shorter prologue and another short film. This new film is said to incorporate each movie in the series thus far in some way, which means that if you want to be prepared, you may need to go through the history of the “Jurassic Park” franchise again to make sure you can fully understand the new addition.
The previous parts of this popular prehistoric procession are “Jurassic Park,” released in 1993; “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” released in 1997; “Jurassic Park III,” released in 2001; “Jurassic World,” released in 2015; “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” released in 2018; and two short films, “Battle at Big Rock” and “Jurassic World: Dominion prologue,” released in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
Although the previous entries in the franchise total up to over 10 hours of film, any and all the information may be crucial in some way to “Jurassic World: Dominion” and a refresher could mean the difference between watching a movie that is great and one that is incredible.
The film takes place four years after the last movie, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” ends. For those of you who do not remember the ending, dinosaurs begin roaming freely around the world.
In “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” dinosaurs again faced extinction, but after they are saved, dinosaurs become much more common. By the end of the movie, the dinosaurs that were sold at the auction are flown around the world, serums are created, eggs are collected, and viewers watch as dinosaurs look over cities or swim in the water next to surfers. As audiences see an end credits scene with a dinosaur in Las Vegas, worry begins to set in because we all know what comes next: an ecological disaster.
Something else audiences should consider when they go into the theaters is the character Maisie Lockwood, who was introduced in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” and what her existence means for “Jurassic World: Dominion”.
In the last “Jurassic World” movie, Maisie was introduced as Benjamin Lockwood’s granddaughter, but it is later explained that Maisie is a genetic clone of Charlotte Lockwood, Lockwood’s daughter, created from DNA recovered from the woman after she passed away in a crash. The ability to clone both dinosaurs and humans just might come into play in the latest film.
“Jurassic World: Dominion” picks up four years after this has all occurred. As the dinosaurs and humans attempt to co-exist, humans all over the world will deal with the new (and fairly terrifying) creatures that are settling into their newfound life and freedom.
In the previous films, the setting is mostly confined to one place, whether a jungle island or a dinosaur theme park, because the dinosaurs are held in captivity. Now that the creatures have been released and span the globe, the setting has expanded and many new locales can be seen. The trailers hinted at possible locations that could come into play in “Jurassic World: Dominion,” from snowy settings to more arid environs.
Another huge aspect of “Jurassic World: Dominion” that has the viewers craving this carnivorous feast is the cast. This cast will be the biggest in the franchise and will feature a combination of new and old characters from the “Jurassic Park” franchise.
Of course, current favorites like Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), Maisie Lockwood (Isabelle Sermon), Henry Wu (BD Wong), Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), Franklin Webb (Justice Smith) and Barry Sembéne (Omar Sy) return to the screen in “Jurassic World: Dominion”.
We will also see some new faces in the film, such as DeWanda Wise, who plays Kayla Watts, a former military pilot who now flies people around for money; Mamoudou Athie, who plays Ramsay Cole, the head of communications at Biosyn (the antagonistic corporation at the helm of “Jurassic World: Dominion”), and Dichen Lachman, who plays Soyona Santos, a connection between Biosyn and the underground dinosaur smuggling world.
But what is going to have everyone racing to the theater, as if they are being chased by raptors, is the return of the “Jurassic Park” characters from many years ago. The characters that return from the past are Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). These characters were the heart of the original “Jurassic Park” that began the craze for the prehistoric creatures; now, for the first time since the original 1993 film, they will take to the screen together once again.
Taking all of this into consideration, it is recommended that you at least read up on, if not re-watch, each of the previous films in order to take in the nuances of “Jurassic World: Dominion.” And when you do go see it on the big screen, make sure you are ready to sink your teeth into a movie filled with action, nostalgia, and of course … some deadly dinosaurs.
