While most of us anticipated a trailer drop to coincide with the Super Bowl, Universal blasted expectations out of the water with a surprise release of a truly epic trailer. The Jurassic franchise is now synonymous with the word “dinosaur,” and after almost 30 years, it has undeniably stood the test of time. But its biggest hurdle lies in the release of its final chapter.
On paper, Jurassic World Dominion is undoubtedly going to be a big win for the franchise; you’ve got a globetrotting story, the return of animatronics, the OG cast, and the promise of scientifically accurate dinosaurs. But many fans have claimed that the recent movies are veering towards cheesy popcorn flicks and are no longer products of imagination and wonder (the last installment has a measly 48% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes).
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Now that the trailer is stomping around in the wild, it looks like the majority of fans, both old and new, are satisfied with the 2 minutes of dino action that graced the internet. But trailers are only the tip of the iceberg, so let’s take a deep dive at what the franchise finale needs to do to bow out with a roar successfully.
What to Do With the Original Cast?
Universal Pictures
It’s been nearly three decades since InGen’s genetically modified beasts terrorized the original cast, and fans are ecstatic to see Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill all together on the big screen. Although director Colin Trevorrow confirmed that these icons would have more to do in the film than just glorified cameos, fans are still skeptical about how things will play out in Jurassic World Dominion. One of the biggest gripes with Fallen Kingdom was that Jeff Goldblum’s character was shoehorned to bookend the movie as mere fan service. Disney’s Star Wars trilogy and even Halloween have been hit with this accusation (the new Scream movie went so far as to categorize this recent fad of nostalgic breadcrumbs as ‘requels’). Dominion cannot afford to repeat this mistake of underutilizing legacy characters.
Laura Dern is a terrific actress who has an impeccable range. She needs to do more in the movie than narrate a few lines every so often to push the plot through. The same can be said for Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. These actors are at the very core of the Jurassic franchise, and they can do more than appear on-screen for a few minutes.
Fast and the Jurassic?
Yes, we’re over the moon that Universal plans on churning out more Jurassic content, but how many motorcycles is Chris Pratt going to ride to outrun a pack of raptors (this scene was the poster boy for the original Jurassic World, and it looks like we’ll be revisiting this). Fans are getting tired of the gimmicky nature of the new trilogy, and the new trailer seems almost to confirm this.
You’ve got a new breed of raptors leaping across rooftops in Malta, a Quetzalcoatlus destroying a military bomber, and even the hint of genetically modified locusts. All this sounds dangerously close to the plot of a new Fast and Furious movie.
What made the original Jurassic films arguably so fantastic was the combination of contained thrill and awe-inspiring moments (the Brachiosaurus scene from Jurassic Park is forever etched in our brains). These new movies have an Apple-like sheen; they are slick, shiny, and full of bombastic action. Hopefully, Dominion can meet audiences in the middle and showcase stellar cinematography with genuine edge-of-your-seat moments!
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth!
Dominion has hinted (with leaked toy lines confirming) that fans will experience a whole new array of dinosaurs–perhaps the most on-screen thus far; the trailer cemented this by showcasing a whopping 15 species of prehistoric animals (trust us, we counted!). While this is a remarkable feat, fans can’t help but wonder if this is overkill for a 2.5-hour movie, especially when Jurassic Park only featured seven dinosaurs. Just how are these animals going to be depicted? By the looks of it, the CGI looks glorious, and there’s even the promise of animatronics coming back in the case of the Dilophosaurus, but what if audiences end up getting a CGI fest of action scenes specifically written to sell toy sets and collectibles?
The Jurassic franchise is not just merely a spectacle. The original explored the flaws of man’s greed and showcased phenomenal scenes (both from the cast and the dinos). Hence, the use of dinosaurs in Dominion needs to contribute to the plot and generation-spanning story.
We’re a few months away from the premiere of Jurassic World, and with the launch of the trailer, expectations for this film are as tall as an Apatosaurus! Colin Trevorrow has some good ideas in place, so some of these doubts may not hold, but the Jurassic franchise is dangerously close to losing the grandeur it once incited. Here’s hoping that Universal gets Jurassic World Dominion right, and dinosaurs will rule the Earth once more (or at least Rotten Tomatoes)!
