For nearly three decades, audiences have been transported back to a time when humans weren’t the dominant species. The Jurassic Saga has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations and defined the modern blockbuster. With Jurassic World Dominion releasing this week, many people may be wondering, “Why?” And once they finish remembering the alphabet, they might be confused about how this third legacy sequel came to be. Well, I’m here to help those dyslexic cave-dwellers and go through Why Jurassic World Dominion is.
Jurassic Park
Starting with the most significant reason as to why Jurassic World Dominion exists, we have Jurassic Park. The film was based on Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name and saw eccentric Santa John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) bring long-extinct creatures back to life in order to monopolize the achievement. This film sets the stage for what is to come in Dominion, a film that also heavily features dinosaurs. Not only that, but this film also provides 1/3 of the title for Jurassic World Dominion. The fact Steven Spielberg was thinking five films ahead speaks to the genuinely visionary director that he’s renowned for.
Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing film in 1993 and was once the highest-grossing film of all time before being beaten by Titanic. This convinced our Sea-Monkey overlords that our primitive minds crave more dinosaur films. Overnight, cinemas were flooded with more dinosaur pictures from Super Mario Bros. releasing two weeks prior to We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story releasing six months later. The craze continued for another 15 years when the world saw the release of…
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is divisive, to put it kindly. The film sees the destruction of Isla Nublar that audiences had grown so fond of. Despite this, the film is a “must watch” to understand the complexities of Jurassic World Dominion. Here, we are introduced to the diabolical plan to train raptors to attack enemies by shining a laser pointer on them. This might seem “stupid,” but is it any more stupid than relying on a single programmer to construct your park’s entire electronic interface? Let alone that character being NEWMAN??
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This film also introduces us to the character of Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), a clone who has a crisis of faith in a fleeting moment and releases all of the captured dinos into the world. Honestly? The motivation behind this act is the most logical decision a character makes in this entire film. “Oh, I’m a clone. Do I have a soul? What is God? F*ck it. BE FREE, YOU CARNIVOROUS BASTARDS!” I’m all about that nihilistic outlook on life.
Including the previously mentioned clone, this film is chock full of returning characters. But it would probably be best to rewind the clock and discuss the prequel to this film.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The direct sequel to 1993’s Jurassic Park. This film re-introduces us to our main hero from here on out, a f*cking T-Rex. You know, the one dinosaur universally agreed to be one of the most dangerous? The looming presence throughout the entire first film? The Tyrannosaurus saves its infant from the main human antagonist, thus saving the day. This is important to remember because it foreshadows the ending of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where the Tyrannosaurus kills the main human antagonist as he tries to escape.
Using a predictability matrix, it’s safe to assume that part of the ending for Jurassic World Dominion will revolve around the T-Rex killing one or more of the antagonists in a heroic fashion. As of this writing, I have not yet seen the movie. Only one out of the first five films doesn’t involve the T-Rex being the hero. That one film is our next reason for why Jurassic World Dominion exists.
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Jurassic Park III (pronounced “Jurassic Park Aye Aye Aye”)
The third film in the Jurassic Park trilogy, as well as the third film in the Jurassic Hexalogy, Jurassic Park Aye Aye Aye gets one thing right about this series from the get-go; it’s all ridiculous, so parasail over a disland (dino-island) for the hell of it. This film also features the return of Sam Neil’s Dr. Alan Grant as well as Laura Dern’s Dr. Ellie Sattler, two characters that will also be reappearing in Jurassic World Dominion.
With the returning of two franchise mainstays, so too are we returning to confusing titling with Jurassic World Dominion. Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World Dominion. Without rhyme or reason, we go from the barebones title, weird subtitling, numerical titling, barebones title, contextually confusing subtitling, and barebones title with no subtitle. Jurassic World Dominion truly is the culmination of all that’s come before.
Jurassic World
Finally, the final reason as to why Jurassic World Dominion is the sixth film in the franchise. It’s because Jurassic World, along with all the other films mentioned, equals five. Dominion would be number six. Six comes after five. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Pretty simple stuff.
There you have it! I hope this was worth the time to read as much as it was for me to write. Will Jurassic World Dominion live up to the hype? Or will the returning director of the original legacy reboot film course correct too much following the divisive second film and create a nonsensical sludge of cobbled together nostalgia bait while forcing original characters to return to the franchise in a clear marketing cashgrab? Who knows! This is uncharted waters we’re entering!
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