‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is ‘the worst’ in the franchise, critics say

Still from Universal Studio’s “Jurassic World: Dominion”

NBCUniversal

“Jurassic World: Dominion” may score the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend, but lackluster reviews and word of mouth could stall its potential haul.

“Inevitably, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ will make a fortune worldwide, since these films always do,” wrote Robbie Collin in his review of the film for the Daily Telegraph. “But in credibility terms, it’s an extinction-level event.”

The third and final film in the new trilogy of “Jurassic Park” films is the worst reviewed of all six films in the franchise, currently holding a 36% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes from 175 reviews.

While the Universal film is expected to tally around $125 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, poor audience reception could hamper its overall grosses in the coming weeks. Not to mention, the film faces steeper competition from other films, such as Disney and Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” in the coming weeks.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow, “Dominion” takes place four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, the island that once housed the cloned prehistoric beasts. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprise their roles as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing and are joined by “Jurassic Park” alums Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, who return as Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm, respectively.

“Even with the original cast on board, there’s surprisingly little chemistry or humor, and the movie makes repeated pit stops to stress family values,” wrote Joshua Rothkopf in his review for Entertainment Weekly.

There’s wide consensus among critics that “Dominion” desperately wants to capture the nostalgia of “Jurassic Park” but that the stunning visual effects fail to make up for its missteps in storytelling and character development.

Here’s what critics thought of “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which arrives in domestic theaters this Friday:

Ross Bonaime, Collider

“‘Dominion’ wants audiences to remember what they loved about the first film, yet without harnessing any of the joy or spectacle that made this series such a standout when it launched in 1993,” Bonaime wrote in his review for Collider.

“Instead, ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is an exhausting slog, a legacyquel that doesn’t seem to recognize where the power of that legacy comes from, and overarching idiocy that permeates every scene in the film,” he wrote.

Bonaime said the film attempts to pay homage to fans of the original “Jurassic Park” trilogy, which was released between 1993 and 2001, but fails to give its trio of Dern, Neill and Goldblum anything interesting to tackle.

“Instead of pitting this iconic trio amongst dinosaurs once more, ‘Dominion’ mostly faces them off against giant locusts, which is about as compelling as it sounds,” he wrote.