4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review: JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

Home » 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review: JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

Aug 21, 2022 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

“We not only lack dominion over nature, we’re subordinate to it.” – Dr. Ian Malcolm

It’s been four years since the captive dinosaurs broke loose on U.S. soil, and have since spread out across the world. The dinosaurs have become the target of black market poachers and breeders, but only one company, Biosyn Genetics, has been officially granted retrieval rights to the dinosaurs. Founder/CEO Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott) has built a sanctuary for the creatures in Italy’s Dolemite mountains, where his company can study their immune systems, looking for unique pharmaceutical properties that can be used to help cure cancer and other diseases. However, Dodgson’s motives may not be as pure as he claims.

For the past four years, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) & Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) have been living in a cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They are both doing their part to help combat the rampant poachers and illegal dinosaur breeding facilities, though Claire’s approach is a little legally questionable. They are also raising Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the 14-year-old clone/daughter of Charlotte Lockwood, as their own child, trying to protect and hide her from those who wish to experiment on her. But Maisie feels trapped, and is getting tired of being cooped up, and not being allowed to interact with anyone else in the outside world. Living in the forest nearby is Blue, the velociraptor Owen raised at Jurassic World. Like Maisie, Blue has also managed to defy normal biology, producing an offspring all on her own, a small dino Maisie named Beta. When poachers working for Biosyn abduct Maisie and Beta, Owen and Claire set out on a dangerous rescue mission to find them and bring them back home.

Meanwhile, in West Texas, Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) has been tracking swarms of giant locusts making their way across the country, decimating farms and putting the country’s food supply in danger. The strange thing is that the locusts only seem to attack crops grown in fields not using Biosyn seed. So she enlists the help of old partner Alan Grant (Sam Neill) to join her on her on a mission to infiltrate the Biosyn sanctuary to obtain evidence that the company is responsible for the locusts. Thankfully, she’s got an inside man working at Biosyn—chaotician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is the new in-house philosopher at the company, and tipped Ellie off about their connection to the massive insects. As the two Jurassic duos each make their way to Biosyn, their missions are on a collision course, and they will need to join forces to save not on Maisie and Blue, but also the world. But it’s not going to be easy as a whole slew of new and familiar dangerous creatures await them, and advances in technology have allowed people to control and weaponize these dinos!

Jurassic World Dominion may not be the best film in this amazing franchise, but it is still an action-packed, fun and exciting final installment, with lots of twists and turns, while also allowing moments for character drama and story arcs. For the first two acts, we go back and forth between the two duos as they go about their different missions. Owen & Claire are constantly getting into trouble, whether its stampeding triceratops at an illegal breeding facility, showdowns with poachers, an exciting Bourne-like chase through the streets and rooftops of Malta, catching a harrowing plane ride with rogue pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise), or escaping from dangerous new breeds of dinosaurs. Much of Owen and Claire’s time is spent trying to get to nd into the sanctuary facility. Meanwhile, Ellie & Alan’s story is more of a spy story as their trip to the facility is a bit less eventful, but once inside they face some tense challenges as they attempt to covertly gain access to the proof they need that Biosyn is up to no good. However, they also have run-ins with some dangerous creatures. There is lots of action nd adventure, and the film often makes fun callbacks and references to the previous films, especially to the original Jurassic Park. Amongst the action are moments of humor, some jump scares, and lots of scary creatures trying to chomp on our heroes. I wish Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm could have been utilized a bit more, but I always enjoyed him whenever he did show up. There are also appearances by a few other familiar faces from the previous films. It was great to finally see these two casts come together in the final act, with the original trio of characters finally teaming up with Owen and Claire.

While I enjoyed the film overall, it definitely wasn’t as good as the first film of either Jurassic franchise. I missed the more natural, jungle setting of those previous films. While there was the occasional scene here or there that tried to recapture this, the primary setting was this high tech sanctuary building. That said, the Malta sequence was actually my favorite part of the entire movie. The ancient city was an interesting new setting to see these creatures, and the sequence also introduced this clever concept and great Bond-like villain. Soyona Santos (Dichen Lachman) is a poacher who has managed to weaponize Atrociraptors, using a laser to tag her targets, which the dinos will go after non-stop. This leads to an incredibly tense and exciting chase scene around the city. I would have loved to see this idea of using the dinosaurs as weapons explored more in the film, but unfortunately, the concept is pretty much abandoned shortly afterwards.

Universal’s home video release includes both the original theatrical cut of the film, as well as a longer extended cut that runs 14 minutes longer. The new footage is integrated seamlessly throughout the film—I never would have been able to pick out the differences had I not had them running side by side. The changes include a new 4-minute opening prologue that takes a look at the dinosaurs in their natural habitat 65 million years ago, before cutting to the present. Some of the other changes include longer initial introductions to Ellie as she finds the locusts, Alan as he deals with younger students at his dig site, extra dino attacks at the market and during the Malta chase, a longer reunion of Claire and Owen on the plane, and so on. While the film was already quite long, the extended cut is probably the one I’d choose to watch each time. Some of the new footage really adds to the scenes, and gives some extra fun moments.

Universal’s 4K release release looks and sounds amazing. The picture is pristine and clear, with an excellent level of detail. The Dolby Vision on the 4K release helps to enhance the color palette, and make the beautiful settings come to life. Darker scenes in the caves, and jungle remain clear, with well-defined details. The CG dino effects look seamless and believable—it’s amazing how far things have come since the original Jurassic Park (which itself still holds up quite well). The DTS:X audio track is phenomenal, constantly providing ambiance, filling the room with the sounds of nature or the hustle and bustle of the streets or dino market, making the dinosaur attacks come to life, and giving the viewer a fully-immersive experience. The dialogue is clear throughout, and John Williams’ iconic score sounds great.

The 4K and Blu-ray discs come packed on either side of a standard 4K keepcase with an embossed carboard slipcover. The release contains an insert with a code to redeem for an 4K digital copy of both cuts of the film (which is Movies Anywhere compatible). The discs and digital release contain over an hour of entertaining bonus material including a short film and lots of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:26:57 Theatrical, 2:40:41 Extended)

2160p / Widescreen 2.00:1
Dolby Vision / HDR10
Audio: English DTS: X, Spanish DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Blu-ray:

1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
Audio: English DTS: X, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 9/30/2023):

4K Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)
Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 9/30/2023)
Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other items in the Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of 5-7 free digital titles usually changes around the first day of each month.

Extras:

Extended Version (2:40:41)
On some digital platforms the extended cut can be found in the bonus features. On the discs, it’s offered as an option when you start the film.
Battle at Big Rock (10:17)
This short film, directed by Colin Trevorrow, is set one year after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where a new family is vacationing in their RV in Big Rock National Park when dinosaurs invade their camp. The film stars Andre Holland, Natalie Martinez, Melody Hurd, Pierson Salvador & Chris Finlayson.
A New Breed of VFX (6:16)
The cast and crew talk about the next-level visual effects used in the film, improving on the models from the original Jurassic Park film, designing the new bird-like dinosaurs, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, comparisons of scenes with and without effects, and interviews with VFX Supervisor David Vickery, director/co-writer/executive producer Colin Trevorrow, CG supervisors Steve Hardy & Steve Ellis, digital artist lead Sally Wilson, digital artist supervisor Richard Bentley, digital artist Jamie Haydock, and stars Laura Dern (“Ellie Sattler”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“Claire Dearing”) & Chris Pratt (“Owen Grady”).
Dinosaurs Among Us: Inside Jurassic World Dominion (47:09)
An extensive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/co-writer/executive producer Colin Trevorrow, producers Patrick Crowley & Frank Marshall, co-writer Emily Carmichael, production designer Kevin Jenkins, set decorator Richard Roberts, puppet captain Derek Arnold, stunt coordinator Ben Cooke, digital artist supervisor Richard Bentley, VFX supervisor David Vickery, 2nd unit VFX supervisor Michael Ellis, senior previs supervisor Pawl Dulkr, CG supervisor Steve Hardy, stunt double Alistair Whitton, camera bike stunt driver Regis Harrington III, live action dinosaurs supervisor John Nolan, creature effects hod painter Henrik Svensson, creature effects senior fabricator Fiona Barnes, special effects senior technician Chris Clarke, special effects senior floor manager Ian Corbould, script supervisor Kelly Krieg, paleontology consultant Steve Brusatte, and stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill (“Alan Grant”), Jeff Goldblum (“Ian Malcolm”), DeWanda Wise (“Kayla Watts”), Scott Haze (“Rainn Delacourt”), Dichen Lachman (“Soyona Santos”), Campbell Scott (“Lewis Dodgson”), Mamoudou Athie (“Ramsay Cole”), Isabella Sermon (“Maisie Lockwood”) & BD Wong (“Henry Wu”). Play All, or select from:
- Together for the First Time (5:26)
  The cast and filmmakers discuss uniting the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World casts/characters and stories.
- Underground Dino Market (4:59)
  The cast and crew discuss and tour the massive underground dinosaur black market set, using practical effects to bring the dinos to life, training for the fight sequences, and more.
- Mayhem in Malta (4:32)
  The cast and crew talk about the massive Bourne-style Atrociraptor chase through the narrow streets and rooftops of Malta.
- Scary Real Animatronics (25:22)
  A behind-the-scenes look at how the various dinosaurs and creatures were brought to life. Play All, or select from:
  - Spit Take: The Return of the Dilophosaurus (5:26)
    Building the completely animatronic Dilophosaurus to match the original Jurassic Park.
  - Inside the Dimetrodon (4:38)
    Creating, operating, and working with the Dimetrodon animatronics in the amber mines.
  - Creating a Plague (4:30)
    Creating, operating and working with the giant locusts.
  - Passing the Bata..n (4:19)
    Designing the full-scale animatronic Velociraptor, Beta—bringing it to life, and what it was like for the actors to work with the realistic dino.
  - Giga-bite (6:26)
    Basing the Giganotosaurus on a real dinosaur, the cast’s reactions to seeing this massive dinosaur for the first time, and building the hero dinosaur.
- Final Night (6:52)
  On the final night of filming, the cast and crew reminisce about working on these franchises with one another, and have an emotional wrap to the film.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Jurassic World Dominion may not be the best film in this amazing franchise, but it is still an action-packed, fun and exciting final installment. It was great to see the Park cast return to interact with the characters from the World films to bring the franchise to a conclusion (at least for now). The film introduces some exciting and scary new dinosaurs, and has some amazing and tense action sequences. It runs a bit long, especially with the new extended cut adding another 14 minutes, but still worth the watch. Universal’s 4K release looks and sounds great and includes a solid selection of behind-the-scenes bonus material (including an emotional send-off) that is sure to please fans of the Jurassic franchise.