Jurassic World: Dominion concludes the Jurassic World trilogy and the (predictable) Jurassic Park franchise, but despite its attempt to wrap things up tighter than a Beta-in-the-box, the picture raises more concerns than a swarm of compies. In many ways, it gives a satisfying conclusion to a decades-long film series, but that doesn’t mean it’s without puzzling components.
From the unexpected locust subplot and the fate of Maisie Lockwood to the decision to end the film where it began, with dinosaur and human cohabitation as the status quo, plotholes, character inconsistencies, and ambiguous storytelling all contributed to a slew of issues for viewers.
Dodgson, where did you get the Barbasol can?
Dodgson hired Dennis Nedry to take dinosaur embryos from Jurassic Park, but Nedry was slain before he could get his Barbasol can containing the priceless cargo out of the park, and the can was smeared in mud.
Was it dragged up from the depths of its entombment by the storm? How did Dodgson obtain the identical Barbasol can? It’s a tattered office fixture and a nice little Easter egg for fans, but without an explanation, it detracts from the film rather than adding anything other than nostalgia.
How Did Dinosaurs Live Alongside Humans For So Many Years?
While the cohabitation of dinosaurs and humans is briefly mentioned in the film’s opening credits, much of it appears to be glossed over, as if the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom did not end with one of the most terrifying possibilities imaginable since Jurassic Park: dinosaurs rampaging among society.
One of the things that makes no sense about Jurassic World: Dominion is how the world’s governing organizations could let dangerous animals capable of wiping out communities wander freely, even if by the time it takes place, all of the claimed dread of that prospect appears to have gone. Instead of what happened in San Diego when a T-Rex went loose in The Lost World, there are only a few incidents of compies or pterodactyls assaulting innocent civilians.
What became of InGen?
Although Biosyn was not mentioned in Jurassic Park, it was the competing business eager to enter the dinosaur market by replicating InGen’s discoveries. Given the importance of InGen in the previous three films, what happened to it after Masrani bought it to open Jurassic World?
Did one theme park disaster after another drive stock prices to plummet? Did it stop operating as a security firm after Hoskins died? Is the company still in existence? Given how important it has been to the majority of the trilogy’s plots, it seems odd not to mention it at all, and it would have helped Jurassic World: Dominion bring the franchise full circle even more.
Dinosaurs Can Live In Cold Climates, But How?
Brachiosaurus and Parasaurolophus stampeding over tundras appear out of place for dinosaurs who have been living among humans for several years by the time Jurassic World: Dominion takes place. Even before the film was released, previews for the 2022 Winter Olympics depicted athletes and dinosaurs colliding on the powder as part of the film’s marketing strategy.
The amount of food required to feed such massive beasts in such cold temperatures makes it inconceivable to believe they could survive for more than a few weeks. The sequences with gigantic dinosaurs in the snow appear to be for shock effect and were merely made to confound expectations.
How Did the Fire Locusts elude capture?
Dodgson maintains the locusts in a subbasement with a duct leading directly to the outside world and the dinosaur habitat all around Biosyn for some unfathomable reason. When he destroys them in order to destroy the evidence of their existence, they escape via the duct and continue flying. What makes this possible?
One of the first things to burn on the locusts’ bodies are their wings, yet they’re able to swarm on auto-pilot long enough to flee Biosyn headquarters and ignite major fires across Biosyn Valley.
How did Wu put a stop to the locusts?
Biosyn hires Wu to produce a swarm of enormous locusts to annihilate crops not planted with Biosyn seed, effectively rendering the world’s food supply dependent on Biosyn. Unethical scientific innovation occurs in each Jurassic Park film, and he is the same scientist who created more aggressive dinosaurs for the highest bidder without regard for the consequences.
Nonetheless, he receives a significant redemption arc when he uses Charlotte Halbrook’s cloning science to stop the spread of his locusts. The film easily concludes without having to satisfy fans with an explanation for how he achieves this, despite the fact that before to meeting Maisie, he had no idea where to begin. The film merely states that Wu was successful in his study and spared the world from a biblical disaster.
What Was Dodgson’s Strategy?
Dodgson could have had Dr. Wu do his research with Maisie and Beta while concealing the locust problem if Ramsey hadn’t betrayed him and if Owen and Claire hadn’t become involved. But what was his plan after that? He was a CEO who had contract hits on civilians carried out by raptor assassins. Would he have actually kept using dinosaurs for the good of humanity and riding the globe of diseases?
How did Dodgson expect to get away with what he did after everything practically went up in flames? If the Dilophosaurus hadn’t caught him, wouldn’t he have had to defend himself against Biosyn at the same hearing?
What Happened in Court to Biosyn?
Is Ellie talking about shutting down Biosyn when she tells Alan at the end of the movie that they’re going to “finish this”? They’re preparing to have a Congressional hearing, so the focus will ostensibly be on Biosyn and its criminal conduct, but how will this affect all the dinosaurs currently roaming the earth? Will new legislation be enacted?
There’s no indication of what will happen in the hearing, but someone will have to bear the blame for both the destruction at Biosyn Valley and Lewis Dodgson’s authorized attacks on Owen, Claire, and others with trained attack raptors.
What Will Befall Maisie?
One of the most significant differences between Jurassic World: Dominion and Fallen Kingdom was the expansion of Maisie Lockwood’s storyline. Claire and Owen have been parenting Maisie for years while successfully keeping her concealed from unethical organizations, but what happens to her when Biosyn Valley is restored to the dinosaurs? Will she be able to return to school now? Do you have friends? Going to town?
It was satisfying for Maisie to have some closure regarding her biological mother and the value of her work, but it would have been intriguing to see if Maisie had any ambitions to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a scientist.
What Will Happen To Humans And Dinosaurs Now?
The film ends with some dinosaurs living free with herds of animals, while many more exist in the Biosyn Valley, which has been designated as a sanctuary. For the most part, it appears that people and dinosaurs will have to learn to coexist harmoniously.
But how will this time be different from the last? Will all of the dinosaurs be collected up and transported to the sanctuary? Will life, as Ian Malcolm likes to say, find a way? Returning to the status quo established at the beginning of the film feels hollow in light of everything the characters have been through, and so does not feel like the end of the story.