The conclusion of the latest trilogy to Steven Spielberg’s epic dinosaur franchise moves from a blockbuster theatrical release to the ultra-high definition disc format in Jurassic World Dominion: Extended Edition (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, rated R, 2.00:1 aspect ratio, 170 minutes, $34.99).
As the story goes, those brilliantly idiotic geneticists and paleontologists have finally done it. They’re meddling with nature now has dinosaurs actively roaming in abundance around the earth as the large and dangerous creatures coexist with man.
Biosyn Genetics wants to help. The corporate entity has the altruistic goals to preserve and protect the mighty beasts but not its leader, Dr. Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott) has other ideas.
He also has nefarious plans to control the world’s food supply using mutant locusts as well as harness the DNA of a human to control disease.
To complete his plans, Dodgson hires a nasty dinosaur poacher to kidnap the human guinea pig Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) — living with animal behavior expert Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and his girlfriend, former Jurassic World park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) — as well as the offspring of the famed intelligent velociraptor Blue.
The most intriguing plot development throughout is the return of the researchers seen in the original “Jurassic Park” movie.
Specifically, paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) are out to stop Dodgson’s food plan while eventually enlisting the help of famed egocentric chaos theory expert Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).
The franchise has definitely lost the magic tied to the reemergence of fantastic dinosaurs from long ago.
However, director Colin Trevorrow attempts to redeem the latest effort with his focus on action-hero antics and dizzying action scenes such as Claire parachuting out of a crashing plane as Pterodactyls attack her midflight or a wild motorcycle chase with raptors through the streets of Malta.
This special edition adds 14 minutes to the theatrical version, which supplements the story arc of the founding Tyrannosaurus rex and its important place in the “Jurassic Park” mythos.
By the way, the new opening scene will play well to the 10-year-old “Jurassic Park” newbie in the family. It takes viewers back to prehistoric times in native environments to watch a pack of Triceratops in action as well as a Tyrannosaurus rex and Giganotosaurus in battle. That’s pretty cool stuff for any dinosaur fan.
4K in action: The culmination of nearly 30 years of work by premier visual effects shop Industrial Light and Magic on perfecting the bringing of extinct mammoths to digital life arrives in the exceptionally crisp and textured as well as a nearly screen-filling 2160p presentation.
Creatures worth noting include the various raptors with their glistening, multicolored, striped skin and glistening teeth, especially a first-person point of view of a Velociraptor charging to attack; and the king Giganotosaurus (20 feet tall, 50 feet long), as close as to a real Godzilla that ever existed and, by the way, one of the world’s largest carnivores.
The star for me was the Pyroraptor, a bipedal, humanoid-sized bird-lizard with red feathers, textured hide and wing like extensions on its clawed hands that can also swim underwater. It’s truly a vision to admire in action within the 4K realms.
Additionally, scenes sure to visually impress include a helicopter flight over the panoramic snowy Dolomite mountains in Italy; wide shots of a raptor chasing Claire over the steamy rooftops of Malta; a mosquito with flickering wings extracting blood from the thick-skinned Tyrannosaurus rex; and a flaming swarm of locusts dropping embers over a forest.
Best extras: Fans will appreciate the five-part, 47-minute promotional production documentary paying homage to the original trilogy and the movie-making process.
It covers topics such as the return of the legacy cast; a look at the gruesome underground dinosaur black market; creating and using practical puppet dinosaurs; the motorcycle chase in Malta; the animatronic return of the spitting Dimetrodon; bringing large, mutated locusts to life; the magic of John Nolan’s creature effects; a peek at the last day of shooting; and a sit-down with the cast.
Viewers also get the 2019, 10-minute short film “Battle at Big Rock” from Mr. Trevorrow that has a family on a camping trip encounter a clan of Triceratops fighting an Allosaurus around the campfire before the carnivore notices some tasty humans hiding in the RV. The effects are spectacular.
Additionally, a six-minute, far-too-short featurette expands on the special effects involved in creating the 40 species of dinosaurs seen in the film, including the new technology used to build and display digital feathers.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.