The Jurassic franchise has been a staple of the creature-feature genre since Steven Spielberg’s technology pioneering blockbuster hit screens in 1993. Since then we’ve seen all sorts of crazy dinosaurs, colourful characters and epic set-pieces as the series has evolved through the decades, culminating in the recently released Jurassic World Dominion. Here we take you through a ranking 65 million years in the making, to crown the apex predator of Jurassic films.
6. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Dominion is the worst of the Jurassic franchise by about 65 million years and it’s not even close. What should have been a slam-dunk of a premise – dinosaurs finally unleashed upon the world and forced to interact with humanity – is completely squandered by returning director Colin Trevorrow, who instead gives us a story about a devastating locust plague. Just about everything else that could elevate that awful premise also drops the ball, as the returning trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum are forced into half-baked corporate espionage scenarios before being completely shoved to the side.
What makes this culmination of the franchise sting so much is the lack of respect for the dinosaurs. They barely register as anything more than plot devices, cropping up to give Chris Pratt’s Owen and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire obstacles to overcome as they search the globe for their newly adopted daughter Maisie (Isabella Sermon). Far too much of Dominion is spent tackling the existential crisis of this young girl coming to terms with her genetically altered creation and, along with the locusts, works to reinforce a line spoken in Jurassic World that the filmmakers now seem to believe themselves: “people don’t care about dinosaurs anymore”. Only we do, and Dominion seems hellbent on wasting them every chance it gets.
5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Under the mantle of director J. A. Bayona and an approach that breaks all the franchise norms, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom unfortunately fails to find much success with its renewed outlook. In what feels like the first of two competing halves of separate films, returning heroes Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are called upon to help protect the creatures they narrowly escaped from in their previous outing, as a volcano threatens to wipe out all prehistoric life remaining on the troubled island Isla Nublar. This opening is substantially better than the second half of the film, which meshes much of the better parts of the previous films while stripping back much of the unnecessary baggage.
The hardest pill to swallow comes in the form of the large tonal shift during the third act, which comes from a left turn into shady black market dealings, undercutting a more horror-focused haunted house adventure. As one complete film, this transition is rather jarring and isn’t helped by the cast of forgettable faces struggling to assist Pratt and Dallas Howard in keeping the film afloat. Toss in a needlessly bizarre plot twist and another big bad dinosaur hybrid that only exists for a big final showdown, and you’re not left with too much to recommend here. It does still have its redeeming moments, but Fallen Kingdom suffers from such an identity crisis in the two stories it wants to tell that it ends up struggling to find its footing in either.
4. Jurassic World (2015)
Jurassic World marked a fresh start for the franchise, over 20 years after the 1993 classic that started it all. Riding a much hyped wave of nostalgia, World made the most of every opportunity to appeal to long-time fans while attempting to lay the foundations for a new trilogy that would capture a new audience. It succeeds for the most part in the fan-service department, with several obvious nods to the original trilogy scattered throughout and the sweeping familiar soundtrack flourishes underpinning many of the film’s bigger moments. Yet despite succeeding as a decent celebration of the franchise, Jurassic World struggles to justify its existence and move the story forward in meaningful ways.
The plot here functions as a carbon copy of the original Jurassic Park – two siblings inexplicably become lost in a prehistoric safari, before forming a bond with a charismatic pair of dinosaur experts as they each confront their fears and weaknesses in order to escape. The problem here is that none of these pieces seem to gel together when the story plays out on screen. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are serviceable leads, however each of them struggle to muster enough charisma to carry the film and their chemistry is almost non-existent. Claire’s nephews, Zack (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins), have a contentious and troubled relationship that simply ceases to be a problem when the going gets tough, and each character very much ends the film where they began. Just about every other side character fails to leave a lasting impression, save for a woefully underused Vincent D’Onofrio as a slimy proponent for dinosaurs in the military. A fun time for a shot of concentrated nostalgia but one that fails to recapture the magic of the 1993 original.
3. Jurassic Park III (2001)
The forgotten Jurassic film, Joe Johnston’s third instalment in the franchise (and first post-Spielberg) is largely successful in recycling elements of the first two films to create a fun if forgettable sequel that never stops delivering in terms of sheer thrills per minute. Tricked into aiding the quirky Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and his loud ex-wife Amanda (Téa Leoni) search for their missing son Eric (Trevor Morgan) on Isla Sorna, Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) is none too pleased to once again be face to face with the creatures that caused him hell so many years ago.
Unlike Spielberg’s films, Johnston isn’t shy about his dinosaurs and doesn’t waste any time showing them off, preferring to constantly assault the viewer with chase scenes and close calls in a bid to make them as fatigued as the central characters. It’s a different approach that works more than it doesn’t but bizarre plot choices – the infamous “Alan” and the repetition of the lucky pack and dino poop ideas among them – and a failure to really develop anyone hamper an otherwise good time. The film also marked the first time the series made the cardinal sin of ousting the T-Rex as king of the jungle, introducing a Spinosaurus that, whilst featuring some terrifying practical effects, never clicked with fans. Still, try going more than a day after watching without inadvertently humming the “Kirby Paint and Tile Plus” jingle. Look out John Williams, you’ve got competition.
2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Often unfairly given a bad rap compared to its iconic predecessor, The Lost World is a fantastic sequel in its own right; one which expands the series’ scope and sets up some of the best set-pieces in the entire franchise. When John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) reveals to Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) the existence of a second dinosaur filled island and drops the bombshell that Malcolm’s own girlfriend, Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore) has been sent to survey the site, he jumps to the rescue, with a young Vince Vaughan in tow, no less. Once there the group must contend with a rival team sent to strip the island of the dinosaurs, alongside the usual carnivores, in a desperate bid for survival.
You could argue that the sudden existence of a second island is a cheap excuse for a sequel and that The Lost World is simply more of the same, but to do so would be to ignore how hard Spielberg tries to differentiate his sequel from the first film, shifting the action to San Diego for a fun monster movie-inspired sequence and furthering the commentary on animal rights and preservation. Goldblum cements his Ian Malcolm as the true star of the franchise, with his trademark snarky wit stepped up here along with a newfound paternal instinct for daughter Kelly (Vanessa Chester). He has something to lose this time around, and that makes for a much more interesting lead. The Lost World is Spielberg expanding on one of his greatest films with an adventure that shows him furthering his talents for tension and expertly crafted action; another gritty, in-the-weeds adventure that is a far cry from the sterilised banality and exhausting world ending stakes of the Jurassic World films.
1. Jurassic Park (1993)
It doesn’t matter how big or vicious subsequent films made the genetically modified dinosaurs, nothing can top the original that proved a less-is-more approached was the perfect way to capture the wonder and terror of dinosaurs brought back to life. The 1993 original introduced the world to Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill’s iconic scientists as they explore the recently developed Jurassic Park; created by the wealthy John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) who spared no expense in his quest to revive dinosaurs from their extinction.
Spielberg takes his time introducing even the concept of a dinosaur, let alone the teeth-filled carnage that follows, allowing the audience to form a connection with the group who venture out into the park before things go terribly wrong. It’s apparent to the audience that Spielberg is just as giddily excited to bring these creatures to life as we the audience are to see them, treating them with a reverence and wonder that bely the horrifying experiences set to befall our heroes.
And from the moment that T-Rex escapes its enclosure he is on a mission to deliver nothing but non-stop thrills as this unfortunate group is thrown into a desperate struggle for survival against nature’s most effective killing machines. Jurassic Park isn’t only a great stride forward for cinematic technology or a ferociously effective thriller; it’s also a pivotal event in the childhoods of so many movie-goers, a spectacle from a time when CGI was in its infancy and the thought of seeing a fully realised, realistic dinosaur on screen was pure fantasy. Leave it to none other than Steven Spielberg to make that fantasy a reality.