Jurassic World Dominion (Extended Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern

Release Date: August 16, 2022

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Complete the incredible journey that began with Jurassic Park as two generations unite to fight for the future in Jurassic World Dominion. The epic film is now available with a never-before-seen Extended Version, as the breathtaking battle between humanity and the prehistoric past gets even bigger. Roaring with more dinosaurs, more spectacular action, exclusive moments with iconic characters, and the restored prologue, this colossal cut brings home the definitive experience of Jurassic World Dominion’s unforgettable adventure.

Please Note: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Two worlds collide in ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ which follows the events of all three ‘Jurassic Park’ films, as well as ‘Jurassic World’ and ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’. It’s a drastically different world now as humans and other modern animals must share our world with dinosaurs. Rejoining the key heroes from the original film and the previous two installments, the two groups each separately find themselves drawn to the home base of a massive company with sinister agendas. There they will have to eventually join forces to find a way around the high tech security and the surrounding dinosaur preserve in order to stop a massive new threat that the company may be responsible for and could mean the end of humanity as they know it if allowed to continue.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed) from a screenplay that he also co-wrote with Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim: Uprising), from a story by Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, Trevorrow does a pretty good job at the helm of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ and while the story suffers throughout at times, he still keeps all of the action, dinosaur appearances and the rest looking stylish and spectacular. The film’s cast features numerous returning individuals from the previous five films as well as a few newcomers and includes Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Bryce Dallas Howard (Rocketman), Laura Dern (Jurassic Park), Jeff Goldblum (The Lost World: Jurassic Park), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park III), DeWanda Wise (Fatherhood), Mamoudou Athie (Underwater), BD Wong (TV’s Mr. Robot) and Omar Sy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) along with more, the majority each providing solid and capable enough performances for the most part in their respective roles.

‘Jurassic World Dominion’ is definitely an enjoyable ride that’s loaded with action-packed fun, gorgeous set-pieces and certainly no shortage of visually breathtaking splendor to behold throughout. The film also brings back the three key characters from the original ‘Jurassic Park’ which will surely have many fans of the franchise understandably excited after all of these years, but even with these positives benefiting the latest installment, it also has plenty of problems that too frequently pull it down. While the return of the original leads is undeniably exciting, it unfortunately also creates a problem in itself which is how to give all of these characters their share of screen time while still being able to craft a logical and coherent story for these two worlds to collide and it repeatedly struggles to do so, even with the 2 hour and 40 minute runtime of the Extended Edition.

The thrilling fun and excitement are definitely present here and the dinosaurs look better and more realistic than ever before most of the time, with some action sequences that are thrilling, well-crafted and almost certain to slap a grin on your face. The jumbled storyline and the overstuffed plot due to a few too many characters being focused on this time around don’t do the film any favors though and are hard to ignore as things get a bit silly and illogical while the story desperately tries to find a reason to get these two groups together by any means necessary. Fans should still have a great deal of fun with this new film but I would try to avoid going in expecting something outstanding or up there with the best of the franchise because you’re likely to be disappointed with the result.

The Extended Edition of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ included on the release also offers fourteen minutes of additional footage reinserted into the film which in a number of instances helps to create a better flow for some of the movie, as well as extending a handful of scenes throughout. Perhaps most notable is that it restores the original prologue to the film which is a far better opening than the theatrical cut, especially considering how breathtaking the return to the original Jurassic era looks and the meticulously crafted prologue honestly just might be one of the most stunning segments of the film as a whole. The extended version also offers a bit more dialogue at times and some more casual moments that help to better introduce and reintroduce us to some of the characters before things really start moving. It may not result in a thoroughly different experience or a significantly better film, but it definitely does improve upon elements of it, especially with the superior opening being restored.

Overall, ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ is a fun, fast paced and visually spectacular ride that brings back numerous characters from the original films. It may suffer from its share of troubles such as a story that can get a bit silly and is somewhat overstuffed with balancing so many characters, but is nonetheless definitely still worth giving a chance if you enjoy the franchise. ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ is definitely recommended if you’re a fan of the Jurassic sagas. It may be one of the more inferior entries in the series but the thrilling action, stunning visuals and the truly impressive dinosaurs alone all add up to more than enough to reason to check this one out if you haven’t yet done so. It should at least be worth a few hours of your time and the price of a rental when convenient. It’s also available for Peacock subscribers to stream at no additional cost.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.00:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular and provides a clean, smooth and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that holds up great even during the numerous darkly lit and/or fast moving moments throughout without ever suffering from any unexpected issues along the way. The detail looks immaculate across the board from the skin of the dinosaurs to the details on the human characters including everything from clothing to facial features. The Dolby Vision addition really excels it all to near perfection and provides a visually stunning collection of rich, vibrant colors with deep and seemingly endless blacks on the other end. Overall, this is a magnificent Ultra High Definition video presentation from Universal that shouldn’t have any trouble thrilling fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a DTS:X (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite marvelous in its own right and delivers a clean, booming and consistently immersive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send action effects, vehicles and dinosaurs along with nature effects and crowd chatter, plus a whole lot more regularly whipping throughout the various speakers, while also offering plenty of opportunities for the bass to shake the walls along the way; all while never conflicting with any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a wonderful DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that is an absolute treat from start to finish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ includes a number of notable extras in addition to the inclusion of both the ‘Theatrical Version’ and the ‘Extended Edition’ of the film itself. Included on the release is the ‘Battle at Big Rock’ Short Film (running approximately 10 minutes in length), along with some Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the film to life, featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus more. The included Featurettes are ‘A New Breed of FX’ (running approximately 6 minutes), along with ‘Dinosaurs Among Us: Inside Jurassic World Dominion’ which consists of the five additional Featurettes ‘Together for the First Time’ (5 minutes), ‘Underground Dino Market’ (5 minutes), ‘Mayhem in Malta’ (4 minutes), ‘Final Night’ (7 minutes) and ‘Scary Real Animatronics’ which itself is also broken down into five segments (running approximately 25 minutes combined).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6.5/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘Jurassic World Dominion’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Amblin Entertainment & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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