It might be a few years until fans see another entry in the Jurassic Park series, as its second trilogy has come to an end with Jurassic World Dominion. The movie brought back originals Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm to team up with Owen Grady and Claire Dearing as they all looked to take down the corrupt Biosyn Genetics.
Interestingly enough, whether it’s the premise of the original film where the characters were trapped in Jurassic Park or the latest which is set around the world, every entry has had certain elements that are the same. It’s interesting to see how one Jurassic Park film is essentially the same as another even with different events happening within them and it’s taking a deeper look into this.
A T-Rex Chases After Someone
The T-rex is the mascot for the Jurassic Park franchise and is featured in every film. While the original T-rex, Rexy, sat out the second and third entries, there were still others from her species to fill the role of the chief terrorizer for the main characters.
The T-rex chase sequence in the original film remains iconic, which was repeated in Jurassic World when Claire was pursued by Rexy. Jurassic Park III had a cameo from a T-rex, but it still pursued the heroes until it was killed by a Spinosaurus. Jurassic World Dominion featured a variation of this trope, as the Rexy chased a Giganotosaurus rather than the humans.
Theme Of Unethical Technical Advancement Against Nature
This is one of the areas where the Jurassic World films have done better than Jurassic Park since the new trilogy has this aspect as its main premise. Still, every entry in the series has been about the ethical issue behind using genetics to create life that naturally went extinct.
Jurassic Park III had this least in focus, but the discovery of an InGen facility where they “played God” brought this issue up as well. Jurassic World movies took this to a greater extent, with the villains creating monstrous dinosaurs like the Indominus Rex and Indoraptor for nefarious reasons.
The Jurassic Park Theme Is Heard
Among the many Jurassic Park references present in Jurassic World Dominion was the franchise’s theme song, which has been heard in every entry. The Jurassic Park trilogy used the theme to indicate something momentous happening during a scene or to usher in a film’s climax.
The Jurassic World trilogy has incorporated the theme song purely for nostalgic reasons – it’s played whenever there’s a callback to the events of the Jurassic Park films. Jurassic World Dominion used the track the least, but it stirred up when Alan Grant was introduced as a way of referring to his role as the original film’s protagonist.
The Ending Is A Sprawling Wide Shot
The ending of a Jurassic Park film intends to leave viewers with a sense of wonder, which is achieved through a wide shot set to an upbeat tune. The first and third movies end with wide shots of the helicopters heading into the horizon after the heroes escape, while all the other movies have dinosaurs looking out over their environments.
This has worked out whether the film has an uplifting or a downer ending, with foreboding endings like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom showing Blue surveying the human world while happy endings like The Lost World having a pterodactyl content in the island along with the rest of the dinosaurs.
The Core Cast Survives
Fans should remember the important plot points for a Jurassic Park film before watching the next because the characters are carried forward. That comes down to the fact that the main protagonists never die in this series, which is remarkable for a six-film franchise.
The movies have featured casualties for major supporting characters like Eddie Carr and Udesky, but the core group of protagonists is 100% guaranteed to survive. Jurassic World Dominion solidified this aspect by bringing together all the heroes in the series and killing off none of them.
At Least One Child Confronts The Dinosaurs
There are plenty of brave children in the Jurassic Park series and there’s at least one kid protagonist in each entry. Moreover, the children have to contend with the dinosaurs directly, with sequences dedicated to showing their struggles to survive against these creatures.
The first film had Lex and Tim escaping the raptors; the second had Kelly actually fighting a raptor; the third had Eric surviving on the island by himself. Jurassic World featured Claire’s nephews overcoming several dinosaurs and the most recent two entries have had Maisie escaping the likes of the Indoraptor and Biosyn’s dinosaurs.
Romantic Tension Between Two Characters
The Jurassic Park series has never placed a romantic angle as its main selling point. Still, certain characters always have some sort of romantic tension each time around. It began with Alan and Ellie in the original, with Ian and Sarah taking over for the sequel, and the Kirbys for the third installment.
Claire and Owen became the first true couple in the series, with Jurassic World films featuring their relationship. The two had a “will they?/won’t they?” dynamic in the first two films before being steady by the latest entry – Alan and Ellie once again took over the romantic tension aspect in Jurassic World Dominion.
Someone Betrays The Group Or Their Friend
Betrayals are to be expected in each film, which can happen en mass or to certain characters. Dennis Nedry began the trend when he sold everyone out for Lewis Dodgson’s money. The Lost World featured the betrayal of Peter Ludlow who took over John Hammond’s company. Jurassic Park III had Billy betraying Alan’s trust when he stole raptor eggs.
Jurassic World has carried more sinister individuals, with InGen security head Vic Hoskins betraying the company by attempting to use the dinosaurs as weapons, and Benjamin Lockwood’s assistant Eli Mills killing him to gain control of the dinosaurs. Jurassic World Dominion had an interesting twist, as the villainous Dodgson was betrayed by Ramsay Cole as part of the latter’s plan to expose Biosyn’s illicit activities.
Family Members Become Involved In The Conflict
There hasn’t been any Jurassic Park film that hasn’t contained family members, with these characters becoming close as a result of their experience in dangerous situations. These have ranged from Jurassic Park trilogy siblings Lex and Tim, father and daughter Ian and Kelly, and the Kirbys and their son Eric.
Jurassic World kicked things off with Claire looking after her nephews, while the following two have had Claire and Owen become embroiled in the conflict along with their adoptive daughter Maisie. The family members usually begin the films at odds with each other but overcome the dinosaurs together to ultimately get on the same page.
A Cruel And Unusual Dinosaur Death
Being devoured by a dinosaur is relatively formulaic stuff for a series that has more than dozens of different species of these creatures. However, every film has at least one demise that is designed to make viewers cringe at the brutality on display.
This has ranged from Dennis Nedry being devoured by the Dilophosaurus in the first Jurassic Park to Ken Wheatley’s gruesome and bloody dismemberment by the Indoraptor in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Jurassic World Dominion paid tribute to Nedry’s death by featuring Dodgson’s death by as many as three Dilophosauruses.
