Jurassic World Dominion

Once again, mere humans are upstaged by their scaly prehistoric adversaries in Jurassic World Dominion, which continues the 30-year-old dinosaur franchise with another convoluted exercise in big-budget spectacle over emotional substance.

Despite some eye-popping, adrenaline-fueled action sequences, the latest sequel — and the third film since Jurassic Park transitioned to Jurassic World — is overall more familiar than fresh. The raptors and T-rexes are still as menacing as ever, but now they are treated as more generic apex predators without the distinct sense of awe or wonder they once inspired.

With dinosaurs now freely roaming the Earth after the destruction of their self-contained island habitat, activist Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and raptor trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) find their lives particularly stressful.

This installment finds them targeting a biotech mogul (Campbell Scott) with a compound in the Italian Alps housing various species and research activities meant to cover for his more nefarious dealings.

The suspicions eventually attract the attention of botanist Ellie (Laura Dern) and paleontologist Alan (Sam Neill), as well as brash scientist Ian (Jeff Goldblum), who tried to subdue the dino threat in the original Jurassic Park. Now the humans are on the verge of extinction.

The screenplay co-written by returning director Colin Trevorrow offers mindless mainstream entertainment at its core, emphasizing constant mayhem while maximizing the confrontations between man and beast. It strings together progressively far-fetched, death-defying escapes, building toward an elaborate final showdown with the fate of the world ostensibly in the balance.

As you would expect, it’s slick and stylish with seamless visual effects and immaculate creature renderings. One highlight involves a harrowing car chase involving some particularly nimble and ravenous carnivores navigating some narrow Maltese streets.

There’s nostalgic value in seeing some aspects of the Jurassic franchise come full circle, although old and new are awkwardly weaved together. Neill, Dern, and Goldblum nevertheless provide a spark with their throwback playful banter and nonchalant heroics.

However, the story doesn’t explore any meaningful new territory compared to its predecessors, whether it’s the logistics of humans and dinosaurs coexisting, the ethics of interfering with evolution and natural selection, or the battle between conservation and corporate greed.

Dominion might be the end of a trilogy, but the juggernaut franchise will never become extinct. Sometimes you wish the filmmakers would just ditch the script and let Darwin sort everything out.

Rated PG-13, 146 minutes.