All 6 ‘Jurassic Park’ Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
The Jurassic Park franchise has experienced highs and lows since it debuted in 1993. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to life and revolutionized visual effects in movies. After the third movie, the franchise experienced a gap before Jurassic World gave it new life.
Now, there are a total of six movies in the Jurassic franchise and it has become one of the most successful franchises ever. Jurassic World Dominion is the concluding chapter, but this franchise may not be extinct just yet.
Here are the 6 ‘Jurassic Park’ movies ranked from worst to best
6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has a promising start as new characters Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) attempt to rescue the dinosaurs from Isla Nublar before it gets destroyed by a volcano. However, once they leave the island, this movie becomes too ridiculous for its own good. The plot then becomes intertwined with a hilariously absurd scheme to sell dinosaurs on the black market.
There is also a new genetically-enhanced dinosaur, proving that people learned nothing from the previous film. In addition to the nonsensical narrative, characters make some of the dumbest decisions that only serve to push the plot forward in ways that go past suspending a sense of disbelief. The dinosaur action is ok and director J.A. Bayona tries his best to portray the creatures in interesting ways. Unfortunately, no amount of fun dinosaur mayhem can make up for the terrible script.
5. Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III is the most forgotten movie in this series and for good reason. While Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) returns, it’s wasted in a bland and rather pointless story. Alan Grant visits the island of Isla Sorna with a couple who is looking for their son. While there, the group is attacked by several dinosaurs including a Spinosaurus and Pteranodons.
The Spinosaurus is a rather menacing dinosaur and does create a few suspenseful moments. The Pteranadon is also a memorable sequence that gives the franchise something new. However, the new characters are dull and there isn’t much about the movie that is emotionally compelling. The dinosaurs are still great, but we need to be invested in the characters who are running from them and that just isn’t here.
4. Jurassic World Dominion
Jurassic World Dominion is false advertising at its finest. The end of Fallen Kingdom promised a new world where dinosaurs and humans coexist. While that’s explored at the beginning of the movie, it doesn’t deliver on this promise and becomes another series of characters running from dinos in a lab or in the woods. There is also a bizarre subplot that decides to focus more on locusts than on dinosaurs.
However, Dominion does rise above Fallen Kingdom in some ways. Yes, there are still ridiculous things that happen, but the characters are more enjoyable and the action is more exciting. The return of the original Jurassic Park cast also brings the movie many delightful and nostalgic moments. The second act does almost kill the movie by diving more into the convoluted plot, but there are enough exciting dinosaur moments to make the movie entertaining enough.
3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World and Fallen Kingdom do have a lot of similarities, but The Lost World has Steven Spielberg to give it a boost. Seeing Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm is great and Spielberg proves that he is still the best at directing intense dinosaur chases. The T-Rex and Velociraptors can be horrifying in the hands of Spielberg. There are some more goofy moments, like a girl kicking a dinosaur out of a window, but Spielberg still makes most of the movie intriguing.
Where The Lost World loses itself is in its narrative. InGen is back and is trying to move the dinosaurs to a zoo in San Diego. Again, the villains have learned nothing and are blinded by their greed. Although, thanks to them, there is an awesome sequence of a T-rex running around San Diego and the suburbs. Jurassic World Dominion should have taken some notes.
2. Jurassic World
Jurassic World is the beginning of the transition from simple dinosaur adventures to blockbuster action movies with dinosaurs. However, Jurassic World is still highly entertaining. The spectacle is engaging and the introduction of the Indominus Rex provides a new threat that viewers haven’t seen before. Pratt and Howard are also welcome additions to the franchise.
The film also has a surprising level of clever satire that shows how business decisions would affect how the world sees dinosaurs. There is a fully-realized version of the park that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) wanted to build. The idea of people getting bored by dinosaurs so they have to create new ones is interesting and the movie is very aware of itself being a cash grab. There are several ridiculous subplots that do take away from its simple premise, but Jurassic World remains a good time.
1. Jurassic Park
This is by far the best entry in this franchise and it’s not really close. Spielberg revolutionized the industry with Jurassic Park and it remains an almost perfect blockbuster almost 30 years later. The cast is great, the action is great, and the effects are great. The animatronic dinosaurs mixed with CGI effects still look fantastic to this day.
The T-Rex encounter is a perfect movie moment that showcases how brilliantly Spielberg can balance suspense, thrills, and action. It’s also endlessly quotable, especially with the way Goldblum delivers his lines. It’s a shame that none of the other movies could capture the magic of Jurassic Park, but not many movies come close to being this good.
