‘Jurassic World Dominion’: Scientists Explain What the Movie Gets Right About the Dinosaurs
Actors such as Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Chris Pratt have been instrumental in bringing the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies to life, but the dinosaurs are nearly as important. The special effects in Jurassic World Dominion bring several species of dinosaurs to life. Some movies take creative liberties with the science, but Dominion gets quite a bit right with its dinosaurs, according to two scientists.
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ has a list of dinosaurs unlike any of the previous movies
Dern, Goldblum, and Neill reunite in the same movie in the series for the first time since the 1993 original. Dominion gives us a human cast unlike any of the previous Jurassic movies, and the list of dinosaurs we see on screen is also unlike any of the previous entries.
Jurassic World Dominion includes the Allosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Atrociraptor, Compsognathus, Lystrosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Mosasaurus, Parasaurolophus, and Gallimimus among its dinosaurs. Audiences also get to see Dreadnoughtus, Quetzalcoatlus, Oviraptor, Nasutoceratops, Moros Intrepidus, Iguanodon, and Giganotosaurus.
Dominion isn’t as accurate as a textbook regarding its dino depictions, but two paleontologists believe the movie gets quite a bit right.
What ‘Dominion’ gets right with its dinosaur depictions, according to scientists
The final installment of the Jurassic World trilogy may not be 100% scientifically sound, but there’s a lot director Colin Trevorrow got right about the dinosaurs in Dominion.
For example, seeing dinosaurs stampede through the snow isn’t movie fiction. Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh, says some dinos lived in colder climates, per Live Science.
The raptor Blue’s motherly instincts are also true to real life, as Brusatte told Live Science.
“We actually have fossil parents sitting on their nests protecting their eggs — very sadly, protecting their eggs from, like, sandstorms and floods that ended up burying them.”
Dominion isn’t as factual as a textbook, but it accurately depicts several of the dinosaurs. Kenneth Lacovara, a professor of paleontology at New Jersey’s Rowan University and founding dean of its School of Earth and Environment, discovered and named the Dreadnoughtus. He watched with a scientist’s eye and dissected how Trevorrow got it right with that dinosaur.
“I really like how muscular the legs are, and you can see those wide sternal plates there separating the chest. They had a very wide-gauge stance,” Lacovara told Live Science. “I like also how the body is mostly parallel with the ground … It looks massive, it looks powerful, it doesn’t look particularly friendly. This is how I imagine Dreadnoughtus to be.”
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ audience score, news about a post-credits scene, and what’s next for the franchise
Dominion gets a lot right about its dinosaurs. Whether or not viewers notice is up for debate, but the movie scores fairly well with its audience. Professional critics aren’t too keen on it, but the audience scores Dominion 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans want to know if there’s a scene after the credits in Dominion. The movie concludes the Jurassic World trilogy, and there is no post-credits scene.
This installment brings the story arc for Chris Pratt’s Owen and Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire to an end, but there might be more Jurassic movies.
In one interview, Pratt compared Jurassic World to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with its potential to continue evolving with new characters, and he left the door open for his return if the franchise moves forward. Producer Frank Marshall told Collider (via SyFy) that Dominion marks the start of a new era.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens next with the Jurassic movies, but Dominion is a satisfying send-off, at least for the audience. And despite the mixed reviews from critics and fans, at least Dominion’s filmmakers got a lot right with their dinosaurs.
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