Four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed, dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators ona planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.
30 Sep Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Ancient Chase DNA
What I find curious is how franchises become more ordinary over time. This is far from an original observation in terms of world construction and story. It makes sense to reuse these, because that defines the franchise. So we get the same basic world, same bad guys and situations (here amplified a bit) and same actor/characters.
The thing of interest to me is the basic anchoring of imagination in the actual cinematic machinery. The first film had all the Spielberg weaknesses, but he knows how to use the camera and the space to get the effect in our bodies he is looking for. The craft of ‘Park’ was great, even allowing for the limits of the then young technology.
Now, the ability to extend those skills with the new tech should give us ever more visceral engagement. But these films are designed and produced by data driven committees.
The metaphor I cannot escape is that committees like this rely on history, old DNA if you will. As an example, there is a motorcycle chase midway in the film. The tech used is compositing by simple layers, the same as in the decades old original. Compare this to the motorcycle event in ‘John Wick 3’ where all sorts of immersive techniques are employed.
Wick is great, and will be a vital franchise because every instalment uses or advances the latest in the art. Jurassic is long dead cinematically, staying alive only because it feeds the theme park business. And even that is an ancient experience compared to what Disney pulls off with ‘Star Wars’.
Posted in 2022
Ted’s Evaluation — 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
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