“Jurassic World Dominion” is sure to be a people-pleasing film. Combining characters from the original “Jurassic Park” series with later ones from the “Jurassic World” franchise, the movie delivers with some great dinosaur action. While slow to start, “Dominion” eventually finds its groove and leads to a rousing finale.

The picture begins with a montage of scenes of dinosaurs, now freely roaming the world, interacting, sometimes comically and sometimes negatively, with humans. The time is four years after the destruction seen in “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”

Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) now works to free dinosaurs being held in inhumane conditions. Her companion, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), captures wild dinosaurs to send to a sanctuary.

They live in a remote cabin with Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon). As audiences may recall, she is the cloned daughter of the deceased Charlotte Lockwood (portrayed in video footage by Elva Trill). Maisie is the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Lockwood.

Maisie is pretty much confined to the cabin grounds as she is being sought by unscrupulous characters who want her for her genetic uniqueness. Of course the now-teenage Maisie is having none of this and regularly bikes into town despite Claire and Owen’s objections.
Also on the scene is Owen’s velociraptor pal, Blue. Blue has given birth without a sperm donor to her youngster Beta.

In another story, Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) arrives at a farm that has been ravaged by giant locusts. She suspects that the international corporation Biosyn, led by the genius Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott), has developed these creatures who do not eat crops derived from Biosyn seed.

Biosyn was founded to use dinosaur genes for the betterment of mankind. It is a very profitable company. It has established a dinosaur sanctuary in the Dolomite Alps in Italy. As it turns out, Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is working for Biosyn as an on-site motivational speaker and ethical conscience.

Ellie visits Alan Grant (Sam Neill) at his current dig. She wants him to join her on a visit to Biosyn where she plans to get giant locust DNA to prove that Biosyn designed the giant locusts rampant around the world. Alan reluctantly agrees to go.

Maisie is predictably kidnapped as is Beta. Owen and Claire, using a CIA connection, discover that Maisie is on Malta, a site of illegal dinosaur trading. They set off in pursuit of her and Beta.

Ellie and Alan arrive to a hero’s welcome at Biosyn headquarters in the Alps. Ian slips Ellie a device that acts as a pass to the lower levels where the labs are.

After a series of shootouts and pursuit by dinosaurs, Claire and Owen fly to Biosyn without clearance to land with pilot Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise) where they crash-land.

Now at Biosyn, Maisie learns the truth about her, Blue and Beta’s genetics from Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong). What plan is afoot?

I came into this film wondering if it would be a post-apocalyptic feature with humans barely clinging to existence while the dinosaurs ran amok. So I was a little disappointed when the beginning montage of relatively mild dinosaur interactions were followed by business-as-usual character stories.

But I do believe that you should not judge a movie on what it might have been versus the finished product. The character story arcs do take some time to get going, leading to a slow start that may be boring for younger viewers (the picture is rated PG-13). The sad reality of what would occur with trafficking in dinosaurs if they existed is shown. Once the story moves to Malta and Biosyn, the dinosaur action picks up significantly.

I can comment, however, on the Star Trek red-shirt syndrome I saw evidenced in the film all the way to the end. I do not care for this as it is entirely unrealistic. There is one scene that is evocative of Paul Reiser’s fate in “Aliens” that I found eminently satisfying.

Speaking of which, you can assume that when it comes to action scenes that the laws of normal science and physics do not apply. Even with adrenaline pumped up to enhance human physiology, there is no way that people would survive certain situations. Belief must be suspended to lead to the inevitable survival of certain characters.

The visual effects are superb. These include mechanical ones, such as chases and crashes, as well as the depiction of the Jurassic World inhabitants. I truly enjoyed the feathered beast which I saw. The fight scenes between the larger behemoths is well-staged and edited. Human-dinosaur interactions are seamlessly portrayed.

The movie successfully manipulated my emotions as waves of nostalgia for the original characters wafted over me. It is great to see their storylines come full circle, especially for Ellie and Alan. While my feelings for the Jurassic World characters are not as strong, the film does an excellent job making clear the importance of family, whether birth-based or created. The occasional notes of the original Jurassic Park theme also swept me back in time and space.

No one is going to win an Academy Award for acting in this picture. But B.D. Wong’s sensitive portrayal of a conflicted Henry Wu stands out as a nuanced performance in very little screen time. The chemistry between couples Pratt/Howard and Dern/Neill is entirely believable. The velociraptor Blue’s continuing bond with Owen also carries over well from the previous films.

The set design for Biosyn is nicely done. The main campus gives the feel of how you imagine it must be like to be at a tech giant. The loop train and the interior of Kayla’s ramshackle plane deserve special mention.

Dinosaur sound effects are wonderfully concocted. One has to wonder about the level of research that goes into re-creating unknown vocalizations.

All in all, the story keeps you interested once it gets going. The conclusion, while leaving some uncertainty about what is in store for the world, ends with a note of hope. The wrapping up of characters’ arcs is very satisfying.

Three and a half out of five stars

This summer, experience the epic conclusion to the Jurassic era as two generations unite for the first time. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are joined by Oscar®-winner Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill in Jurassic World Dominion, a bold, timely and breathtaking new adventure that spans the globe.

From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow, Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been 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 on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.

Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, Justice Smith, Scott Haze, Dichen Lachman, Daniella Pineda
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Screenplay by: Emily Carmichael & Colin Trevorrow
Story by: Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow, based on characters created by Michael Crichton