As someone who clearly loves his movies, the idea of extended editions or director’s cuts sounds really good on paper. However, I’ve seen a number of cases where having an extended version of the film makes it feel bloated. I loved the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but they really didn’t add a whole lot to the overall story. It was mostly character development and longer scenes of epic battle sequences. That’s all well and good, but I got the same amount of enjoyment from watching the theatrical versions. If a movie is really good enough, it doesn’t actually NEED those extended versions. There IS the rare case when an extended or director’s cut actually improves the film in not insignificant ways. Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven is a perfect example of that. It reintroduced plot elements that made the film more fleshed out and give characters proper motivations for what they did. Well, yesterday I bought Jurassic World Dominion on Blu-Ray. This release comes with TWO versions of the movie. You have the theatrical version and then you have the extended edition which includes 14 minutes of additional footage re-edited into the picture.
In my review of Dominion, I had issues with the narrative structure. A lot of it didn’t make a lot of sense as it felt that stuff was cut out to bring the run-time down. There were also some transitional sequences that didn’t quite work as well as they should have. One of my other complaints was that the movie was TOO loud. I think that must have been the theater’s sound system, because it gave me a splitting head-ache that probably affected my enjoyment of the movie to an extent. Well, having seen the extended version of Dominion, I can honestly say that I actually like this movie quite a bit more. There’s a number of reasons. First off, the opening prologue that takes place 65 million years ago was restored. This was shown as an advertisement for the film in IMAX theaters, but it never made into the actual movie. First of all, it sets up a 65 million year grudge between the T-Rex and the Giganotosaurus at the end of the film. This opening sequence shifted the focus of the film from the genetically engineered super-locust story-line back to the dinosaurs a bit. Now, that locust story-line still isn’t that great, but it’s pushed to the side a bit more, and allows for a bit more character development in certain scenes. There was quite a bit that was cut out of the film, which includes a bunch of smaller scenes of dialogue between key characters. There’s also a bit more dinosaur action on display. Some of the transitional sequences that I was complaining about were fixed. The movie overall has a much better flow to it. It’s more cohesive and less “bumpy.”
Overall, I would actually say that the extended version of Jurassic World Dominion IS the better version to watch. That said, a lot of the issues that I had with the film to begin with are still there. The locust story-line was very on the nose and it didn’t need to be. Some of the characters just aren’t that good like Lewis Dodgson. Obvious villain is obvious. I realize that the Jurassic World movies were pretty blatant about their call-backs to the original Jurassic Park, but some of it really didn’t quite work for me, and they still don’t. The film’s director recently tweeted out that “friends don’t let friends watch the theatrical cut.” I have to agree. The extended cut is, as far as I’m concerned, the definitive version of the film to watch. Does it make it a perfect movie? No, I would still argue that Dominion is the weakest of the Jurassic World movies and the franchise deserved a much better ending. I’ve found the Jurassic World Dominion extended cut to be pretty decent. Not great, but it’s a hell of a lot better than what we got in theaters. That’s MY observation. Also, just to reiterate: Seeing Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum on screen together again will NEVER get old. So, yeah, Jurassic World Dominion is now available on streaming, DVD/Blu-Ray and 4k. If you didn’t like the movie at all, it might not change your mind, but if you’re willing to give it a second chance, like I did, it might surprise you. Check it out.