Back in 1993, Jurassic Park took the world by storm. It gave birth to a hidden fear we all had of genetically revived dinosaurs, which likely scarred a generation. Not as bad as Jaws, but still. Traumas aside, this series has been one of the most beloved in the media, spawning six movies, a lot of TV shows, a few video games, and even LEGO sets. But for now, I’ll focus only on the films, which, let’s face it, are the ones we remember the most. With Jurassic World Rebirth on the horizon, I’ve taken the monumental task of ranking all Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies from worst to best. I’ll eventually see where Rebirth fits.
6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Let’s start with the weakest of them all: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. See, Jurassic World had great moments. It was an over-the-top way to revive a beloved franchise. Even if I had my gripes with the first one, I still think it is among the best. The sequel, however, is the absolute worst of the series for many, many reasons.
First, it doesn’t innovate on the formula. In a way, it is The Lost Kingdom: Jurassic World all over again, albeit much worse. You have the cast of characters going to an island to save a few dinosaurs, but then an evil organization steals them and takes them to civilization. The Lost World did it much better. It brought a T-Rex to San Francisco. The Fallen Kingdom just didn’t surprise me at all. It brought a new dinosaur, but it wasn’t as scary as the Indominous (not that we need these dinos in the first place), and the rotten cherry on top: the ending. Who in their right mind thinks freeing dinosaurs is a good idea just because the kid is a clone? The girl doesn’t eat people; dinosaurs do! Overall, it was a terrible movie and the worst of the bunch.
5. Jurassic Park 3
“Alan!” said the velociraptor. That should be enough to tell you why Jurassic Park 3 is all the way back here. It isn’t as bad as Jurassic World 2, but it had some questionable moments and many decisions that go against fans of the franchise. Once again, there’s another kid trapped on an island; Universal brought Dr. Grant for that shot of nostalgia. Everything looked like it would be a great hit. It wasn’t.
I will admit that there were many highlights. For instance, the camerawork and new locales were amazing. That scene with the pterodactyls is among my favorites in the franchise due to its execution. However, the plot wasn’t that great. Also, the third and, at the time, seemingly last Jurassic Park movie ended on a sad note. For better or worse, Jurassic World revived the universe, but at what cost?
4. Jurassic World Dominion
Like the third Jurassic Park movie, Jurassic World Dominion doesn’t do much to move the needle. The only good thing about it is the inclusion of the original cast; then again, it also looks like a cry for help. We already knew the previous film was terrible, and if the 2000s have taught us anything, it is that if it’s broken, it adds nostalgia. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to fix it.
Beyond the unnecessary teenage drama, the obliteration of Claire as a character, and a plot that is weaker than any of the fences in Jurassic Park, there isn’t a lot going for this one. It has a few salvageable bits, though. We see the dino shenanigans globally, and the scenes are well-directed with superb VFX. Also, there are many new dinosaurs that look great on screen, and we’re always glad to have more of that.
3. Jurassic World
Jurassic World as a franchise has been divisive in many ways. On the one hand, it was great to see the universe modernized and with a new cast. However, the whole dinosaur smoothie thing that the Indominous was felt out of place. Then again, it was the punchline for the new park, and, ironically, it also showed a key issue with Hollywood nowadays: mixing new things with a beloved franchise doesn’t work most of the time. But in the most poetic way, the good old T-Rex was there to fix the day.
Complaints aside, it was a solid film. It had great pacing, excellent special effects, everyone’s favorite velociraptor, and a world-renowned dino-tamer. It was also great to see a functional park and watch the chaos unfold as the people running Jurassic World make the same mistakes as those working for Hammond.
2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The second Jurassic Park film was pretty great, as it explored different topics of this universe, or rather, saw them from a different perspective. Dr. Malcom took the spotlight, and as a character we all loved from the first film, it was great to have more of him. Again, the family drama was a bit much and hurt the movie’s pacing in many ways, but it had some of the best moments of the franchise, including the scariest velociraptor scene of all.
However, what made it great was the movie moving its setting to an actual city. Previously, we thought dinosaurs would be exclusive to the island environments. But we never expected to see the magnificent T-Rex roaming the streets at night. As a kid (yes, my parents made the mistake of allowing me to watch this), I was now afraid of a T-Rex appearing outside of my window. It really showed the scale of these creatures and the danger they could pose to our society if they existed now.
1. Jurassic Park
You all knew I had to leave the best for the end, and yes, that’s Jurassic Park. Nothing will ever beat the scene of the cast entering the park for the first time or the moment the long-neck dinosaurs appear on screen. Despite its age, Jurassic Park still features some of the best special effects around and has become an absolute cult classic.
It was strange to see how the franchise derailed after one film, but the first one will always be remembered fondly by many. The T-Rex chases, the velociraptors in the kitchen, shirtless Malcolm, and many more things have become part of the movie culture. I don’t think we’ll ever have something of this quality, but at least it kicked off a franchise that, for better or worse, keeps giving us dino adventures, even if they are looking like Fast & Furious with each new entry.
