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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Jurassic World: Dominion (Michael Giacchino)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you trust Michael Giacchino to provide a competent,
respectful, and occasionally engaging combination of his and John
Williams' prior scores in the franchise with newly electronic and ethnic
enhancements.
Avoid it... if you expect Giacchino to match the majestic scope, thematic memorability, and solid narrative structure of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, a clearly superior alternative to this entry.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Jurassic World: Dominion: (Michael Giacchino) The
appeal of Michael Crichton's original 1990's concept behind the stories
of Jurassic Park was rooted not just in the intrigue of the
resurrection of dinosaurs but the thrill of imagining a visit to an
amusement park or zoo full of them. As the franchise of movies based on
that concept deviated from its core attraction, so too did the
uniqueness of its premise. By 2022's Jurassic World: Dominion,
the conclusive entry in the second trilogy of movies, writer and
director Colin Trevorrow had completely lost those roots, steering the
franchise towards a hybrid between Planet of the Apes and
Godzilla sequels that rehash with pointless repetition the clash
between contemporary human culture and something fantastical. The
selling point of Jurassic World: Dominion is the reunion of the
primary cast of 1993's Jurassic Park and the leads of the
Jurassic World follow-ups, and they unite to expose an evil
Mediterranean corporation, Biosyn, that is using dinosaur DNA to
engineer locusts that threaten to destabilize worldwide crops better
than a dictator like Vladimir Putin could ever accomplish. The tale is a
rather pedestrian rescue and chase entry that, despite more callbacks to
the original 1993 film, failed to convince critics and audiences of its
worthiness. No matter how many of these films are cloned for the
purposes of profit, the magic of Crichton's initial idea cannot be
recaptured. The film's plot afforded franchise veteran Michael Giacchino
a chance to balance character themes and rambunctious action in his
music with a little more worldly flair, leaving behind much of the
fantasy element that dominated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and
the origins of the concept. Suspense is also no longer of much use by
this point, either, leaving the music of Jurassic World: Dominion
as a somewhat detached entry dedicated to conversational underscore and
sustained action sequences all trying to balance a wealth of accumulated
concept themes.
Giacchino is no stranger to these sequel situations, having adapted existing identities into major franchise continuations more than anyone else in Hollywood history. He's not always the best at this task, unfortunately, and if Jurassic World: Dominion is indeed the send-off for this franchise, then don't expect the music to reflect any satisfying sense of closure. He remains mindful of the necessary balance between his own existing musical character and that of John Williams in this case, but his handling of the ever-expanding complexities of their combination is only basically adequate in Jurassic World: Dominion. This score is at a disadvantage because of the outstanding narrative of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which not only introduced monumentally memorable new themes for its own plot but made smart use of Williams' identities as well. By comparison, Jurassic World: Dominion is a defocused work with inadequate new thematic constructs and poor narrative flow despite its generally high quality of writing and, surprisingly for Giacchino, a well-rounded recording. On the other hand, there are some truly intelligent and commendable manipulations of existing franchise identities in the work that may compensate for the lack of appeal from the new themes. Some listeners may also find significant positives and negatives in Giacchino's decision to alter the instrumental equation in this score, bringing an enhanced role for electronics and some Mediterranean flair to the mid-film Malta sequences. Neither of these elements is a strategic detriment, as even Williams brought some significant electronic presence to Jurassic Park, but by the time electric guitars make their mark on the action sequences in Jurassic World: Dominion, some listeners may be tempted to tune it out. Striking a modern edge to the techno-thriller element of the story makes sense, though such interjections don't really add much to the concept as a whole and may feel a bit off. The composer's handling of the orchestra is fairly mundane compared to his comparable fantasy/adventure works, solos for this franchise typical to harp, piano, and French horn. Thematically, whereas Giacchino's ideas for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom were a combination of biblical fantasy, dramatic tragedy, and military romps, the new themes in Jurassic World: Dominion are disappointingly pedestrian to match the less apocalyptic subject matter. (The lack of prominent choral presence here does not help the transition.) He devises a pair of new themes for protagonists but fails to really enunciate them clearly enough to provide lasting identities to their presence. The villainous Biosyn receives the score's main new theme, but even this is diminished after a strong influence early in the score. A fresh theme for yet another nasty predator dinosaur is unfortunately inevitable, and the locusts themselves are offered a dissonant motif for their menace. Other distinct melodic structures meander through the score, mostly in its final third, and muddy the waters even further. Meanwhile, the three main themes from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom return as a method of providing a narrative arc to the Henry Wu character responsible for engineering much of this mess going back to the beginning, and here Giacchino does succeed a bit better. Several ideas return from the initial Jurassic World score as well, with even Giacchino's music for the video game, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," enjoying another cameo. All four of Williams' main identities from Jurassic Park also return, but they do so in perfunctory fashion outside of some keen adaptations of Williams' fantasy theme. As customary for Giacchino, the conclusive "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge" contains a summary of these four new themes, but this collection doesn't flow well from one idea to another. The composer has a tendency to simply conclude a thematic representation, fading it down to near silence before entering into the next theme; more fluid transitions akin to those by Williams and Jerry Goldsmith are simply absent in much of Giacchino's career. One can hope that writing bridge sequences will improve for him with time. The first theme heard in that suite is actually a secondary motif for the Giganotosaurus dinosaur, which opens that track with a long crescendo to a chime-banging conclusion. In the score proper, the motif also forces itself into the end of "Ladder and Subtract/..." and the outset of "Battle Royale With Reprise." The second idea heard in the "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge" end credits arrangement is actually the main theme of Jurassic World: Dominion. This theme for Biosyn flourishes in the first half of the score but fails to retain any power thereafter. It's a nice adaptation of the personality of Williams' original park-related exuberance with a greater dose of mystery thrown into the equation, and expect it provide the best moments of the score's new themes. The theme is previewed at 1:30 into "Jurassi-logos/Dinow This" but really emerges at 2:36 into "The Wages of Biosyn," where it truly usurps Williams' fantasy by its end. It offers uncertainty in the middle of "Free-Range Kidnapping" but explodes again with ensemble adventure at 1:39 into "A-Biosyn' We Will Go," where it explores an underutilized interlude sequence on woodwinds. The Biosyn theme once again diminishes to subtle applications in the middle of "You're So Cute When You Smuggle" and early in the suspense of "Ladder and Subtract" before combining with the tragedy theme at 0:06 into "Girls Can Alpha Too." In "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge," this theme starts softly at 1:20 but enjoys a reprise of its early exuberance not long after. The two new character themes in Jurassic World: Dominion are badly underplayed and are typically handled with such soft instrumentation that they don't have an impact. The theme for the girl at the heart of the story, Maisie, is intelligently mingled with Williams' fantasy identity for the original park, denoting their shared origins in engineering. But Giacchino really diffuses the idea in its applications, making it difficult to track. Pieces of the idea influence at 0:19 into "Upsy-Maisie," the middle of "The Campfire in Her Soul," the opening of "The Wages of Biosyn," more cohesively on piano in the middle of "You're Making Me Feel Wu-zy," and in soft, piano-led shades at 6:13 into "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge." Meanwhile, the composer felt compelled to provide the Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant tandem from the first film with a new identity here, but he barely develops it in the score. After opening "A Sattler State of Affairs" with it in somber tones, this theme is marginalized in the rest of the score until a truly pretty and delightful rendition at 4:38 into "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge," where the idea oddly receives Goldsmith-like treatment that defies anything heard before in the work. Aside from these four new, recurring themes in Jurassic World: Dominion, Giacchino does throw a few other ideas at his canvas, including the aforementioned rhythmic dissonance for the locusts in "Hay of the Locusts" and "Cicadian Rhythms." A somewhat unique fantasy idea occupies the middle of "A-O-Kayla," and strong closure is afforded to "All the Jurassic World's a Rage," but neither of these attractive moments really extends a clear musical idea from the rest of the work. The composer clearly views his main theme from Jurassic World as the anchor of the franchise at this time, and he applies it throughout Jurassic World: Dominion with mostly brief and/or muted success. It's re-established without its secondary phrasing at 1:40 into "It's Like Herding Parasaurolophus," a solo horn rendition leading to a restrained, fuller statement. The theme returns at 0:39 into "Upsy-Maisie" on solo piano with those secondary phrases adding strings. Its pinpointed applications include a brief reference at the end of "Da Plane and Da Cycle," some light optimism at 4:30 into "Battle Royale With Reprise," and solo cello at 0:30 into "All the Jurassic World's a Rage." Giacchino arranges the theme like a lighter, more sensitive version of the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom end credits performance at 1:10 into "Larry Curly and MOE," and he uses it to help wrap "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge" at 7:42 on solo cello with the secondary phrases intact. Other themes reprised from Jurassic World include the friendship/family motif at 0:19 into "Clonely You" on piano and whimsically opening "Gigantosaurus on Your Life," the Indominus motif in the first half of "The Wages of Biosyn" in mystery and hinted at the end of "Gigantosaurus on Your Life," and the identity for Owen Grady and his raptor, Blue. That last idea makes the biggest splash of any previous identity in this score, evolving from "Owen You Nothing" and "Chasing the Dragons" in Jurassic World to enjoy rambunctious performances with electric guitar in "It's Like Herding Parasaurolophus" and playful throughout "Gotta Shut Down the Blah Blah Blah." The composer also can't resist another reprise of his own raptor theme from the video game in "The Hunters Become the Hunted." The redundancy between the existing friendship/family theme and Maisie's new theme in this score causes both to be diminished, and Giacchino would have been better served simply expanding the use of the former. The most interesting thematic development in Jurassic World: Dominion comes with Giacchino's reassignment of his main identities from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for the Henry Wu character's vital role in this plot. Both the primary and secondary halves of the main theme from that film are applied with a sense of solace here. Both are teased in chord progressions only to open "You're Making Me Feel Wu-zy," but Giacchino returns explicitly to the prior score's celeste for the main theme at 2:24 and the secondary theme on woodwinds after that. A hint of the predecessor's choral mystery also follows. A later reference is saved for the theme in "The Geneticist's Gambit/Cicadian Rhythms" for clarinet and choir, and it appropriately develops into a new heroic identity in the middle of "Wu-ing For Redemption." The tragedy theme from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom also makes its mark, its underlying rhythm playfully opening "The Geneticist's Gambit" but the full religious agony for the ensemble applied to the idea at 3:18 into "Therizinosaurus Will Be Blood/Land of the Frost." Humorously, Giacchino's nod to Goldsmith's friendship motif from the later Star Trek films is another reprise from the prior score, this time at 0:09 into "All the Jurassic World's a Rage" on trumpet. (This motif must have some recurring importance for Giacchino, but the usage is strangely distracting.) Less awkward are the composer's courtesy nods to the Williams themes that started this franchise. While all four leading ideas from Jurassic Park return, only the fantasy theme really has an impact in Jurassic World: Dominion. This famous hymn-like idea stutters without resolving at 1:26 into "A Sattler State of Affairs," still abbreviated after shifting to a tender piano rendition at 2:14. Fragments appear at 3:05 into "The Wages of Biosyn" in fragments and more attractively at the end of "A Dimetrodon a Dozen." It enjoys a nice, condensed moment of pause at 0:41 into "Gigantosaurus on Your Life" before another fragment on piano at 2:54 into "Battle Royale With Reprise." Williams' introductory sequence for the theme is explored at the start of "Larry Curly and MOE" before morphing into a new idea, and it closes out "Suite, Suite Dino Revenge" with a quiet flourish and solo harp. As the overarching identity of the whole concept, one can't help but wonder why Giacchino seems set on limiting his use of this idea to mostly its piano applications. There was significant potential for the theme to be adapted even more obviously in his scores. The other dominant theme from Jurassic Park, that of adventure, is nearly absent after opening the prior score's end credits suite brilliantly. It is heard here for the Ian Malcolm character at 0:41 into "A Dimetrodon a Dozen" in a suspenseful, partial phrase and again in a heroic fragment on brass at 2:25 into "Ladder and Subtract/..." Williams' ascending four-note mystery motif is heard at 1:43 into "A Sattler State of Affairs" on solo horn, followed by an extended Williams reprise directly thereafter. The original carnivore/raptor motif from that score also enjoys a moment at 1:06 into "Gigantosaurus on Your Life," at which point Giacchino even tosses in Williams' related woodwind blurts to coincide. These references to the classic score that anchors this franchise's music ultimately aren't prominent enough to define Jurassic World: Dominion as a conclusive summary. This failure comes as a surprise given the combination of characters thrown into this story; once again, an opportunity for a fantastic mash-up of thematic favorites is lost in a sea of otherwise mundane cues. So much of Jurassic World: Dominion is generically rhythmic, even its heightened action material, that it really doesn't fit comfortably with its sibling scores. Suspense passages are often mundane and do too little to smartly exercise melodic constructs in conflict. The shift to electronic snazziness for chasing scenes is not a deal-breaker, but it seems beneath this franchise. The album situation for this score does not do it many favors, as the digital download option of 107 minutes contains far too much filler, some of which at high volume, for any semblance of a narrative structure. But a shorter CD option doesn't include some of the more vibrant action and Wu material or the finale. Fortunately, a high-resolution option is available for download, and it sounds fabulous compared to typical Giacchino recordings. It's unfortunate such an option was not made available for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which maintains the most massive of scope of any of these scores. The closing suite alone from that preceding score is vastly superior to anything in Jurassic World: Dominion, and this later entry in some ways serves mostly to expose just how impressively the memorable themes and resounding narrative of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom stand in retrospect. Giacchino earns his pay with Jurassic World: Dominion, and the score basically works and offers a few highlights, but it's a challenge not to get the feeling that it's a disappointing step backwards in quality. A better send-off was required for this franchise's music. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Digital Album:
Total Time: 107:03
CD Album: Total Time: 77:23
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for the digital album.
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