‘Jurassic Park’ & ‘Jurassic World’ Franchise, Ranked

Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) return to Isla Nublar to save the remaining dinosaurs from an erupting volcano. Despite its great idea to make the dinosaurs roam Earth alongside humans (as was teased in The Lost World), the human cloning subplot lost us. Of course, the visuals are great; following the rule of sequels, it has a darker tone. Still, the writing here made us struggle to connect with the characters and story being told, especially after the fantastic start of the original World film.

The future of mankind hangs in the balance as dinosaurs now live and hunt alongside humans. This is the one that unites the cast of the World franchise with those from the Park side to create a trip of nostalgia that felt earned rather than forced upon or completely shackled to. The extended edition has a wonderful 15-minute introduction to the world of dinosaurs before and after the Big Bang that we appreciate. Any extra time with the dinos is time well-spent, especially since the characters are so thinly developed. At this point, the World franchise has gone so far off the track of the original appeal of Jurassic Park that the appeal officially wears during its bloated runtime.

In this Netflix animated series, teens attending an adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar must band together to survive when dinosaurs wreak havoc on the island. The show gets praised for its ability to capture the magic of the Jurassic World series of films for a younger audience. The first season is well-regarded in this approach, with performances from Jenna Ortega, Ryan Potter, and Jameela Jamil. And although the following seasons follow the timeline of the World films, it appears to dip in quality around the fourth and fifth seasons.

Although the CGI displayed is greater than the original (and that’s saying something), it did not live up to its predecessor, despite its worldwide box office total. Even though the previously sidelined Jeff Goldblum is stellar as the sequel’s lead, the story he was given was relatively lackluster and on the forefront more than all the dinosaur spectacle. A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda. See? Even the synopsis sounds less exciting than it should. Seeing the dinosaurs roam San Diego is incredible, but it happens in the third act and is not nearly as long as it should have been.

A family on a Big Rock National Park camping trip takes part in the first major confrontation between dinosaurs and humans. It may seem a little out of pocket to put a ten-minute short above full feature films, but we can’t help if Colin Trevorrow was able to craft an excellent short film that surpasses the franchise’s Hollywood spectacle and mundane lead characters. Plus, it’s always cool to see how average citizens cope with cloned dinosaurs running free in their world.

A paleontologist and a couple outrun cloned dinosaurs after their plane crashes on an island. Although the Kirby family can be pretty annoying, and the lead isn’t as sophisticated as Jeff Goldblum, having Sam Neill back isn’t something to snuff at. At its core, on the Park side of the franchise, we associate Alan Grant with the story more than any other human character. And with a cameo from Laura Dern’s Ellie, it feels like we’re back at the focus of the character-driven story left off from the original. Plus, it’s tighter and more focused than its previous installment.

A well-executed requel, to be sure, Jurassic World breathed new life into the franchise while respecting what came before and without going too overboard with the nostalgia. It successfully reminded us what we loved about the original (more so than any direct sequel), which is enough to put it at second best. It showcased animal expert Owen (Chris Pratt) saving tourists on an island from rampaging, genetically engineered dinosaurs.

The progenitor, the cornerstone, the quintessential blockbuster movie, and from a director’s perspective, Speilberg’s true spiritual successor to Jaws, the ultimate creature feature. Simply put, it features paleontologist Alan Grant protecting kids in a dinosaur park from dinos running amuck during a power failure. With superb animatronics and CG that have withstood the test of time, the quality of Jurassic media never surpassed the original.