JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

Cert 12A

147 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate threat, scary scenes, violence, rude gestures

I remember watching in awe when Jurassic Park first hit our screens.

From that helicopter ride into the island when it felt as if we were part of the movie to the great reveal of the dinosaurs and then the peril we all experienced when they had the chance to break free.

And, as well as the inspirational casting, there was the soundtrack - one of the all-time classics.

I had thought they should have left it at that but I was proven wrong by Jurassic World which was a fantastic nod to the past with some surprisingly fresh elements.

Unfortunately, the more recent follow-ups have gone straight down lame street.

Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World Dominion has none of the charm of the original, barring a few deliberate hark-backs and, worse still, it lacks the intense drama.

The story is set at a time when humans are trying to co-exist with dinosaurs after the escape from Jurassic Park many years previously.

Meanwhile, there is the added interest of the presence of a cloned girl (Isabella Surmon), created Jurassic Park-style by one of its scientists.

A company called Biosyn has exclusive rights over working with the dinosaurs and is inevitably led by a power-crazed CEO (Campbell Scott).

Jurassic Park's heroes, played by Sam Neill, Laura Dern are on his case and, in parallel, are joined by the stars of the recent films (Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard).

They try to get to the bottom of what is going on at Biosyn, avoiding myriad bad-guy henchmen and being eaten by raptors and the like along the way.

Anyone who has watched a previous Jurassic instalment could have made up the story and its inevitable conclusion on a postcard.

So, all that leaves the audience with is the special effects but, of course, we've been there and seen that.

Consequently, we must pose the question... what is the point?

Oh, yeah, the money...