Back when I was a kid, I was obsessed with Dinosaurs and had to check out any movie I could featuring them. As an adult, that fondness still remains with me, and even when they’re not featured in a great movie, they can still make the experience worthwhile on some surface level appeal.
With the long running “Jurassic Park” franchise, I love the
classic original but have never considered any of the sequel on par with the
same level of quality. That being said, I’ve always been able to enjoy the many
“Jurassic Park” sequels as either okay to re-watch once in a while, or
safe one and done experiences without being too upset. So, with the series
continuing this year, I thought it would be fun to stop and rank all the “Jurassic
Park” movies on my own personal scale of most favorite to least favorite … let’s
do this.
#1 “Jurassic
Park” (1993)
No sense beating around the bush, my favorite movie in this franchise, and by extent, one of my personal all-time favorite movies is the 1993 blockbuster classic that pushed the boundaries of special effects for its time and delivered the best and most real looking dinosaurs caught on film … which as far as I’m concerned still haven’t been surpassed. Based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, “Jurassic Park” tells the story of what happens when man messes with nature. Thanks to cloning, scientists are able to bring back the dinosaurs and aim to present them to the world in a big theme park extravaganza.
Things go south, and a small team of visitors find themselves at the mercy of a hungry T-Rex and a savage group of Raptors. Along with the likes of “Star Wars” and “The Wizard of Oz”, “Jurassic Park” was one of those childhood experiences that helped shape my overall love for movies. While the dinosaurs themselves were a big draw to the film, I’m also very fond of the human cast, with Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum leading the charge.
Also, Steven Spielberg’s cinematic direction and John Williams iconic music score gives the film a sense of “movie magic” that goes beyond impressive dinosaur encounters. I could talk about this movie all day, but there’s still several more films to mention, so I’ll simplify things by saying the original “Jurassic Park” goes above a fun action adventure … it’s an experience, with brilliant film-making techniques on display, rich themes, and great characters to boot.
#2 “Jurassic
World” (2015)
While there’s never been a “Jurassic” sequel or spin-off that’s matched my feelings for the original, I found the 2015 reboot “Jurassic World” to be the most fun and enjoyable. This time we focus on a fully functional Dinosaur theme park, which people come to in droves. However, a mutated dinosaur experiment goes rabid, gets loose, and plunges the park into cause.
This was a fun premise, which has the build-up, the wonder, and once the action goes down … it’s a fast-moving adventure, with some highly exciting sequences. The new main characters are also charming, with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard delivering the human anchor required to sustain the experience. The weakest elements are subplots involving human villains aiming to weaponize dinos, and a pair of siblings who occasionally derail the momentum.
Regardless, this film delivers the highlights … like seeing dinos break loose in a populated park, as well as Chris Pratt riding a motorcycle with a pack of raptors, and a top-tier monster brawl ending with the T-Rex battling the new mutated carnivore. While this reboot lacks the meaningful themes of the original, the film still works as a simple, fun outing in its own right.
#3 “Jurassic
Park 3” (2001)
After a kid is accidently stranded on a dangerous island full of Dinosaurs, the parents scam doctor Alan Grant (the lead from the first movie) to join on a mission to rescue their son and then get off the island safely before the dangerous new Spinosaurus can make a meal of them. From this point, every instalment works as basic surface level enjoyment, and it’s just a matter of how much each film can appeal to me on that level.
In many respects, “Jurassic Park 3” is the most straightforward and simple of all the films, with an easy narrative, and set pieces that excite in the moment. The highlight being when the characters are trapped in a bird cage battling the winged Pteranodon’s. This film also dismisses any sense of wonder in favor of more horror elements and action, and as far as that’s concerned … this film is serviceable.
The biggest strength of
the film is Sam Neill back in the lead role of Alan Grant, if it weren’t for
him, this would have been a forgotten instalment. Also, the giant Spinosaurus helps
give this sequel an identity over the others, and it’s great to have an actual
dinosaur as the main threat, versus the overplayed mutated carnivores of the
long running “Jurassic World” follow-ups. Admittedly, this is a “so, so”
outing, but inoffensive and never overstays it’s welcome.
#4 “The
Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997)
Following after the events of the original first film, Ian Malcolm (played again by Jeff Goldblum) ventures to the island breading ground of the dinosaurs … but this time, there are no fences, no park, and just nature, with the most dangerous beasts on the loose. On top of that, a group of human villains aim to round up the dinos and make a new park on the mainland. Kind of a “HOT-TAKE” on my part, but I wish director Steven Spielberg made a movie based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel “The Lost World”, featuring those characters, and that narrative, as opposed to Michael Crichton’s sequel novel.
That way, this film could be regarded as a spiritual successor to “Jurassic Park”, with similar dino effects, but could stand on its own, as opposed to being an actual sequel. Also, it would have given Dinosaurs in general more of an identity at the movies, as opposed to mostly being relegated to this franchise. This film also characterized most of the instalments moving forward, with darker tones and more action, but less wonder and magic, which elevated the original. Viewed on its own, this film is simply okay … with Steven Spielberg’s stamp of direction on display, as well as the best Dinosaur effects, which got less impressive afterward. There are also memorable highlights, with the cliffside trailer incident, and a “King Kong” inspired third act with a T-Rex loose in a big city standing out as two of the franchises best set-pieces.
The
downside is how this film overstays it’s welcome, has a clunky narrative, lacks
consistent momentum and features a cast of boring human characters, who’ve
never won me over … although Jeff Goldblum is at least welcome presence in the
lead role, and Pete Postlethwaite brings dimension to the films antagonistic
hunter Roland. All around, this is not a terrible sequel by any means, but even
when I watched this as a kid, it never surpassed my feelings of just being OK.
#5 “Jurassic
World: Dominion” (2022)
Following after the events of the movie “Fallen Kingdom”, Dinosaurs have been set loose across the world, and as this film opens, we see various human characters either trying to cope with the change or find a way to set things back to normal. This leads to scientists unleashing mutated insects onto the world, which pose an even greater threat than the dinosaurs, and the only way to stop them is the genes of a cloned child.
At this point in my ranking, these instalments are safe one-and-done experiences … satisfying to view in the theater, but I’ve never felt any need to rewatch them a second time. It’s a shame for “Dominion”, because this film had the potential to be one of the most fun of the whole series. Personally, I feel the premise of Dinosaurs running rampant around the world would have been more than enough to sustain this film, but unfortunately, it’s bogged down with this messy plot involving clones and mutant insects.
Still, the film delivers its global excitement, with
some cool set pieces involving Dinosaurs on the loose, and I’ll give credit to
some peaceful moments of wonder and beauty. Also, there’s certainly a novelty
in seeing the original cast crossover with the “Jurassic World” cast. I’d
say “Dominion” is the most enjoyable of the C-Tier instalments of this
franchise … so take that for what it’s worth.
#6 “Jurassic
World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018)
Set some time after the events of the first “Jurassic World”, the park remains abandoned, save for the dinosaurs … who are now at the mercy of a raging volcano, which is threatening to make all the dinosaurs go extinct once again. Thus, the race is on between our heroes rescuing them, by putting them on a different island, and a group of bad guys who want to capture them and sell them off as weapons.
While there isn’t a “Jurassic Park” instalment that I flat out hate, the 2018 sequel “Fallen Kingdom” is the one that left the smallest impression on me. To put it bluntly, I remember the experience passing for a fine little diversion at the theater, but nothing meaningful stuck with me afterward, and I didn’t give the film much thought again until I put this list together.
The set-up in the first act with the volcano is okay, but once we segue into the films second narrative, set in the confines of a mansion, with all our dinos being caged and auctioned off … the film all but loses its intrigue and momentum. While there are some fun “spooky house” images on display, the plot also gets a little too messy, with the introduction of cloned humans, and more mutated dino-monsters. For me, this is when the “Jurassic World” spin-off series lost its steam … but I wouldn’t call it completely devoid of entertainment either.
Thus, we conclude my ranking, and who knows
how many more “Jurassic Park” movies are still to come. I doubt there
will ever be one to match my feelings for the first, but I honestly don’t need another
one that good again when the original still holds up so well all these years
later. As such, I’m always open for a new “JP” adventure, and content to
simply enjoy them for the simple escapist fun they are.
Thanks for
reading my countdown … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
