Why are we so invested in Jurassic Park and Jurassic World sagas? A deep dive

Mint

04-07-2025

The moment Dr Alan Grant removed his sunglasses and stared at the long necked Brachiosaurus the world fell in love with the concept of Jurassic Park. We didn't just go to the movies, we were there in the kitchen hiding from the velociraptors. We were aghast at the greed of Dennis Nedry who sells Dino DNA to a rival firm and we raised our fist in the air in morbid pleasure when a venom spitting Dilophosaurus killed him…
Selling corporate secrets to rivals for profit? Poaching trained staff, sabotaging another's work, bribing someone in the rival firm to share R&D results… Nothing new to all you who are battling your own set of challenges in the corporate world. But they managed to create this chaos on gorgeous islands and tried to contain it…
Jeff Goldblum and his unforgettable presence made chaos believable! He said, 'Life will find a way.' And we have been amazed since 1993/4 at the magnificence that is the big T-Rex. It's 2025 and three Jurassic Park movies and five Jurassic World movies later we are still engaged in this series! How loyal are you to the blue chip stocks in your portfolio?
The Jurassic Park franchise has evolved from a groundbreaking sci-fi thriller to a global action-adventure phenomenon. While each installment shares the core premise of genetically engineered dinosaurs running amok, they differ significantly in their narrative focus, critical reception, and cinematic approach. Let's embark on a journey through Isla Nublar, Isla Sorna, and beyond, comparing the films that keep us invested in this iconic series.
The first three films, known as the Jurassic Park trilogy, laid the foundation for the entire franchise, establishing its core themes and visual language.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, this Steven Spielberg masterpiece introduces wealthy industrialist John Hammond's ambitious dream: a theme park populated by cloned dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. Paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, and chaotician Dr. Ian Malcolm are invited to assess its safety. Industrial sabotage leads to a catastrophic park shutdown, unleashing the dinosaurs and forcing the visitors to fight for survival.
Jurassic Park revolutionized cinema with its pioneering use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) seamlessly blended with animatronic dinosaurs, setting a new standard for visual effects.
The film explored the ethical implications of genetic engineering, humanity's hubris in controlling nature, and the unpredictable nature of chaos. We are still comparing Iconic performances from Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum to everyone that has come after. Universally acclaimed by critics and a massive box office success, the film won three Academy Awards for its technical achievements and is widely regarded as one of the greatest summer blockbusters ever made. Its impact on modern cinema and special effects is immeasurable. We're rewatching the film online just to say, 'Clever girl!'
Four years after the Isla Nublar incident, Dr. Ian Malcolm is reluctantly drawn to Isla Sorna (Site B), a second island where InGen secretly bred dinosaurs and left them to fend for themselves. Two opposing factions emerge: one seeking to exploit the dinosaurs for profit, and another, led by Malcolm, aiming to protect them in the wild. The conflict culminates in a Tyrannosaurus Rex rampage in San Diego.
Steven Spielberg returned to direct this sequel. Everything else may look spectacular thanks to CGI, but many of us have hated the subsequent introduction to mutants…
This film moves beyond the park setting to explore dinosaurs in a wild, untamed environment and their potential impact on the mainland. The Pteranodon and Compsognathus are added to our vocabulary, and we sit in darkness, hearts racing at how action oriented and horror based this survival film is. This was the film where the annoying kid trope was introduced…
In this film Dr. Alan Grant is persuaded by a wealthy couple to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, only to discover their true motive is a rescue mission for their missing son. The group faces new, more aggressive dinosaurs, particularly the Spinosaurus, and must outwit intelligent Velociraptors to survive and escape the island.
Director Joe Johnston introduces us to the ridiculous American family, and a new Apex Predator: The Spinosaurus. True fans to date hate that it defeats the T-Rex. Despite a wafer thin plot and barely any element of wonder, this film was still a financial success, though the lowest-grossing of the franchise until Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) is fully tallied.
The Jurassic World trilogy: Revival, expansion, and global impact
After a 14-year hiatus, the franchise was rebooted with the Jurassic World trilogy, aiming to re-energize the series for a new generation.
Set 22 years after the original, a fully functional dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, operates on Isla Nublar. To boost visitor numbers, the park creates a new genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur, the Indominus Rex, which inevitably breaks loose and wreaks havoc, leading to another desperate survival mission for park operations manager Claire Dearing (Dallas Howard) and raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt).
This revival was a massive global hit and the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Touted to be 'Bigger, Louder, More Teeth', this blockbuster featured larger crowds, more dinosaurs, and a focus on hybrid creatures. Critics praised the visual effects and entertainment value but often criticized the characters and reliance on nostalgia. Its immense box office success solidified the franchise's return.
Three years after the Jurassic World incident, Owen and Claire return to Isla Nublar to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from an impending volcanic eruption. However, they uncover a sinister plot to transport and auction the dinosaurs on the mainland, leading to a gothic horror-inspired second half set in a mansion.
Director J.A. Bayona brought a distinct, darker, and more horror-driven aesthetic to the film's second half. Dinosaurs are brought off Isla Nublar, setting the stage for their global spread. The film explores new ethical questions regarding the dinosaurs' rights and survival. Introduces the Indoraptor, another dangerous hybrid.
This film divided both critics and fans. Visually, this film was stunning, and the action set pieces were breathtaking, the plot was super convoluted and the character decisions questionable. Despite the mixed reviews, it was another significant box office success.
Set four years after Fallen Kingdom, in this film dinosaurs live and hunt alongside humans worldwide. The film brings together the original Jurassic Park trio (Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm) with the Jurassic World protagonists (Owen Grady, Claire Dearing, Maisie Lockwood) to uncover a global conspiracy involving giant genetically engineered locusts and the shady Biosyn Genetics corporation.
Everyone loved the return of Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum in significant roles alongside the new cast. The film focused on a corporate conspiracy and ecological disaster involving giant locusts, alongside the ever present threat from dinosaurs. The film struggled to blend the sci-fi thriller elements and the need for action with narrative coherence.
This is where everyone seemed to be suffering from franchise fatigue, thanks to a bloated plot, underdeveloped characters, and a failure to fully capitalize on the premise of dinosaurs living among humans. Despite critical panning, it still crossed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, proving the enduring appeal of the franchise.
Set five years after Dominion, this new film attempts to get us to go back to dinosaur island where a team employed by a pharmaceutical company is going to obtain biological samples from feral dinosaurs living in remote waters near Earth's Equator to help create meds for us humans. If it weren't such an outlandish idea, the film's thrills put it in the category of a "heist movie with monsters."
Director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One) is at the helm, and visually the film fulfils its promise of a return to awe and scale. Alas, Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, try super hard to save the story and the most annoying family ever that has just wandered into this remote island. Before you can say, 'Run, dinosaurs!' you realise you are cheering for the dino and hoping it swallows the irritating boyfriend fist. Thoughts of investing in the company that makes that rubber dinghy that manages to remain intact despite the sharp teeth and claws on the dinos chasing the family through the waters will cross your mind.
The action pieces are thrilling and the setting is spectacular, and yet, the plot makes you gag. And it seems like so much left-over footage has been taken from the earlier film that this film looks like a poor quilt of found footage and you wish both it's ugly borrowed from StarWars to look like Rancor, the D-Rex (more like Diasastersaur than any other name!) and its clone pals would all die and also all the annoying humans. The only thing more positive to say about this film is that it's better than Dominion, which isn't really praise.
The original Jurassic Park masterfully balanced wonder, suspense, and horror. Subsequent films, particularly the Jurassic World trilogy, have increasingly leaned into action-adventure spectacle, often at the expense of character development and the ethical dilemmas that defined the first film. Rebirth attempted a return to a more grounded, suspenseful tone, but the mutant dinos killed the fun. We have invested so heavily (for some of us, half our lives) in the spectacle of dinosaurs we tend to forgive the dodgy narrative quality.
Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer's forum, hosts Mumbai's oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.