Is it just me, or is summer movie season really heating up? The new movie releases we have on the docket are pretty exciting, and that’s partially because titles like Jurassic World Dominion are giving us the opportunity to ask a very important question. It’s time to once again explore one of the greatest mysteries of cinema: To 3D or Not To 3D?
Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil any details about the third Jurassic World installment. Though if you want to learn more about the film without any specific details, Eric Eisenberg’s official Dominion review is here to help. Also, if you want to check out the archives of To 3D or Not To 3D, that can be arranged as well. From this point, it’s time to open the gates, and see if Jurassic World Dominion is worth the 3D ticket price, or if you’d be better off booking a ticket to BioSyn Valley to see the beasties up close.
FIT SCORE - 5/5
While it wasn’t originally built for 3D, Jurassic Park’s 3D re-release for the 20th anniversary in 2013 was only the beginning of dino mayhem coming right at you. The entire Jurassic World trilogy is now a 3D-converted whole, and it fits just as nicely as the IMAX 3D conversion of Steven Spielberg’s original film did. With action and creatures to spare, Jurassic World Dominion truly does fit the 3D blockbuster mold.
PLANNING & EFFORT - 4/5
You can be a movie cut out for the 3D game and still fall flat on your face. Planning and Effort is where the game is won or lost for a movie like Jurassic World Dominion. As far as the official party line goes, director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow himself even endorsed the efforts done on Dominion’s 3D conversion. During my interview with Trevorrow for CinemaBlend, he spoke about this version of the film as follows:
The 3D version is really strong. We worked really hard on it, I take that all very seriously. I would definitely recommend seeing it in 3D.
Did Jurassic World Dominion live up to the potential promised by its proud papa? Yes, it absolutely did. There’s some minor wonkiness here and there, and the brightness could have been bumped up a bit, for sure. Those caveats aside, the folks at DNeg Stereo have put in some solid work after previously conversions, like the exemplary 3D version of No Time To Die.
BEFORE THE WINDOW - 5/5
One of the improvements that came from the 3D experience in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the overall effect in the Before the Window category. Guns and dinosaurs are always things that present an opportunity to push the envelope, sending objects out of the screen and into the audience’s faces. In the case of Jurassic World Dominion, there are tons of moments where dinosaurs are snapping, spitting and roaring at the audience. Not to mention that the gunplay in sequences like the huge Malta section of the film manage to work as well as the various actors that hold their hands out to the screen.
BEYOND THE WINDOW - 4/5
Ideally, a perfect Beyond the Window component to a film would show limitless depth. Certain moments, like Jurassic World Dominion’s Biosyn hyperloop tunnel, go on forever in the 3D picture, while other more personal moments tend to contain the image displayed to a more limited field of vision. As characters and objects are properly separated from each other and their surroundings, you’re not going to see Claire Dearing or Ellie Sattler blending into the background of any given scene. This leads to another astounding piece of this 3D dominion.
BRIGHTNESS SCORE - 4/5
Crisp doesn’t even begin to describe the clarity and brightness in picture for Jurassic World Dominion. Perhaps one of the best shots that proves my point is when Claire and Ellie are trying to reboot the power to BioSyn Valley. In a moment that lights both women solely in red emergency lighting, there isn’t an ounce of dimness in that piece of the action. Throughout the rest of the film, there’s a bit of dimming, but nothing that makes the film unwatchable. That’s not necessarily the fault of the conversion team for Dominion, as your mileage will vary depending on how well the theater in question maintains their equipment switching between 2D and 3D showings.
GLASSES OFF SCORE - 4/5
Something rather odd happened during my 3D presentation of Jurassic World Dominion: for the first couple minutes of the film, it looked like the usual blur wasn’t present at all. I almost wondered if I’d wandered into the wrong auditorium and was witnessing a 2D version, despite seeing 3D effects at work. It made me curious to observe throughout the rest of the film just where the blur was popping up, as the effect was working. Based on what I saw from the rest of the film, it looked like the blur was refocusing on various pieces of the image, with a healthy amount residing in many of the backgrounds. Most notably, the introduction between Dodgson, Alan and Ellie was where I noticed it the most. It threw me off a bit, but it did lead to a more dynamic approach to 3D storytelling.
AUDIENCE HEALTH - 4/5
There are honestly only a handful of moments where the action in Jurassic World Dominion wonks out the eyes of the audience. Some of the more fast-paced sequences cause a bit of visual confusion, though only in certain action pieces. For as fun as the Malta chase is, trying to keep up with Owen and his foes on motorcycles gets a bit touchy in 3D. Otherwise, there’s no strain or motion sickness to be spoken for, as the rest of the ride works beautifully.
FINAL VERDICT: 30/35
Closing out the trilogy of 3D films that started with Jurassic World's premium experience in 2015, Jurassic World Dominion is worth the extra 3D money. Roughly on par with the effort we've seen throughout this run, with a couple changes here and there, it's adventurous and isn't afraid to throw you to the dinosaurs. But will Disney's Lightyear answer the call to action in the third dimension with just as much excitement? We'll find out next week when To 3D or Not To 3D returns!
