'Jurassic World: Dominion' has a silly plot, but its dedication to nostalgia delivers a fun dinosaur romp that's better than the last film

• Warning: There are minor spoilers ahead for "Jurassic World: Dominion."
• The third "Jurassic World" is best when the old and new casts are together, but that's not enough.

When a "Jurassic World: Dominion" teaser was released last November, showcasing a T. rex menacingly invading a drive-in theater to destroy cars and property, it set the tone for what viewers are likely expecting from the sequel — dinosaurs on the loose in our world.

After all, 2018's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" ended with all of the dinosaurs escaping the confines of Jurassic Park, free to wreak havoc. In the film's final minutes, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) teased that we were entering a new era, Jurassic World.

So it's a bit strange that instead of receiving a sequel that delivers on the premise teased in "Fallen Kingdom," returning franchise director Colin Trevorrow brings an overarching plot to "Dominion" that has nothing to do with dinosaurs whatsoever, but rather giant engineered locusts that threaten to wipe out the planet's food supply.

Sure, there are still plenty of dinos, chase sequences, and great T. rex fights, but instead of focusing solely on how the world is acclimating to its new dinosaur inhabitants (we see a bit of that in the film's opening montage with a curated news report about a black market for dinos, illegal breeding, and poachers), the film wastes so much of its potential on a plot to highlight the dangers of one corporation, Biosyn, having too much power.

Diehard "Jurassic" fans will instantly recognize the genetics company from 1993's "Jurassic Park." In this film, not only does its CEO, Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott), want to have control over every dinosaur species, but he also wants to control the world's food supply chain for a reason that's never really explained other than wanting to be the most powerful man on the planet. (You know, the predictable driving force behind many egotistical super villains.)

None of that silliness matters because the film is rooted in so much nostalgia that it may be enough to keep families satiated, who just want to see dinosaurs and some familiar faces in the form of Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and the original "Jurassic Park" cast reunited on screen.

The sequel is at its best when the old and new 'Jurassic' casts are together, but it takes far too long for them to team up.

Surprisingly, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Malcolm reprise their "Jurassic Park" roles not to deal with dinosaurs running amok on planet Earth, but instead to expose Biosyn as the company behind the mystery locust outbreak.

Meanwhile the "Jurassic World" gang — Owen Grady (Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Howard) — are on the trail of a stolen teen, Maisie Lockwood (the clone from "Fallen Kingdom" who they're now holding hostage raising as their own), and a baby velociraptor who is apparently an immaculate child of Owen's old raptor pal, Blue. Poachers kidnap both to send them to Biosyn.

If you think everyone's converging at Biosyn early in the film, that's not the case despite what trailers may have you believe. The film spends too much time lollygagging to get everyone to the genetics compound with the locust plotline pushing the film to a bloated two hours and 27 minutes, making "Dominion" the longest movie in the "Jurassic" franchise.

When the squad is finally, briefly together, they're great riffing off of one another. Goldblum injects his natural charisma and charm into the sequel, bringing some much-needed humor in the long-running time. His character, Dr. Malcolm, even gets in a laugh about his viral unbuttoned shirt scene from the original.

Pratt spends most of his time on-screen making his trademark "whoa there" hand gesture every time he comes in contact with a dinosaur as if he's some sort of dino whisperer. (It's a wonder the dinos don't bite his hands off when he gives them every opportunity to do so.)

Despite being a trained dino wrangler, it's Howard's character, Claire — not Owen — who gets one of the movie's best scenes with her own dinosaur encounter.

The best performance in this film though, aside from the return of the original cast who do the most with what they're given, is DeWanda Wise's Kayla Watts, a spunky, no-frills former military pilot, who's easily the best addition to "Dominion." According to the film's production notes, Wise helped flesh out her character.

Animatronic and more realistic-looking dinosaurs steal the movie.

The cast aside, praise should also be given to animatronics supervisor John Nolan and his team, who created 27 individual dinosaurs for the film, 10 of which are new to "Dominion."

One scene in particular, when Owen enters a shady, underground lair for those who use dinos for sport, gives off massive "Star Wars" cantina vibes as a multitude of animatronic dinos are put on display.

Dinosaur fans and paleontologists may finally be happy that after years of incomplete depictions of dinos in "Jurassic" movies, the film finally showcases some dinosaurs with feathers.

You'll be rewarded if you revisit 1993's 'Jurassic Park' before watching 'Dominion.'

"Dominion" has more in common with 1993's "Jurassic Park" than 2018's "Fallen Kingdom" as it revels in the magic of what made the original a success — almost too much.

You won't be lost if you don't rewatch the 1993 film, but you'll certainly get swept up in all the nostalgia if you do. There are so many callbacks and near-recreations of scenes from the original that you'll either love the throwbacks or think "Dominion" is doing a lazy job of simply rehashing what worked in the past in order to tap into fans' love for the franchise.

If you weren't upset that 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was essentially a rehash of "A New Hope," then you'll probably enjoy "Dominion" just fine.

Any bad reviews shouldn't hurt this movie at the box office.

Some critics began panning the film online in social reactions Monday. Those likely won't matter at the box office. "Fallen Kingdom," which is a tougher watch than "Dominion" with a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

People love dinosaurs. Viewers don't care if these films are good or bad. Audiences just want a fun romp at theaters and "Dominion" delivers.

There are some absolutely bonkers scenes in this film. It skims over immaculate conception, cloning, and repeats the name of a new dinosaur — the Giganotosaurus — so many times that it clearly exists just to get kids to ask parents for a toy when you leave theaters. Despite its shortcomings, "Dominion" is an enjoyable outing for families as long as you don't think too hard.

The film's production notes confirm that this is the final installment of the "Jurassic" franchise, and it ends quite neatly with no post-credit scenes.

Though the three-film "World" franchise may be over, there's nothing to stop another "Jurassic" franchise from kicking off. "Dominion" does leave at least one loose end that could make another franchise possible, and as Dr. Malcolm famously says in the film, "Life finds a way."

"Jurassic World: Dominion," also starring BD Wong, Justice Smith, Isabella Sermon, Mamoudou Athie, Omar Sy, and Daniella Pineda, is in theaters Friday.

Grade: B