Like many kids, I grew up obsessed with dinosaurs. I had dinosaur toys, dinosaur books, and I still remember every second of visiting the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta, when I was five years old. So when I started to hear about this big dinosaur movie, I knew I had to see it. But my parents took one look at the PG-13 rating and forbade it. “You’ll have to wait until you’re 13,” they said. So while all my friends were talking about the film nonstop, I had to wait a few more years before I finally watched it. I’ve never forgiven them, but it was well worth the wait.
When Steven Spielberg unleashed Jurassic Park upon the world in 1993, he delivered one of the greatest blockbusters of all time. More than thirty years later, the franchise has spawned six sequels filled with hungry dinosaurs, shady corporations, and an endless supply of idiots who apparently haven’t learned that bringing prehistoric predators back from extinction is a terrible idea. While none of the sequels have quite recaptured the magic of the original, they’ve certainly delivered their share of thrills, chills, and ridiculous moments. But which movies rule the prehistoric food chain, and which ones deserve to go extinct? Let’s see how all seven Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies stack up when ranked from worst to best!
7. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Four years after dinosaurs were unleashed into the wider world, humanity struggles to coexist with the prehistoric creatures. As Owen and Claire embark on a rescue mission, Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm investigate a sinister biotechnology corporation whose experiments threaten the global ecosystem.
On paper, Jurassic World Dominion should have been incredible. It really should have. After the events of Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs are now roaming freely across the planet, forcing humanity to confront the consequences of bringing prehistoric creatures back from extinction. Better yet, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum returned to share the screen with the stars of the new trilogy. This should have been the ultimate Jurassic Park adventure. Instead, we got a movie that felt more about giant locusts than dinosaurs.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of Dominion is just how thoroughly it wastes its premise. Rather than exploring the terrifying possibilities of humans and dinosaurs attempting to coexist, the film spends too much of its running time investigating a corporate conspiracy involving genetically engineered insects. There are a few fun sequences, including a motorcycle chase through Malta and a genuinely creepy encounter with a Therizinosaurus, but they’re buried beneath an overstuffed plot.
Jurassic World Dominion isn’t entirely without entertainment value, and seeing Neill, Dern, and Goldblum together again does provide some welcome nostalgia, but it’s easily the weakest movie in the series and a crushing disappointment considering how much potential it had.
6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
With a volcanic eruption threatening to wipe out the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar, Owen Grady and Claire Dearing return to rescue the surviving creatures. However, they soon uncover a sinister conspiracy involving dinosaur trafficking and a deadly new genetically engineered predator.
There are definite moments of greatness in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, with some spectacular visuals. The sight of a doomed Brachiosaurus disappearing into the smoke as Isla Nublar is destroyed is surprisingly heartbreaking, while the Indoraptor stalking its prey through a darkened mansion offers a welcome dose of horror. Unfortunately, those moments are trapped inside one of the most ridiculous screenplays in the series.
The movie begins with Owen and Claire returning to Isla Nublar to rescue the dinosaurs before a volcanic eruption wipes them out. It’s a decent premise, but once the action shifts to the Lockwood estate halfway through, things become increasingly absurd. There’s a black-market dinosaur auction (with actual f***ing dinosaurs going for much cheaper than you would think) and another genetically engineered super-predator. Toss in some cartoonish villains and some underbaked philosophical musings about cloning, and you’ve got a largely disappointing Jurassic World sequel.
Director J.A. Bayona clearly knows how to handle suspense (you can understand why Universal may want him back for the Rebirth sequel), but although Fallen Kingdom has plenty of style, it has precious little substance. Still, it deserves at least a little credit for trying something different, even if most of those ideas don’t quite work for me.
5. Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
A covert operations team ventures into a dangerous, dinosaur-inhabited region to collect genetic samples from three enormous prehistoric creatures, hoping to unlock a medical breakthrough. Along the way, they encounter a stranded family and uncover the terrifying secrets of an abandoned research facility.
Following the disappointment of Jurassic World Dominion, the franchise attempted another fresh start with Jurassic World Rebirth. Director Gareth Edwards, who previously demonstrated his talent for conveying the sheer scale of enormous creatures with Godzilla, seemed like a promising choice, especially with original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp returning to the series.
I found the film to be an improvement over Dominion. There are some terrific sequences, particularly an encounter in which a T. rex pursues a family along a river, which recalls some of the tension of Spielberg’s original. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey make for an appealing central cast, while the tropical locations help restore some of the adventure-movie atmosphere that’s been missing from the series.
Unfortunately, the screenplay doesn’t give these actors nearly enough to work with. The characters are thinly drawn, the stranded family subplot feels like an unnecessary distraction, and the film falls back on yet another genetically mutated dinosaur as its ultimate threat. The result is a movie that doesn’t feel like the “rebirth” it should have been. But, once again, it made money, so we’re getting another sequel.
4. Jurassic Park III (2001)
Dr. Alan Grant is tricked into returning to a dinosaur-infested island by a desperate couple searching for their missing son. Stranded in hostile territory, the group must survive encounters with deadly predators, including a massive Spinosaurus.
Of all the Jurassic movies, Jurassic Park III is the one I’ve changed my opinion about the most. At the time of its release, it came across as hugely disappointing. It felt too short, many of the characters were irritating, and it made a point of having the Spinosaurus easily dispatch a T. rex. How dare you!
But over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the third movie as a lean, fast-paced dinosaur survival adventure. It wastes little time getting to the action, and there’s something refreshing about a sequel that doesn’t feel the need to manufacture another elaborate conspiracy involving evil corporations. The Spinosaurus is a memorable new threat, the abandoned laboratory is wonderfully atmospheric, and the sequence involving the Pteranodons in the enormous aviary is among the best moments in the entire franchise. Plus, I’m always down for anytime Sam Neill returns as Dr. Alan Grant.
3. Jurassic World (2015)
More than two decades after the original park’s disastrous failure, a fully operational dinosaur theme park welcomes thousands of visitors every day. But when a genetically engineered hybrid escapes containment, chaos erupts across the island.
After fourteen years without a new installment, Jurassic World brought the franchise roaring back to life, and it did so with a pretty irresistible premise: what if John Hammond’s dream had actually worked? Isla Nublar is now home to a fully operational theme park, complete with massive crowds, elaborate attractions, and genetically engineered dinosaurs. Of course, because apparently nobody at this company has ever watched the previous movies, the people running the park decide that ordinary dinosaurs aren’t exciting enough and create a brand-new hybrid predator known as the Indominus rex. What could possibly go wrong?
Colin Trevorrow’s film is definitely a nostalgia fest, but it’s a damn entertaining one. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard make for likable leads, the fully functioning park is a blast to explore, and the Indominus rex provides a suitably frightening threat.
Unfortunately, Jurassic World also establishes some of the problems that would plague the later sequels. The characters aren’t nearly as interesting as those in the original film, the military subplot involving weaponized raptors is pretty silly, and the movie is sometimes so obsessed with referencing Jurassic Park that it struggles to establish an identity of its own.
Still, as a big, dumb, ridiculously entertaining summer blockbuster, Jurassic World gets the job done. It’s easily the strongest installment of the modern trilogy.
2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Ian Malcolm travels to a second island where dinosaurs have been living freely, only to discover that a ruthless corporation intends to capture the creatures and bring them to the mainland. As rival expeditions clash, the dinosaurs prove they’re not going quietly.
I’ll happily defend The Lost World: Jurassic Park, even though I acknowledge it’s a step down from the original. Spielberg returned to direct the sequel, bringing Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm back to the forefront as he travels to Isla Sorna, where dinosaurs have been living and breeding without human interference. Unfortunately, a team of hunters (led by the late, great Pete Postlethwaite) has also arrived, intent on capturing the animals and bringing them back to the mainland. Naturally, everything goes spectacularly wrong.
The biggest thing The Lost World has going for it is Spielberg himself. The man knows how to stage an action sequence. The double T. rex attack on the trailer is an absolute masterclass in suspense (poor Eddie), while the raptors stalking their victims through the long grass is a brilliantly creepy sequence.
As much as I might love this one, I can appreciate the reasons why others might not. Supposedly intelligent characters routinely make some baffling choices, and using gymnastics to get the drop on a velociraptor is always cringeworthy. And I know some people find the San Diego finale to be unnecessary, but I’ve always loved it. Is it flawed? Absolutely, but the sight of the T. rex rampaging through the city is undeniably entertaining.
1. Jurassic Park (1993)
A billionaire invites a group of experts to preview a groundbreaking theme park populated by genetically resurrected dinosaurs. But when the park’s security systems fail, the visitors find themselves fighting for survival against prehistoric predators.
There’s really no other option, is there? Steven Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece isn’t just the best film of the Jurassic Park franchise; it’s one of the greatest summer blockbusters ever made.
Based on Michael Crichton’s novel, the movie takes a premise that could easily have been nothing more than a glorified monster flick and turns it into something truly magical. The first glimpse of the Brachiosaurus, accompanied by John Williams’ magnificent score, remains one of the most breathtaking moments in cinema history. And then, of course, there’s the T. rex breakout, a sequence that still puts most modern blockbusters to shame.
What makes Jurassic Park so special is that Spielberg never forgets about the human characters. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough are all terrific, and the movie gives us people we actually care about before unleashing prehistoric hell upon them. The combination of groundbreaking CGI and Stan Winston’s extraordinary animatronics also gives the dinosaurs a physical presence that some of the later movies struggle to replicate.
More than three decades later, Jurassic Park remains the gold standard that every sequel has been chasing, and none has come close to matching it.
Your Turn
That’s how I rank the Jurassic Park franchise, but now we want to hear from you. Let us know your Jurassic Park franchise ranking in the comments below. Is there anyone who doesn’t have Jurassic Park in the #1 spot?
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