Jeff Goldblum on the negative reviews of Jurassic World Dominion: “It’s tough to make a good movie.”

Jeff Goldblum on the fun of making Jurassic World Dominion, the negative reviews, and the future of the franchise

Jurassic World Dominion,

Colin Trevorrow wrapped up his Jurassic World trilogy with the 2022 film Jurassic World Dominion, which brought Jurassic World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard together with the stars of the original Jurassic Park; Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. The movie went over reasonably well with movie-goers, earning a 77% positive audience on Rotten Tomatoes and racking up over a billion dollars at the global box office. The critical reception was another story: only 29% of the reviews were positive. Here on JoBlo, the movie only received a 5/10 review. Speaking with Total Film magazine, Goldblum addressed the fact that Jurassic World Dominion received negative reviews, saying that “It’s tough to make a good movie.”

The Goldblum interview can be found in the newly released issue of Total Film magazine, issue 356 – which, unfortunately, happens to be the final issue of the magazine. When Jurassic World Dominion came up, Goldblum said, “I had such a good time on it. I enjoyed working on it and enjoyed trying to make it good. I think it sold a bunch of tickets. But, you know… [laughs] Everybody’s got an opinion about it. It’s tough to make a good movie.” As the interview went on, he reiterated that working on the film was “a very enjoyable experience,” especially since it allowed him to reunite with Neill and Dern, although that did bring added to pressure to the job. “I was concentrating on trying to make our responsibility there a success, and fulfill our part of the bargain.

Money talks, so the Jurassic World franchise is already continuing, despite Jurassic World Dominion‘s negative reviews. The new film, Jurassic World Rebirth, is directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) from a screenplay by original Jurassic Park writer David Koepp. This movie won’t be featuring any returning lead characters from the previous Jurassic Park / Jurassic World movies, so Goldblum feels that his character Ian Malcolm “may have ridden off into the sunset. Maybe.

The story of Jurassic World Rebirth picks up five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion. The planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. This action-packed new chapter in the franchise sees an intrepid team racing to secure DNA samples from the three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air.

Aiming for a July 2, 2025 release, the film stars Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers), Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty), child actress Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Béchir Sylvain (Diarra from Detroit), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool). Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world’s three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.

Goldblum said, “My friend Scarlett Johansson and my new friend Jonathan Bailey from Wicked, I think, are taking up the reins. And I can’t wait to see what they do. I think that’s a good idea.

What did you think of Jurassic World Dominion? Are you looking forward to Jurassic World Rebirth? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Source: Total Film

About the Author

Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.