From Spielberg’s groundbreaking original to the newest entry, we rank each dino epic in the Jurassic Park franchise from worst to first.
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With Jurassic World Rebirth roaring into theaters and commencing a new era in the Jurassic saga, we take a look back at the entire Jurassic saga, ranking all seven Jurassic Park/World films, including Rebirth! Hold on to your butts!
7. Jurassic World (2015)
After a lengthy hiatus from dinos, audiences were elated to return to Isla Nublar in Director Colin Trevorrow’s (Safety Not Guaranteed) 2015 megahit Jurassic World. In Jurassic World, the original Jurassic Park visionary John Hammond’s dream has finally come true, as Jurassic Park is now open, albeit under a new name (Jurassic World). The park has been open for years now, in fact, and parkgoers want something new and exciting. The creatives at Jurassic World come up with the Indominus rex, a horrifying hybrid dinosaur. Inevitably, the Indominus breaks free and wreaks havoc across Isla Nublar. It’s up to our heroes like Chris Pratt’s raptor trainer Owen Grady to put a stop to the Indominus’ reign of terror.
Jurassic World is a fun action/adventure film with a bit of heart and humor, but it is ultimately mediocre.
There are a lot of intriguing ideas at play in the film, and while they’re not always executed perfectly, they remain fascinating, almost meta. Chris Pratt’s Owen is likable enough, and his relationship with Bryce Dallas Howard’s uptight Claire is fun enough.
6. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
With 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion, Director Colin Trevorrow culminated the Jurassic saga, at the time, in more than fitting fashion.
Dominion is truly epic in scope, with a globetrotting plot that features the return of numerous characters from the original Jurassic Park, sufficiently tying the entire Jurassic saga together. Like every Jurassic film, Dominion features beautiful visuals, along with epic thrills and set pieces. The dinosaurs look absolutely astounding.
Dominion is the ultimate outcome of John Hammond’s blasphemous avarice: a world where man and dinosaurs must now coexist.
5. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Like any good sequel, Director Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park is far darker and more violent than Jurassic Park.
In The Lost World, Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm reluctantly embarks on a rescue mission to Isla Sorna, Jurassic Park’s Site B, where most of the dinosaurs were kept, to save his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore). Shortly after Malcolm’s arrival, they cross paths with InGen, which includes Hammond’s nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) and Roland Tembo, Pete Postlethwaite’s “great white hunter” who wants nothing more than the opportunity to hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex. Ludlow aims to resurrect Hammond’s first failed park, Jurassic Park San Diego, and of course, Doctors Malcolm and Harding won’t have that.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is filled with iconic Spielbergian thrills and set pieces, but it lacks the fun, charm, and heart of the original film. The film mostly suffers from a lack of likable characters; even Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm is missing much of his trademark charm. Fortunately, its true stars, the dinosaurs, look absolutely incredible, far better than they looked in Jurassic Park, where they already looked phenomenal.
4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a very solid Jurassic film that is far and away superior to Jurassic World.
Helmed by Director J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls), Fallen Kingdom tells a compelling story that feels unique within the Jurassic saga. The story begins as Mt. Sibo, a volcano on Isla Nublar, is set to erupt, which leads our heroes, Owen and Claire, back to Jurassic World alongside newcomers Franklin (Justice Smith) and Zia (Daniella Pineda) to rescue the dinosaurs.
The film truly shines in its second half, though, in one of the Jurassic saga’s freshest and most creative sequences: that of the terrifying Indoraptor prowling Lockwood Manor.
3. Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
From Director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), the most recent entry in the Jurassic saga, 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth, is everything one would want out of a Jurassic movie. It’s quite the return to form for the franchise, almost feeling like an amalgam of the Jurassic Park trilogy.
Rebirth certainly checks all the boxes while keeping things fresh at the same time. Jurassic World Rebirth is set a few years after Dominion, and the dinosaurs aren’t exactly acclimating well to our current climate. Many of the dinos have now died off. The film takes off when Scarlett Johansson’s mercenary Zora Bennett is tasked by pharmaceutical bigwig Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) with retrieving samples from the largest living dinosaurs on the island that served as the original Jurassic Park’s research facility in order to find a cure for heart disease.
For her mission, she recruits paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and fellow merc Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). Of course, their mission goes awry, and they must find a way to survive on the deadliest island on the planet.
Like all the JURASSIC films, REBIRTH is highly thrilling with some killer set pieces. The dinosaurs look incredible, and overall, the film is visually stunning.
Gareth Edwards excels at depicting scale, and his films are all gorgeous. Rebirth is no exception. Edwards was the perfect choice to helm a new Jurassic film, and it also helps that Jurassic Park and The Lost World scribe David Koepp penned this film.
2. Jurassic Park III (2001)
Frequent Spielberg collaborator Joe Johnston’s (The Rocketeer) Jurassic Park III is quite a lot of fun.
In this film, Sam Neill’s Dr. Alan Grant reluctantly accompanies a couple for a flyover above Isla Sorna. The couple then tricks and kidnaps Dr. Grant into a rescue mission to find their lost son. The sequel to The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a fast-paced, rapid adventure, with epic thrills and some of the franchise’s best set-pieces, like the Pteranodon cage sequence, anything involving Velociraptors, and, of course, Spinosaurus.
The Spinosaurus is Jurassic Park III’s big draw, and it is a marvel to behold. Spino is one of the fiercest creatures in the Jurassic saga and featured in the film’s best bits. The return of Sam Neill’s Dr. Grant is more than welcome, and it made perfect sense for this film. Sam Neill is excellent as Alan Grant.
Jurassic Park III’s special effects are gorgeous, too; Stan Winston’s dinos always look superb and ILM’s effects still hold up pretty well.
1. Jurassic Park (1993)
The one that started it all, legendary director Steven Spielberg’s 1993 immortal classic, Jurassic Park: the quintessential cautionary tale about the horrors that arise when man attempts to play God.
You know the story: a wealthy idealist, Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond, has achieved the impossible: he and his team of scientists have brought the dinosaurs back from extinction. Hammond dreams up a theme park where the main attraction is living, breathing dinosaurs. He invites a trio of dino experts, along with his grandkids, to give their approval of the park, but of course, things go seriously wrong and everyone must try to escape Jurassic Park alive.
Jurassic Park is endlessly thrilling, with pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat excitement and thrills throughout.
When the thrills aren’t happening, though, there are brief yet brilliant scenes brimming with philosophy, humor, and heart. Michael Crichton and David Koepp penned an impeccable script with instantly iconic moments that stand the test of time. Both Stan Winston and Phil Tippett’s practical effects and Dennis Muren’s digital effects are absolutely astounding and truly bring the dinosaurs to life in a magnificent and memorable way.
The dinos are Jurassic Park’s true stars, of course, but the film’s human characters are just as important and iconic. These characters have become legends; they are distinctly defined and brought to life with such care and emotion. The acting is sensational and believable, from Richard Attenborough’s brilliance as Hammond to Jeff Goldblum’s charisma as Dr. Malcolm to Sam Neill’s likability as Dr. Grant to Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello’s wonder and terror as Hammond’s respective grandchildren, Lex and Tim.
Jurassic Park is far, far more than a dinosaur-themed action/adventure film. From the brilliant script to the genius editing, impeccable acting, and the legendary dinosaurs themselves, every distinct element of the film perfectly blends together.
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