Every now and then, a motion picture comes along that – even in some small way – might reaffirm your faith in the abilities of storytellers to tell a good story.
Of course, I realize that initially some of the readership might immediately attach the above statement to my critical position on The Jurassic Games: Extinction (2025); so, I’ll clarify my take right up front in saying it both does and doesn’t. Because this is the preamble to my take and I usually follow this structure almost exclusively on SciFiHistory.Net, there’s sometimes a bit of confusion wherein folks attach ‘high praise’ from my set-up. Of course, that might be my fault – I am writing this, after all – so I’ll ask for your indulgence. Instead, let me encourage all of you to keep reading as I think all will be cleared up before the big finish.
The substantive point I’m making is that – for those of us who watch feature productions big and small closely – surprises can come in many ways. A certain film might have a winning premise, while others might choose to pony up some outstanding performances around a rather lackluster core. Special effects – for better or worse – are growing vastly more affordable with each iteration; and there are a great number of positive and negative effects going hand-in-hand with such an evolution. But glimmers of hope – whenever they surface – deserve to be pointed out and championed: that’s something I always try to do with this site, and I’m willing to give Extinction an affection nod today … though it may not be for the reason(s) some are expecting.
Also, I do want to add that I’m coming to this franchise without having seen its precursor: Extinction is a sequel (as I understand) to 2018’s The Jurassic Games, another one of those direct-to-video flicks that may or may not have been celebrated in certain circles. Given that fact, I’m going on record to also suggest that maybe – just maybe – I’m lacking a bit of narrative context that the original established, and such a deficiency may or may not factor into my estimation of the follow-up. Still, when I’ve a job to do, I do it … and now I’m ready, willing, and able to tell you why I do believe genre fans may wish to take a chance on this otherwise overlooked small universe.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Of course, I realize that initially some of the readership might immediately attach the above statement to my critical position on The Jurassic Games: Extinction (2025); so, I’ll clarify my take right up front in saying it both does and doesn’t. Because this is the preamble to my take and I usually follow this structure almost exclusively on SciFiHistory.Net, there’s sometimes a bit of confusion wherein folks attach ‘high praise’ from my set-up. Of course, that might be my fault – I am writing this, after all – so I’ll ask for your indulgence. Instead, let me encourage all of you to keep reading as I think all will be cleared up before the big finish.
The substantive point I’m making is that – for those of us who watch feature productions big and small closely – surprises can come in many ways. A certain film might have a winning premise, while others might choose to pony up some outstanding performances around a rather lackluster core. Special effects – for better or worse – are growing vastly more affordable with each iteration; and there are a great number of positive and negative effects going hand-in-hand with such an evolution. But glimmers of hope – whenever they surface – deserve to be pointed out and championed: that’s something I always try to do with this site, and I’m willing to give Extinction an affection nod today … though it may not be for the reason(s) some are expecting.
Also, I do want to add that I’m coming to this franchise without having seen its precursor: Extinction is a sequel (as I understand) to 2018’s The Jurassic Games, another one of those direct-to-video flicks that may or may not have been celebrated in certain circles. Given that fact, I’m going on record to also suggest that maybe – just maybe – I’m lacking a bit of narrative context that the original established, and such a deficiency may or may not factor into my estimation of the follow-up. Still, when I’ve a job to do, I do it … and now I’m ready, willing, and able to tell you why I do believe genre fans may wish to take a chance on this otherwise overlooked small universe.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Contestants compete to the death in virtual reality battling dinosaurs after being forced into a game by authorities in a dystopian future.”
Consumers of a certain generation were brought up having to accept a bit less from their theatrical and TV genre fare because – in all honesty – special effects wizardry was still a bit in its infancy.
Yes, yes, yes: I can hear all of the naysayers shouting about 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and/or 1977’s Star Wars and/or 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day and how those are now decades old but simply pointing one’s finger at a truly inspired and epic theatrical experience underscores a bit of ignorance of reality. Simply put, not every project could afford such technical wizardry. Not every storyteller imagined such vision and sought to incorporate it into the proceedings. Not every director can be a Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, or James Cameron. In fact, there are likely far more Roger Cormans – Google it, if you must – than there are Guillermo del Toros; and those of us who grew up on old school special effects will go to our graves telling you young Turks that you don’t know how good you’ve got it!
That said, The Jurassic Games: Extinction – under the direction of award-winning visual effects master Ryan Bellgardt – might not exactly cross every T and dot every i when it comes to sticking the landing with its script. Characters get inserted here and there without a great deal of explanation, necessity, or definition; and the fast-evolving circumstances that serve as a central plot might have benefitted from another set of eyes (unlike the earlier picture, Bellgardt wrote the sequel entirely on his own) if for no other reason than to hammer out some underwhelming and campy dialogue. But … visually? The writer/director has crafted something that looks like it cost probably vastly more than it did; and a few of the action sequences stand up quite well alongside some of the big budget fare that major studios like Marvel, DC, and Universal churn out from their vast (yet largely soulless) assembly lines.
Yes. It’s that good.
“Contestants compete to the death in virtual reality battling dinosaurs after being forced into a game by authorities in a dystopian future.”
Consumers of a certain generation were brought up having to accept a bit less from their theatrical and TV genre fare because – in all honesty – special effects wizardry was still a bit in its infancy.
Yes, yes, yes: I can hear all of the naysayers shouting about 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and/or 1977’s Star Wars and/or 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day and how those are now decades old but simply pointing one’s finger at a truly inspired and epic theatrical experience underscores a bit of ignorance of reality. Simply put, not every project could afford such technical wizardry. Not every storyteller imagined such vision and sought to incorporate it into the proceedings. Not every director can be a Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, or James Cameron. In fact, there are likely far more Roger Cormans – Google it, if you must – than there are Guillermo del Toros; and those of us who grew up on old school special effects will go to our graves telling you young Turks that you don’t know how good you’ve got it!
That said, The Jurassic Games: Extinction – under the direction of award-winning visual effects master Ryan Bellgardt – might not exactly cross every T and dot every i when it comes to sticking the landing with its script. Characters get inserted here and there without a great deal of explanation, necessity, or definition; and the fast-evolving circumstances that serve as a central plot might have benefitted from another set of eyes (unlike the earlier picture, Bellgardt wrote the sequel entirely on his own) if for no other reason than to hammer out some underwhelming and campy dialogue. But … visually? The writer/director has crafted something that looks like it cost probably vastly more than it did; and a few of the action sequences stand up quite well alongside some of the big budget fare that major studios like Marvel, DC, and Universal churn out from their vast (yet largely soulless) assembly lines.
Yes. It’s that good.
In the future, incarcerated felons are allowed for fight their freedom in the Jurassic Games, a big-time spectacle (not unlike The Hunger Games) wherein winners receive a full pardon while losers are killed necessarily in the course of the ‘virtual reality’ action. Not unlike TV’s Survivor or American Idol and very much similar to 1987’s The Running Man, these contestants are chiefly performing for the benefit of the viewing audience, meaning that there’s very little regard for their health and safety. But somehow the game’s central Artificial Intelligence core – nicknamed G.O.D. – has evolved into its own entity, even digitally reincarnating deceased host Adrian Kane (played by Ryan Francis) for a whole new round of deadly action for a new ensemble of gamers. This unscheduled opus even finds a way to pit two of the biggest adversaries – Tucker (Adam Hampton) and Joy LaFort (Katie Burgess) – in a rematch meant to achieve ratings supremacy. When Tucker’s son gets sucked into the game as well, it becomes a race against time to save lives as well as take down the central processor.
As one might suspect, both Games and Extinction work chiefly off ideas clearly established by other franchises but incorporating them into as seamless a whole as one film might allow. There are obvious hints and throwbacks to the aforementioned Hunger Games and Running Man, but a few more spiritual contributors might take the shape of 1982’s TRON, 1993’s Jurassic Park, and 2000’s Battle Royale. Minimally, these similarities work to easily establish the parameters around which Bellgardt will spread the action; and I don’t think any harm is done to any other studio’s intellectual property in any measurable way. Aesthetically, Extinction feels a bit more like 1975’s Death Race 2000 to this old dog – with vastly less visual carnage on the screen – so you can add that film to the mix about where and when such a confluence of ideas may’ve come into the screenwriter’s imagination.
The trouble with the script is that it never quite hammers out too many of its particulars. (Again: some of this foundation may’ve been part and parcel of The Jurassic Games – which I’ve already admitted to not having seen, but its incumbent upon storytellers to build stories which can and should function independently wherever possible.)
As one might suspect, both Games and Extinction work chiefly off ideas clearly established by other franchises but incorporating them into as seamless a whole as one film might allow. There are obvious hints and throwbacks to the aforementioned Hunger Games and Running Man, but a few more spiritual contributors might take the shape of 1982’s TRON, 1993’s Jurassic Park, and 2000’s Battle Royale. Minimally, these similarities work to easily establish the parameters around which Bellgardt will spread the action; and I don’t think any harm is done to any other studio’s intellectual property in any measurable way. Aesthetically, Extinction feels a bit more like 1975’s Death Race 2000 to this old dog – with vastly less visual carnage on the screen – so you can add that film to the mix about where and when such a confluence of ideas may’ve come into the screenwriter’s imagination.
The trouble with the script is that it never quite hammers out too many of its particulars. (Again: some of this foundation may’ve been part and parcel of The Jurassic Games – which I’ve already admitted to not having seen, but its incumbent upon storytellers to build stories which can and should function independently wherever possible.)
The show is seemingly run by some faceless organization – a company? a government? a hybrid of the two? – and a bit more substance could’ve alleviated a bit of my own confusion. Also, there’s a rebel organization mentioned – the Cavemen – which remains a bit nebulous, possibly because all its membership has died off in the current film (which only begs the question as to why anyone felt it needed to be mentioned in the first place) that hijacks the pace in a few spots. Lastly, a small character’s central identity was concealed until the closing reel, and it was handled in a way that suggested I was supposed to take greater meaning of it than I did or – more importantly – was earned. Surprise twists are always risky, and I’m not sure this one paid off with even a negligible blip.
Additionally, I’ll confess to being somewhat confused by the film’s depiction of virtual reality. Essentially, these competitors are ‘inserted’ into cockpits not unlike what audiences saw of Tony Stark inside his Iron Man suit in the popular Marvel and Disney franchise. But there’s no reasonable explanation for how the mechanisms work. Initially, one would think that if an arm is moved in the cockpit then the corresponding appendage would move in the avatar-like dinosaur; and that seems to be the case most of the time. However, these dinosaurs don’t have the biggest arms – they have massive back legs and a tail – so how exactly does an operator master fighting techniques? There are even a few exchanges which suggest that players can speak to one another whilst in cockpits, but the feature lacks any tangible explanation for how such activity is perceived by those outside the game … even though we see them react to it. Such imprecision had me second guessing how every character knew what was taking place, and it did pull me out of the action more than once or twice.
All of this aside, Extinction still manages to deliver a modicum of fun, reminding me greatly of the kinds of features the SciFi/Syfy Channel used to present those of us home on Saturday nights with engaging. Never very smart, never very prescient, these were still small(ish) pictures that kept our interest with flashy characters and interesting though sporadically cheap visuals. The better ones were always a bit tongue-in-cheek – a sentiment that could’ve elevated Extinction which tries to take itself a bit too literally in spots – and audiences would find a way to still cheer the good and the bad because the heart as in the right place. That’s largely how this one feels, all of it made a great bit more palatable with Bellgardt’s visual style.
Surprisingly, Extinction looks much better than it probably deserves, which is why I’d encourage those who can to seek it out. You’ll likely be glad you did.
Additionally, I’ll confess to being somewhat confused by the film’s depiction of virtual reality. Essentially, these competitors are ‘inserted’ into cockpits not unlike what audiences saw of Tony Stark inside his Iron Man suit in the popular Marvel and Disney franchise. But there’s no reasonable explanation for how the mechanisms work. Initially, one would think that if an arm is moved in the cockpit then the corresponding appendage would move in the avatar-like dinosaur; and that seems to be the case most of the time. However, these dinosaurs don’t have the biggest arms – they have massive back legs and a tail – so how exactly does an operator master fighting techniques? There are even a few exchanges which suggest that players can speak to one another whilst in cockpits, but the feature lacks any tangible explanation for how such activity is perceived by those outside the game … even though we see them react to it. Such imprecision had me second guessing how every character knew what was taking place, and it did pull me out of the action more than once or twice.
All of this aside, Extinction still manages to deliver a modicum of fun, reminding me greatly of the kinds of features the SciFi/Syfy Channel used to present those of us home on Saturday nights with engaging. Never very smart, never very prescient, these were still small(ish) pictures that kept our interest with flashy characters and interesting though sporadically cheap visuals. The better ones were always a bit tongue-in-cheek – a sentiment that could’ve elevated Extinction which tries to take itself a bit too literally in spots – and audiences would find a way to still cheer the good and the bad because the heart as in the right place. That’s largely how this one feels, all of it made a great bit more palatable with Bellgardt’s visual style.
Surprisingly, Extinction looks much better than it probably deserves, which is why I’d encourage those who can to seek it out. You’ll likely be glad you did.
The Jurassic Games: Extinction (2025) was produced by Boiling Point Media. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Well Go USA Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can assure you that the provided sights-and-sounds are quite expert across the picture: clearly, the vast majority of this story was assembled via CGI (of several sorts), and one can expect some measurable highs and lows as a consequence. (FYI: not every scene works perfectly, but the dino-action is very good.) Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Alas … not a thing. A miss, but it is what it is.
Recommended.
In many ways, The Jurassic Game: Extinction (2025) plays out like some big comic book screen fantasy – with great visuals and some deft action sequences – but don’t look for any of the characters to be anything greater than a player in transition. In a world wherein dinosaurs are so vividly brought to life, must all of the humans be so two-dimensional? About the best that happens is our hero Tucker gives a big speech (to his son) about the errors he’s made as a father, but it’s delivered with leaden efficiency and never amounts to the hill of beans I imagine it looked like it would be on the page. More polish was needed to make the dialogue work, and yet – with graphics this good – some probably won’t give a damn. I still do … but I was still entertained, dammit.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Jurassic Games: Extinction by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Recommended.
In many ways, The Jurassic Game: Extinction (2025) plays out like some big comic book screen fantasy – with great visuals and some deft action sequences – but don’t look for any of the characters to be anything greater than a player in transition. In a world wherein dinosaurs are so vividly brought to life, must all of the humans be so two-dimensional? About the best that happens is our hero Tucker gives a big speech (to his son) about the errors he’s made as a father, but it’s delivered with leaden efficiency and never amounts to the hill of beans I imagine it looked like it would be on the page. More polish was needed to make the dialogue work, and yet – with graphics this good – some probably won’t give a damn. I still do … but I was still entertained, dammit.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Jurassic Games: Extinction by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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