Battle at Big Rock (Jurassic World Short)

REVIEW:

As part of my review series for the Jurassic franchise I felt it wouldn’t be complete without Battle at Big Rock. Even though it runs at just ten minutes, it is canon, directed by Colin Trevorrow, and for a while it felt like the clearest glimpse of where the story was heading after Fallen Kingdom. As a Jurassic fan I was so happy to have something fresh to chew on while waiting for the next feature length chapter, and even though it was short, it carried that familiar sense of excitement only this franchise can bring.

The short wastes no time in pulling me back into that world. When the Universal logo appears with John Williams’ iconic “Opening Titles” theme from the original film, I was immediately hit with nostalgia and found myself glued to the screen. The story itself is straightforward: a family on a camping trip to Big Rock National Park witnesses a confrontation between an Allosaurus and a Nasutoceratops. What begins as a moment of wonder, with Melody Hurd’s reaction to seeing the dinosaurs echoing our own first cinematic encounter, quickly shifts into danger once the predator arrives and threatens to attack.

I really appreciate the way Trevorrow uses small touches to remind us how radically the world has changed. A throwaway line about bears wandering into campsites doubles as a chilling suggestion that dinosaurs are now part of everyday risk, much like any wild animal. That idea makes the premise land harder than you would expect for such a brief story. The attack itself is staged with a real sense of tension, and when the campervan is toppled with the baby still strapped inside, I found myself genuinely worried. As a Dad, that moment really hit home and it proved that when handled well, even a short piece can generate genuine suspense.

On a technical level, the blend of CGI and animatronics is once again impressive, with the creatures feeling tactile and believable. The highlight for me though comes during the end credits. The fleeting clips of Compys, Stegosaurus and Parasaurolophus freely moving through our world were exactly the kind of imagery I thought the franchise would lean into for Dominion. It felt like a natural escalation after Fallen Kingdom, hinting at the everyday clashes between humanity and dinosaurs in ways big and small. I will dive deeper into how that expectation played out when I get to my Dominion review.

It is difficult to score something that is only ten minutes long, but Battle at Big Rock achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It delivers suspense, wonder, and a taste of a larger world in the space of a coffee break. My only real criticism is that I wish it had been longer, but that just speaks to how effective it is. On my usual scale, I would give it a 4 out of 5, a short that proves Jurassic can still thrill even in miniature.