“Jurassic World: Dominion” is advertised as the finale of the long-running franchise, and just like the dinosaurs themselves, one can only hope it is, as this entry proves it’s at rock bottom. 

This new trilogy was already showing signs of running out of gas after the last installment, “Fallen Kingdom,” took a nosedive, with ideas that sounded intriguing but substandard execution at best. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are back in “Dominion,” and we pick up the action four years later, where the dinos have escaped from Isla Nublar and are now running amok all over the world.

“Dominion” offers a subplot about genetically enhanced locusts the size of footballs that a corporation is (I guess) trying to use as a weapon against the dinosaurs — but I’m not sure, because the plot is murky, and it doesn’t gel well with the rest of the story. Pratt and Howard are also trying to protect young Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), a clone of her mother from “Fallen Kingdom,” and somehow she figures into the plot, but like just most everything else, her involvement feels slapped together.

But we’ve got nostalgia around the corner with the returns of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).

Together, the three actors do get some moments to shine despite the script entering obligatory territory, as in the reunion between Grant and Satler; their interaction hints at things we can see coming a mile away.

The rest of the movie gives us the standard special- effect sequences that this series knows how to deliver, but this go-around, there isn’t much suspense.

We can sense each time a dino is going to pop out, or when it looks like a character is about to reach their demise, only to be saved at the last minute.

There is one action sequence that’s somewhat exciting that follows Pratt on his motorcycle, leading a raptor on a chase through some streets. This scene does have moments of impact, but others feel routine.

At almost two and a half hours, “Jurassic World: Dominion” feels clunky and creatively bankrupt. “Fallen Kingdom” gave us diminishing returns, and while “Dominion” is a step up from that one, it suffers from its own shortcomings, with the plot and the action — not to mention, the climax feels somewhat anticlimactic.

This series has been hit or miss with me. The first movie back in 1993 was thrilling and groundbreaking, though the sequels rarely had anything new or exciting to offer. I think this one should’ve been called “Jurassic World: Franchise Extinction.”

Grade: C-

(Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, some violence and language.)