Director: Gareth Edwards
Writer: David Koepp
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend
Synopsis: Five years post-Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough.
Let’s face it—while the original Jurassic Park may not be a cinematic landmark in storytelling, its groundbreaking special effects changed movies forever. Who could forget the awe and terror of dinosaurs chasing people around an island, where we were told to “hold onto our butts” and sat through one of the most thrilling summer blockbusters of its time?
Aside from the original, its direct sequel, and perhaps Chris Pratt’s vehicle Jurassic World, the rest of the franchise struggles to justify their existence. If you’re simply looking to pass the time with something mindless, Jurassic World: Dominion fits that definition a little too well. It’s one of the rare action-adventure films where the CGI dinosaurs genuinely out-act the human cast.
Most of the franchise is so poorly thought out and written that it’s almost remarkable. It’s a series in which the characters repeatedly make the same mistakes, learning nothing and dragging the audience along. So, practically any follow-up would be an improvement over Dominion. However, Jurassic World Rebirth gets back to its roots by delivering a big summer blockbuster packed with the thrills and chills fans of the franchise have been clamoring for. Yes, it’s mindless, but scary enough for a mild recommendation.
The film picks up about five years after Dominion. Dinosaurs have largely fallen out of favor with the public. Earth has become practically uninhabitable for them, and they’re now on the verge of extinction. Only a few remote, tropical regions remain where they roam freely—settings familiar to anyone who’s seen a Jurassic film in the past thirty years.
Zora Bennett (Academy Award-nominee Scarlett Johansson), a covert military operative, is recruited by Martin Krebs (Canary Black’s Rupert Friend), an executive at ParkerGenix—a pharmaceutical company that believes dinosaurs hold the key to developing medications capable of curing thousands of conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune disorders. Of course, they’ll be charging the public a premium for such breakthroughs—but who cares about that in this day and age?
For a multi-million dollar payout, Zora agrees to accompany Martin and renowned paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Wicked’s Jonathan Bailey), an expert in the field who has developed a method for extracting samples from the prehistoric beasts as safely as (humanly) possible. Zora enlists an old friend, Duncan Kincaid (two-time Academy Award winnder Mahershala Ali), to lead the team on their mission to Île Saint-Hubert—a forbidden island in the Atlantic Ocean, once used by InGen as a dinosaur research facility, and now home to secrets far more dangerous than they could ever imagine.
Jurassic World Rebirth comes from Gareth Edwards, a director known for large-scale science fiction blockbusters like Godzilla, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and The Creator. Working from a script by David Koepp—the writer of the original—with rumors that executive producer Steven Spielberg had input, the film expands on the original premise by exploring a more evolved world of dinosaur design. These short-tempered lizards are now portrayed as mutations, adding a chilling twist. The opening sequence is genuinely frightening, evoking the atmosphere of an Alien film, while the final act introduces a new and improved Tyrant Lizard King.
This creative decision may irk some fans, but after years of debate over refreshing the franchise, this approach offers a way out of the tired “live, die, repeat” cycle that has defined six previous installments. A subplot involving a stranded family—led by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo in a Swiss Family Robinson–style storyline—brings heart and much-needed comic relief. Oddly enough, that includes a young daughter styled to resemble an older version of Dora the Explorer, so closely that it feels like the film is flirting with an intellectual property crossover.
This is a Jurassic Park/Jurassic World film so you can expect the usual themes of corporate greed, science versus ethics, and man playing God. We’re also introduced to “Dolores,” an adorable baby dinosaur reminiscent of “Norman” from City Slickers (forgive the deep cut), who’s clearly designed to charm audiences and dominate toy shelves this holiday season. And of course, there’s the expected narrative amnesia—characters conveniently forgetting they just watched a friend get eaten—along with selective trauma that takes a back seat to pacing and spectacle.
That said, Jurassic World Rebirth, as mentioned above, delivers thrills and chills that are just plain fun. It may not be the most brilliant film, but getting back to basics, improving the creature designs, and offering some spine-tingling frights keep the audience engaged for most of its runtime.
