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Jurassic World Rebirth Review
Image Credit: Universal Studios
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Directed By: Gareth Edwards
Written By: David Koepp
Runtime: 134 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference.
Scarlett Johansson – Zora Bennett
Jonathan Bailey – Dr. Henry Loomis
Mahershala Ali – Duncan Kincaid
Rupert Friend – Martin Krebs
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – Reuben Delgado
Luna Blaise – Teresa Delgado
Audrina Miranda – Isabella Delgado
David Iacono – Xavier Dobbs
Ed Skrein – Bobby Atwater
Bechir Sylvain – Leclerc
Philippine Velge – Nina
The Jurassic Park film franchise starts showing tremendous wear and tear with its latest entry, Jurassic World Rebirth. Now thirty-two years and seven movies in, director Gareth Edwards fails to inject any exciting new energy into the series, which is beginning to resemble the dying, groaning dinosaur carcass that lies in the streets of New York City. Jurassic World Rebirth takes the franchise into a place it should never go — pure unmitigated boredom.
Picking up several years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, Edwards and writer David Koepp, who scripted the 1993 original Steven Spielberg film adaptation of Michael Critchton’s bestselling novel, clumsily walk back the ending of the last film. Once again, most dinosaurs becoming extinct, as they are at odds with the planet’s current environment. Now, dinosaurs are only able to survive in tropical climates close to the equator, which more closely resemble their original prehistoric habitats. That presents a dilemma for big pharma executive Martin Krebs (Friend), who seeks to harness dinosaur DNA to develop a cure for heart disease.
Krebs hires a veteran soldier for hire, Zora Bennett (Johansson), to lead an expedition to an abandoned island that was once home to an InGen research facility that held mutated dinosaur test subjects for Jurassic Park. A prologue reveals how an errant Snickers wrapper disrupts the holding pen for a deadly mutant D-Rex, which breaks loose, causing a massive evacuation. The dinosaurs, mutant test subjects included, are roaming free on the abandoned island, just like Isla Sorna. Krebs wants Bennett to lead the expedition into the highly dangerous, off-limits island, with paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey) serving as an onsite advisor regarding which dinosaurs make the strongest DNA samples for procurement. Despite his ambivalence over Krebs’ goals, Loomis dreams of seeing dinosaurs in their natural habitat; and his museum is on the verge of closure, so he reluctantly accepts the offer.
Things grow dicey when a family sailing across the Atlantic Ocean runs afoul of some amphibious dinos, capsizing the boat of single dad Reuben Delgado (Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters, Teresa (Blaise) and Isabella (Miranda), and Teresa’s uncouth boyfriend Xavier (Iacono). Bennett’s associate, Duncan Kincaid (Ali), quickly intercepts the Delgado family’s SOS, moving to rescue them despite dissent from Krebs, who wishes to keep their whereabouts on the down low. It’s not long before their plans go fubar, and the group becomes stranded on the island, where the dinosaurs are thriving, creating a certified death trap. Unfortunately, Edwards cannot find an interesting way to elevate such rehashed material.
Koepp’s script suffers from two diverging plot lines: one for Krebs’ expedition to purloin dinosaur DNA and the other involving the Delgado family. They do intersect times, but not in any meaningful ways. Neither particularly receives sufficient development to make the characters shine. All the lead characters receive threadbare development and lack narrative refinement. The Delgado family is so nondescript. Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier, initially appears completely unlikable. It’s almost as if the narrative is setting up Xavier to become dino chow, and his character’s redemption arc unfolds in a flimsy fashion.
The rest of the characters resemble familiar, underdeveloped archetypes of earlier franchise characters, but they do not exhibit in the way of meaningful performances or moments. There is a hint of some romantic chemistry between Bennett and Dr. Loomis, but it goes nowhere. The underdeveloped characters and surrounding plot fail to ignite legitimate excitement and suspense.
Jurassic World Rebirth does not result in a complete and total loss. Edwards is a talented director, specifically where the film’s CG visuals are concerned. Additionally, Edwards stages a handful of impressive action sequences involving the dinosaurs, specifically the sequence where a Tyrannosaurus Rex chases a river raft, reimagining a classic sequence from Crichton’s original novel. The buildup and execution of the river raft sequence are impressive, but the story around it lacks substance. The characters in the sequence lack proper investment since they were just barely introduced minutes beforehand.
Visually, the movie looks strong. John Mathieson provides sharp cinematography throughout the film. Mathieson’s photography work and strong visual effects sometimes serve to make the creatures look menacing. Overall, the production values are good, but the script and story presentation are weak. How did another island exist all this time that was never previously referenced or discussed? Why didn’t Masrani Global Corporation or BioSyn attempt to take over the island before? What about the temples and ruins on the island? That plot thread would have been interesting to follow. A character asks about the ruins, but the question never gets answered or mentioned again.
Many of the climactic scenes focus on the new mutant dinosaur test subjects, who for all intents and purposes, look ridiculous. Earlier scenes in the movie shove aside some of the more famous stars of the franchise, making way for the D-Rex and Mutadons. The D-Rex’s appearance also looks confusing. Did InGen mix in some primate or even homosapien DNA into the protoplasmic batter? The plot does not properly explain the hybrid’s primate-like features.
Jurassic World Rebirth now brings the franchise to a point where it’s just pointlessly spinning its wheels and pumping out grotesque, hybrid creations, much like InGen, rather than creating a new adventure with a genuinely innovative or exciting new plot. It foolishly resets the new status quo left by the last film while constantly hitting the audience over the head with the idea that public interest in dinosaurs has waned. The film largely focuses on the mutant hybrids over traditional dinosaurs in such a way that turns Jurassic World Rebirth into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Jurassic World Rehash would serve as a more appropriate title.
