It’s been ten years since audiences were reintroduced to the world of dinosaurs with the release of 2015’s Jurassic World. Yeah, I feel like that Matt Damon aging gif too. The legacy sequels to 1993’s Jurassic Park gave us three movies, whose entertaining quality dropped like a pterosaur nose-diving into the ocean. However, the trilogy generated enough of a box office return that Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment gave it another try with Jurassic World: Rebirth.
Rebirth is set to be another step in continuing to build the franchise by giving us what we love about dinosaurs in the modern world. The combination of director Gareth Edwards and David Koepp’s writing showcases that the franchise still has legs. This somewhat new direction for the series leans further into a Dino Crisis-like setting and might be worth exploring in future films.
Jurassic World: Rebirth, directed by Edwards, takes the script by Koepp and adds a more horror and adventure element to the franchise. The story revolves around a group of mercenaries on a mission to reach a research island—formerly owned by InGen—where dinosaurs were previously experimented on. Heading the group is veteran former ex-military covert operative, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). Bennett and Loomis are recruited by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) of ParkerGenix to travel to the island and gather pure dinosaur biomaterial samples.
The hope is that these samples may lead to the development of a medical drug that could potentially bring significant benefits to humanity.
Koepp’s script hits the ground running with some of its characters in the first Act. The writing cleverly explains how dinosaurs have impacted the world and how the world, in turn, has affected them. It simultaneously brings interest back into this world and reflects how we, as a society, have kind of moved on from dinosaurs. This was actually great for Koepp and Edwards to work in conjunction in sprinkling in moments of amazement when the dinosaurs were on screen. It harkened back to the days of the ’93 film, which tapped into that nostalgic feeling that we have all grown accustomed to. Yet, Koepp dug a bit deeper to give the movie its entertaining spin.
Jurassic World: Rebirth draws on concepts from the Michael Crichton novel, The Lost World, and injects some horror and more intense scenes. The idea of mutated dinosaurs and the high threat level in the movie is something that kept it entertaining for the most part. Edwards has a history of working in monster films, and his talent was the perfect addition to the movie. There were several scenes in Jurassic World: Rebirth where I held my breath due to the extreme peril some of the characters faced. It allowed the movie’s action to escalate in multiple settings and locations where the characters found themselves.
Additionally, the character work is both a positive and a negative aspect of Jurassic World: Rebirth.
Johansson excels with the material and portrays her character in a way that is reminiscent of her portrayal of Natasha Romanoff, albeit in a more enjoyable manner. Johansson came across as a tour guide on a wild jungle ride, which had fundamental elements of danger. Bailey’s character felt like a cross between Alan Grant and Ian Malcom. There were moments where Bailey showed an authentic love and passion for dinosaurs, like Grant, while playing up the realistic and no-nonsense characteristics of Malcolm.
Another positive aspect of the acting came from Mahershala Ali, who played Duncan Kincaid. He and the family caught in the middle of this excursion were basically the heart of the movie. Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Audrina Miranda, along with Ali, carried most of the emotional beats of the movie, giving the film that much-needed human connection. Although it did work when needed, it felt forced at times.
Jurassic World: Rebirth stumbled during the first Act because the movie required me to connect with its characters too soon. Some of the emotional beats at the beginning and to some extent in the middle of the movie felt forced, as if they were demanding a reaction from me. There’s a particular moment in Jurassic World: Rebirth where Johansson and Ali are reunited after being separated for years. The two were giving these heartfelt moments that might have looked good on paper, but ended up falling flat because they were too vague, as if setting up something that was never truly paid off.
Lastly, there was a level of predictability in parts of the movie. Several characters were either not properly introduced or their presence was given short shrift. That action pretty much telegraphed who was going to die. Krebs is a character who might as well have been twirling his mustache as he grips the knife behind his back tightly. Philippine Velge and Bechir Sylvain barely have names for their characters and might as well have been referred to as Person 1 and Person 2. The movie tries to make their fates impactful, but I didn’t feel anything.
Jurassic World: Rebirth feels like a theme park ride for most of the movie, and that works for the B-level story. The movie might have thrived as a direct sequel to ’93’s Jurassic Park, and it works on some level in today’s cinema world. The large, deadly dinosaur depicted in the 3rd Act has a unique appearance that lends a horror monster feel to the movie. The franchise’s new direction can breathe new life into this series and is sure to be another hit for moviegoers. It’s popcorn cinema for audiences, and that’s okay.