Jurassic World: Rebirth ~ Review

Dinosaurs on film have been around since we have had the special effects to put them on screen, dating back to 1905 with the film Prehistoric Peeps. There was also Windsor McCay’s Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914. Audiences have always enjoyed seeing dinosaurs. Now, as special effects improved, audiences have truly loved nothing more than watching dinosaurs going completely bananas in a movie. Wikipedia has a helpful list of over a hundred Dinosaurs in live-action films over one hundred and twenty years. There is no two ways about it, dinosaurs are cool and audiences love them.

So, it’s a little strange that a good portion of Jurassic World: Rebirth is given over to the thematic idea that audiences are tired of dinosaurs. Forget all the hundreds of dinosaur or dino-related movies – this is the seventh film in the Jurassic Park franchise that has grossed roughly six billion dollars (and counting) worldwide!

It's been roughly three years since the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, and the dinosaurs that have overrun the planet have either died out or migrated to islands around the equator which resemble the climate of the Mesozoic era. These islands are now no-fly zones, and it's highly illegal to see dinosaurs in person. And while the dinosaurs that have overrun the world do cause the occasional traffic jam, they are mostly treated as a nuisance. Pharmaceutical executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) is trying to develop a landmark cure for heart disease. The problem is that this new treatment requires three DNA samples from three different dinosaur species. One that lives in water, one on land, and one that flies (I’m no scientist, but I don’t think this is how something like this would work, but just roll with it). So Krebs hires the morally flexible badass super spy Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to travel to the dinosaur inhabited islands, get the samples and return. Paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) is also along for the ride as he knows all about dinosaurs. Zora also gathers a mercenary team led by Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali).

Zora and co. head out into the waters around the equator, but are sidetracked by a family traveling across the ocean who have been attacked by a Mosasaurus (the aquatic dinosaur). They are Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) his two daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono). Together, sort of (as there are a whole lot of people getting separated in this film), this group will make their way to the dinosaur-inhabited islands to try to retrieve the DNA.

The thing about the Jurassic Park sequels is that they mostly exist as setpiece delivery systems. They aren’t concerned with thematics and mostly just busy themselves with giving you the best dinosaur rampages that modern special effects can create. In that sense, Jurassic World: Rebirth delivers. The sequence where the team gets the blood sample from the Mosasaurus is really fun. It's an extended Jaws riff, that I enjoyed immensely. However, Jurassic World: Rebirth is almost too much of a good thing. Because the plot becomes bifurcated once the group reaches the island, Nora’s team and Reuben’s family get immediately separated, so the movie becomes two separate stories until they reunite for the climax. So, one plot is the mission, and the other is…Jurassic Park stuff – where characters run around a jungle being chased by dinosaurs while learning about how to keep the family together. Which is frustrating, because I think the movie would have benefited from keeping everyone together. The film basically intercuts different setpieces from the two character groups.

Now here’s the thing, while Jurassic World: Rebirth didn’t quite work for me, that does not mean that it is a bad or lazy film. Director Gareth Edwards can craft set pieces with giant creatures in his sleep, and his work here does not change my opinion on that. A sequence where a T Rex chases everyone on a boat is a real highlight. The actors are all given moments to shine and bring humanity to their characters. Johansson and Ali are particular standouts.

Ultimately, this is the seventh Jurassic Park film. You know what you’re going to get with one of these things. And all and all, it’s a fine time at the movies.

Two and a half stars out of four.