“Rebirth” A Thrilling, Yet Predictable "Jurassic" Adventure

After the heavily mixed reception of the 2022 sequel “Jurassic World: Dominion,” Universal decided to give the franchise another go (despite “Dominion” being marketed as the conclusion) and fast track a new movie centered on new characters. And, now that I finished up revisiting the “Jurassic World” trilogy, it’s time to talk about the fun and entertaining “Jurassic World: Rebirth.”

A few years after the events of “Dominion,” the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. The remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived.

The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.

After the release of “Dominion,” I was kind of hoping the studio would give this franchise a bit of a rest and eventually reboot it down the road. Even though the previous movie, “Dominion,” was said to be the conclusion to the saga, I knew it would be back eventually. And, since I’ve been a fan of the series for years, I still wanted to give “Rebirth” a chance!

While “Jurassic World: Rebirth” delivers some more exciting dinosaur action and incredible visual effects, the fourth “Jurassic World” and 7th overall “Jurassic” movie can actually be a bit predictable at times.

“Rebirth” actually starts out well with an opening sequence set at a laboratory where they’re creating more hybrid dinosaurs. Once the D-rex (the latest dino hybrid) escapes due to malfunctions, the tension and the scares really build up. And, that’s really all that we see from the new hybrid dino until almost the end of the movie.

Throughout the first half of the movie, we are introduced to quite a few new characters, including a vacationing family who will ultimately get mixed up with the dino chaos. The

story involving the characters finding DNA from a few dinosaurs to help create a drug to cure heart disease is honestly great and helps bring the scientific thriller aspect of the series back. Yet, the first half does kind of slow things down a bit, except for a thrilling sequence featuring a dinosaur attacking the previously mentioned family in the middle of the ocean.

The dino action really kicks in during the latter half of the movie as some of the characters reach the island of mutated dinosaurs. This part of the plot is really intriguing as it’s revealed what happens to the cloned dinosaurs that ended up getting mutated and taken to this other island away from the park. The D-rex has some great thrilling moments during the latter half. Despite it being the main hybrid dinosaur to be featured, the creature has very limited screen time.

There’s also a few moments where the little girl of the vacationing family (Isabella) actually befriends a little dinosaur and the small, plant-eating dino can actually steal the show a few times. The raft sequence where the family encounters a T-rex and must escape it is quite thrilling and is actually taken from the original “Jurassic Park” novel.

So, while there are some moments that can really slow things down a bit, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” can still be really fun and entertaining for the most part. Here’s hoping that the franchise doesn’t lose any more stream down the road.

Cast: Scarlett Johansson (Zora Bennett); Mahershala Ali (Duncan Kincaid); Jonathan Bailey (Dr. Henry Loomis); Rupert Friend (Martin Krabs); Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (Reuben Delgado); Luna Blaise (Teresa Delgado); David Iccono (Xaver Dobbs); Audrina Miranda (Isabella Delgado); Ed Skrein (Bobby Atwater); Bechier Sylvain (LeClerc); Philippine Velge (Nina).

Writer/director: David Koepp (writer) (Black Bag; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; the original Jurassic Park); Gareth Edwards (director) (The Creator; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Godzilla).

Trivia: “Rebirth” is the first movie in the overall series to not have any cast members return from prior installments. The idea of mutated or deformed dinosaurs actually came from several previous unmade scripts. One of the unmade scripts also had a D-rex in it in the form of a “Doomsday Rex,” which was a horrifically deformed T-rex. As of writing this review, it’s not said whether another movie would be in development.

MPA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference   (runtime 134 minutes). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smavD1fopZ8

• Scarlett Johansson has been a huge fan of the franchise ever since she was a child. She spent the last ten years before this film was announced trying to join the franchise, saying she would have been fine with appearing in one only to die in the first five minutes if it meant she could be part of it.

• A school bus in New York City is seen with "Crichton Middle School" painted on its side. This is a reference to the late Michael Crichton, the author of the Jurassic Park novel that spawned the film franchise.

• The plot of the second novel - namely how InGen had many failures on the road to cloning dinosaurs that weren't shown to the guests during the Jurassic Park Incident - is finally adapted here, with the trailer showing off a Genetic Abomination that is apparently a failed clone, while a still-image reveals that at least one raptor (implied to be a prototype of the Mutadon) was created with two heads.

• Mutant or deformed dinos came up in several previous unmade scripts. One of them also had a D-rex in it in the form of the Doomsday Rex, which was also a horrifically deformed T-rex.

• The scene with the sleeping T-Rex and the raft was actually in the original book.

• This is the only Jurassic sequel to not include any characters from the original Jurassic Park (1993), nor returning characters from any previous film in the series. All other films in the franchise have featured at least one character returning in some capacity.