Jurassic World Rebirth (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

PopEntertainment
Jun 30
4 min read

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (2025)

Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ed Skrein, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Bechir Sylvain, Philippine Velge, Adam Loxley, Niamh Finlay, Julian Edgar, Lucy Thackeray, Billy Smith and Jonny Lavelle.

Screenplay by David Koepp.

Directed by Gareth Edwards.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 133 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Remember just a few years ago when Jurassic World Dominion was being touted as the end of the Jurassic saga, a finale so vital that they brought back the stars of both the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park trilogies for one last epic standoff against the dinosaurs?

Well, forever seems to last a lot less time than it used to and the Jurassic series once again cheats extinction a mere three years later. The Rebirth in this title appears to not only refer to the dinosaurs but also to the film franchise.

You’d think after the six previous disastrous attempts to coexist between humans and genetically-modified dinosaurs that everyone would have recognized that poking these particular creatures is never a promising idea. Yet, on the second reboot of the franchise, we have a whole new group of scientists, corporate stooges and mercenaries that seem to think that they will be the ones to tame the beasts.

That isn’t likely, is it?

Also there is a family of innocent bystanders who get caught up in the action for no discernable reason, because what’s more terrifying than a dinosaur menacing a hysterical little girl?

And there is a new group of filmmakers behind the cameras who think that they can drum up some new scares out of situations that have already been examined to death six times in previous Jurassic films.

That doesn’t seem much more likely.

In fairness, after the overblown world-building of the Jurassic World series, Rebirth seems to be going back to the basics, confining the action mostly to the open sea and a single uninhabited island and even bringing back screenwriter David Koepp, who co-wrote the first Jurassic Park film (and wrote the second solo).

They also bring in director Gareth Edwards, who with Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has shown himself to have a keen eye for reinventing well-explored worlds and situations.

None of it quite works, but kudos for trying, I guess. Well, I mean if they had to try to make this film at all, which is certainly debatable. However, if the studio is going to insist on continuing to milk this franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth is not the worst film in the series. (That would probably be Jurassic World Dominion, although The Lost World: Jurassic Park gives it a run for the money.)

However, do we really need another middling Jurassic adventure?

Again, not very likely.

In particular because the only really good Jurassic movies have been the first part of each trilogy, with the original Jurassic Park being the only true cinematic masterpiece, but the first Jurassic World film was a pretty good update of the IP. So, if this is the first film of a new grouping (and lord, please don’t make this into yet another trilogy), the most likely direction is downwards.

In fairness, Jurassic World Rebirth has an ending which does not really seem to lend itself to yet another sequel, but that hasn’t always stopped filmmakers from just making one, anyway.

The story – as if it really matters – has the group going to yet another one of the deserted islands where scientists had experimented on the dinos before all getting killed off. A corporate shill (Rupert Friend) is willing to pay a fortune to get blood from three of the largest dinosaurs existing – supposedly as a way to fight heart disease in humans. (This actually seems like a good, philanthropic reason for the trip, but they guy is so obviously slimy that you know there is an ulterior motive.)

He hires a group of mercenaries (Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Bechir Sylvain and Philippine Velge) and a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) to go in search of the dinosaurs. While heading towards the island, they come across a man (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters (Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda) and the older daughter’s boyfriend (David Iacono), whose boat has been flipped by aquatic dinosaurs. It is never quite explained why this family would be sailing – particularly with a small child – in waters that are illegal because of the dinosaur population.

Cue lots of running, screaming and destruction.

Actually, the destruction was somewhat limited. The dinosaurs in Rebirth seemed to often have trouble catching their much slower prey. One T.Rex that goes after the family on a raft in the jungle in particular seemed rather ineffectual as a hunter.

I see no real reason to continue this franchise. Then again, I could have said that after the last two or three films. It’s well past time for these dinosaur movies to go extinct.

Jay S. Jacobs