Jurassic World: Rebirth feels more like Jurassic World: Rehash with David Koepp, writer of the first two Jurassic films, returning to the franchise. Koepp’s efforts are akin to a mixtape with familiar concepts and plot elements taken from all three of the original movies.
Rebirth introduces us to an all-new cast of characters, which may be a positive after the tepid return of the original cast members Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern in Jurassic World: Dominion. Not the actors’ fault that their appearances were buried in a sea of silliness involving prehistoric locusts and human cloning. Even Universal seems to have realized they lost the plot with the second trilogy as Rebirth also serves as a soft reset.
After positing a modern world where dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the prehistoric creatures have not done well in the ensuing years. The majority of dinosaurs have died off due to environmental changes save for those living in the equator, which closely mimics the ecosphere of the Mesozoic era. Travel to those areas are expressly forbidden by numerous governments. Of course, rules are made to be broken.
Pharmaceutical executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) is planning a clandestine mission to the island of Ile Saint-Hubert, an abandoned InGen research facility now inhabited by natural dinosaurs and failed crossbred mutations. The plan is to collect DNA from three of the largest specimens on land, sea, and air – Titanosaurus, Mosasaurus, and Quetzalcoatlus. Something to do with their enlarged hearts being beneficial to modern coronary disease research. Whatever. We need a reason to go to the island, no matter how specious.
In order to achieve his goals, Krebs throws crazy, stupid money to hire ex-military specialist Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and boat captain Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). Tagging along are weapons expert Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein), crewmates Nina (Philippine Velge) and Leclerc (Bechir Sylvain). Meanwhile, divorced father Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is on a sailing trip to Cape Town with his daughters Isabella (Audrina Miranda), Teresa (Luna Blaise), and her boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono). The two parties meet when the latter’s ship is capsized by the Mosasaurus. An additional attack by a group of Spinosaurus runs the boat aground and separates the two groups as they fight for survival.
From there, Rebirth becomes two parallel films intercut with one another. We get the tried and true humans in peril with the Delgados encountering old favorites like velociraptors. Koepp even resurrects a thrilling sequence lifted from the original novel and intended for the first Jurassic Park in which the unlucky family attempt to escape a T-Rex aboard an inflatable raft. Isabella brings the cute factor as Rebirth’s Timmy and the filmmakers up the ante by pairing her with a baby Aguilops she names Dolores. Naturally, you can meet Dolores in person at Universal’s theme parks. Zora’s squad brings a heist element to the proceedings as they track their targets and collect the DNA samples. The most suspenseful moment comes when they must repel down a cliff into the ruins of an old temple where the Quetzalcoatlus has nested.
New director Gareth Edwards returns to his Monsters roots and finds ways to remind us just how frightening these dinosaurs can be. He finds clever ways to hide them within the darkness or background before revealing them to the audience’s audible gasps. The climax features a suspenseful sequence inside an abandoned convenience store that’s reminiscent of the kids avoiding raptors in the kitchen. One scene in Rebirth manages to capture the majesty and wonder of encountering a dinosaur that made the original movie a classic. This is when Loomis finds a herd of Titanosaurus, two of which wrap their giraffe-like necks around each other in a loving embrace. The music swells as composer Alexandre Desplat cribs the iconic John Williams theme. Don’t worry, Rebirth doesn’t just shoehorn in constant reference to the other movies.
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey are charming enough to keep the movie afloat, but these are the types of roles they can pull off in their sleep. David Iacono has a fun time as the annoying, comic relief boyfriend who eventually proves himself to be quite capable.
Is there anything more that can be milked from these dinosaur teets? Jurassic World: Rebirth is an entertaining picture and technically well-made, but fairly uninspired and predictable.
Film Rating: 6/10
