When it comes to the Jurassic movies, whether it’s a park or the world, the one thing they have in common besides dinosaurs is they all are desperately chasing that feeling of the original. I don’t blame them, but it’s time to face facts and admit that it will never be captured again.
Never.
Regardless of this realization setting in, Jurassic World: Rebirth gives it a solid go by going back to the basics and not over complicating things, unleashing these dinos to terrorize us just like the good ole days. This latest installment’s roar isn’t as mighty as we may want it to be; nevertheless, the thrills, the suspense, and the scares that have been practically MIA for quite a long time have made their triumphant return. So suck it Chris Pratt.
Directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla) and written by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, The Lost World), there’s a ton of fun within the plot’s familiarity and stupidity. Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, a contrite mercenary looking for a big payday so to get out for good. She’s hired by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a douchey Big Pharma suit who needs blood from three big dinosaurs with big hearts and he knows just the guy who can get it for him.
Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) is a paleontologist who studied under our beloved Dr. Alan Grant. And while there’s a bit of hesitation at first, it doesn’t take much convincing to get Loomis on board. Going to an illegal island where cross-breeding dinosaurs roam would sound exciting to anyone, right? Krebs, Bennett and Loomis are joined by a military team, captained by Duncan Kinkaid (Mahershala Ali), an old pal of Bennett’s.
As they set off on this covert operation, it quickly turns in to a rescue mission when a sailboat is attacked, leaving a father (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters (Luna Blaise, Audrina Miranda) and the oldest one’s lazy boyfriend (David Iacono) stranded in very dangerous waters. This is right about when Jurassic World: Rebirth gets exciting because for the first almost forty-five minutes - it takes its sweet time. When they all finally arrive on the island, they encounter a whole new breed of dinos. You know…the mutated kind with sharp teeth and claws that usually have this terrible tendency to scarf down humans.
The one they’ll have to watch out for the most is the D-Rex. It gets a nice little horror intro at the beginning and then doesn’t show back up until the end in a very cool foggy reveal. If only it wasn’t meaningless and the design of it didn’t look horrendous. We came here to see dinosaurs, not some lousy Alien ripoff.
The characters are likable enough even though there’s no real depth as their backstories are half-assed. Johansson is fine in doing what’s required, but she strangely doesn’t add much to the movie. Bennett’s mini romance with Loomis is eye-rolling, though Bailey is stellar as the scientist we’ve been missing for far too long in this series. Having the curiosity of Dr. Grant and the cynicism of Dr. Malcolm, we are immediately drawn to Loomis who is more than just the brains of this operation. Ali is fantastic with Iacono getting all of the laughs. Speaking of which, many will be pleasantly surprised on just how engaging the narrative of the stranded family is. It ends up proving to be more beneficial to the movie than the blood gathering bullshit.
Frustration is assuredly felt throughout Jurassic World: Rebirth as it feels pretty pointless with a bunch of scenes lacking any real impact. However, there’s plenty that will have audiences giddy as we are reminded of some of the best parts this franchise has had to offer. There are moments of enjoyable awe and anxiety when a dinosaur enters the frame. John Mathieson‘s (Gladiator, Logan) sublime cinematography has us seeing a world we know in a stunning new light. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this was filmed in real locations, either. And the visual effects are impressive with the exception of a few ugly spots.
The culmination of everything experienced while watching this makes clear that Edwards can’t capture that sacred spirit of the original, but he arguably does perhaps get the closest in spite of still being miles away. Along with brilliantly adapting scenes straight from Michael Crichton’s book, he throws in some cool callbacks as well. And our ears perk up while our arms get goosebumps once that iconic Jurassic Park theme hits just right. Works every time.
Damn, Chris Pratt didn’t deserve to catch that stray!