“This has gotta be the end, right? I mean, how much further can they go with this?” We’ve all been saying that for years regarding the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise. With each new chapter, the storyline gets a little sillier, however the latest installment, Jurassic World Rebirth, is one of the better films in some time. Genuinely scary and thrilling, it’s the summer popcorn movie we’ve been waiting for.
I will say, I’m a sucker with this franchise. I’ve enjoyed all but one of the previous six films (1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park). Of course, the original is the best. Copying the playbook from Jaws, Jurassic Park revealed very little in the marketing of the film. You didn’t fully know what this movie was going to be, so it was a surprise from beginning to end. And despite all the scenes shown in the trailers, Jurassic World Rebirth was still full of jump scares and surprises. I also appreciate that this new movie is even similar to Jaws in some ways.
After six movies, you already know that some people in this movie will get eaten by dinos, but with the exception of one obvious character, the movie keeps you guessing who will survive. And as with the previous movies, the violence isn’t graphic enough to keep you up at night. (The chances of finding a dinosaur hiding in your bedroom closet are pretty rare.)
At the end of Jurassic World Dominion, the movie shows how dinosaurs and humans would adapt to co-existing with each other. However, Rebirth takes place five years later when many of the dinosaurs dying out due to Earth’s ecology. The ones that survive live near the equator and it’s an area that humans are encouraged not to travel to for their own safety. However, this movie begins even earlier on a secret island which housed a dinosaur research facility where a misplaced Snickers bar wrapper accidentally wreaks havoc.
Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rebirth opens with Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a big pharmaceutical guy trying to recruit paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and special-ops vet Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to visit the secret island to get blood samples from three living species of dinosaurs (ocean-swimming Mosasaurus, land-roaming Titanosaurus and air-flying Quetzalcoatlus). The dinos’ DNA is believed to hold the key in creating new healing medicines for the sick and lots of money for Martin and his recruited crew.
It is explained that Loomis once studied under Dr. Alan Grant (who was portrayed by Sam Neill in the previous films, but who is not featured here). The group is rounded out with other members of Zora’s team including Duncan (Mahershala Ali, Bobby (Ed Skrein), Nina (Philippine Velge) and Leclerc (Bechir Sylvain).
The story also features a vacationing family who, for some reason, are boating in the dino-infested waters. (I don’t think it’s ever explained why they are out there.) This little group includes boat owner Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise), Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa’s slacker boyfriend Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono) who is not making a good impression on Reuben. Eventually, these two groups meet up and begin working together to stay alive.
Johansson and Bailey play off each other well. Instead of playing love interests, they play two adults who appreciate each other. Zora is a strong woman with a cocky personality while Henry is fearful and bookish but is never emasculated by her. With his big, fake grin, it doesn’t take long for Martin to show his true colors.
Rebirth features callbacks to the original Jurassic Park film including some scary scenes that involve a young child. Scenes with Isabella are reminiscent of that. Miranda is an amazing little actress with incredible acting chops. She’s cute but she doesn’t “play” cute. She’s terrified.
Some people will argue that Jurassic World Rebirth makes for a better sequel to the first movie, allowing us to ignore all of the events that came in-between the two and they aren’t wrong. This might have to do with the fact that the script was written by David Koepp who also wrote the screenplay for the first movie. He was a way of balancing unbelievable storylines in a believable way. Will this all lead to yet another sequel? Probably not but never say never.
Main Image: Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey (Universal Pictures)
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