Jurassic World Rebirth is everything both good and bad about the Jurassic franchise rolled into one. It borrows from the original film with a straightforward story that quickly pits our heroes against a new group dynamic: terrifying dinosaurs. However, it lacks much of the rich characterization and emotions inherent to making that story special. You’re glad that it’s fast-paced and action-packed, but bummed you don’t care that much about it. In the end, though, especially after the previous film in the series, Rebirth is a welcome return to a world where we can at least have some fun running from dinosaurs.
After a few quick scenes to reorient the franchise in the wake of the previous films, Rebirth begins with a pharmaceutical company named ParkerGenix. The company, represented by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), hires professional mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to travel to a restricted, remote island and retrieve the blood of the three biggest dinosaurs on or near the island: a sea-bound Mosasaurus, a land-based Titanosaurus, and the air-bound Quetzalcoatlus. The reasoning, according to dino expert Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), is that their blood will help to create a new medicine that can change the world by eradicating heart disease. And so, after Zora recruits her trustworthy colleague Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and his team, we’re off to the races with three very different dino-sized mountains to climb.
The film can’t just be about a bunch of people trying to make money off a medicine, though, even if the idea is noble. And so, Zora’s story is juxtaposed with the Delgado family. There’s the father, Ruben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters, Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa (Luna Blaise), and Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono). They’re on a casual boat trip across the Atlantic when they run into a dinosaur, become stranded, and are rescued by Zora’s team. It’s all very simple, logical, and without an ounce of fat on the bone.
Once the stories of the family and the soldiers come together, it’s not hard to see where everything is headed. Everyone ends up on this island, they get separated, and they have to survive a slew of dangerous dinosaur encounters. The problem with that is that the stories very quickly become disconnected, almost like you’re watching two separate movies. The soldiers remain on their mission to get the blood, because why not, and the family is just trying to survive. Each mentions the other only tangentially, which lets the action drive the story in a way that both works and doesn’t.
Both stories exist, mainly, to get to the next set piece. Thankfully, these set pieces are almost always awesome. Through the sci-fi action experienced eye of director Gareth Edwards, new dinosaurs on new terrains offer new chills and thrills. Then, the added pressure to extract blood from certain species adds a fun challenge to boot. There are a few moments of classic Jurassic awe, lots of humans being eaten, and plenty of homages to films by the original Jurassic Park director, Steven Spielberg, too. These scenes are why you’re watching the movie, and they don’t disappoint. However, because the story is so fast-paced and we know so little about the characters outside of that story, the emotions and stakes always take a backseat.
It’s not like all the backstory and characterization are missing, though. Early in the film, there are a few scenes where the characters talk about themselves. Unfortunately, that’s all that happens. People sit and talk, and it feels forced and out of place. As a result, whatever we learn about Zora, Duncan, or Loomis works as much against the movie as for it. Each scene is so awkwardly shoved in, it almost feels like a reshoot when a studio executive realized, “We don’t know anything about any of these characters!”
That imbalance then trickles down through the rest of the film, even extending to the use of John Williams’ musical themes from the original Jurassic Park. At times, Edwards picks just the right moment to unleash that dose of emotion. At other times, what’s on screen can’t compare to the musical magic. By the end of the film, though, we’ve spent so much time with these characters and in this story that it all coalesces together. It’s just a long time coming. Then, as a result, it does raise the stakes for the last few action scenes, giving the story a proper, satisfying send-off.
And while the script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp doesn’t have much in terms of characterization, the casting offers almost enough charisma to cover for it. Ali and Bailey, in particular, shine with their quips and energy, while each of the actors playing the Delgados are easy to root for in their own way. You just wish, in a movie that takes so much inspiration from the original, it would’ve also borrowed the idea that these characters care for something and stand for something a little more seriously.
Jurassic World Rebirth isn’t incredible, but in the Jurassic franchise, that’s to be expected. Only the first of the now seven films has been a standout, with the rest merely achieving varying degrees of less than. And, on that scale, Rebirth is at least on the higher end. It’s a solid, serviceable Jurassic Park movie.
Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters July 2.
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