Rating 4/10
For those keeping track, Rebirth is the seventh chapter in the Jurassic Park series. Over the franchise’s 32-year history, the quality has varied wildly. Obviously, Spielberg’s original 1993 movie, which started it all, is an iconic work, and Jurassic World (2015) is a notable reboot. I doubt I’ll ever revisit any of the others.
In Jurassic World: Rebirth, a pharmaceutical company dispatches a clandestine expedition to an abandoned island called Ile Saint-Hubert. Years earlier, a secret InGen lab created mutated dinosaurs here—including a dangerous six-limbed predator called the Distortus rex, which prompted the lab’s shutdown.. Now, with the Earth’s environment becoming increasingly unstable and unable to support the remaining reptiles, the team hopes to retrieve DNA samples from surviving prehistoric creatures to develop a life-saving drug.
Leading the mission is Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a former covert operative, joined by leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), an Altoid loving paleontologist, Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and a profit-driven pharma rep, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend). Along the way, the group rescues a shipwrecked family. The unnecessary addition includes a father, Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his daughters, Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono). The situation turns deadly when (surprise!) dinosaurs attack and the group is split apart.
Rebirth is not the worst of the canon, but it falls woefully short. The plot echoes the groundbreaking origin film a little too faithfully. It feels as if director Gareth Edwards and writer David Koepp recently re-watched the movie that started it all and then made minor adjustments to make it seem like they had made a different picture. The opening sequence features a creature attack in a holding facility that is triggered by a faulty door, courtesy of a discarded Snickers wrapper. It mirrors the Velociraptor transfer in the inaugural entry. A T-Rex is once again featured. This time, instead of pursuing a jeep, it’s a raft down a river. A Mutadon ambush in an abandoned convenience store (with visible Dr. Pepper cans and Lays potato chip bags in more product placement displays) harkens back to the kitchen raptor scene.
The special effects are generally well-executed. They’ll satisfy viewers looking for prehistoric animals. Yet genuinely thrilling sequences are few and far between. The pacing slows during the long stretches without action. The dreary characters are nothing more than stock archetypes. There’s the well-meaning environmentalist, the hardened mercenary with a predictable redemption arc, and the corporate pharmaceutical rep. Martin Krebs is so one-dimensionally self-interested that the screenplay practically begs us to despise him. He’s written with such transparent villainy, you’re manipulated to cheer when a massive beast predictably grabs him and bites off his head. The screenplay features characters engaging in bickering and exposition. The energy crashes to a halt whenever the action subsides.
Honestly, I found myself rooting for the dinosaurs. Rebirth offers glimpses of excitement, but they’re too infrequent to make up for the flat dialogue and sluggish drama. Ultimately, this installment undermines its own momentum. Despite its occasional roar, it may be time for this franchise to become extinct.
07-03-25