'Jurassic World Rebirth' review: an action-packed sci-fi sequel that should stave off franchise extinction

Tom's Guide

a day ago

"Jurassic World Rebirth" couldn't come with a more fitting subtitle if it tried.
Even if ultra-dull predecessor "Jurassic World Dominion" still made a ton of money at the box office, it was, in my opinion, anything but exciting viewing (an opinion reflected in that unenviable 29% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes). It functioned as an unsatisfying cap to a sequel trilogy that suggested this once-thrilling franchise really did deserve to go the way of the dinosaurs.
Thus, "Rebirth" has a Titanosaurus-sized task on its hands: justify returning to the dino-well once more, and serve up more of the suspenseful thrills and spills we want from a "Jurassic Park" sequel.
The big question is this: can "Rebirth" actually prove the "Jurassic" movies should stick around? Can "The Creator" director Gareth Edwards find the fun again?
After really disliking "Dominion," I wasn't sure, but the answer for this lifelong "Jurassic Park" fan is ... yes. Yes, he can.
"Rebirth" leaves Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), and the original "Jurassic Park" cast behind for a new adventure set five years after the end of "Dominion."
Most of planet Earth — save for some tropical climates around the equator — has proven inhospitable for the dinosaurs roaming the land, and these dino-rich regions are now deadly no-go zones.
However, the DNA of the three biggest dinosaurs holds the key to a drug with life-saving benefits for mankind, and Big Pharma rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) wants to get his hands on it.
To do so, he recruits covert ops specialist Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead a team that includes trusted teammate Duncan Kinkaid (Mahershala Ali) and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) on an off-the-books mission within that biosphere to extract that DNA from the most colossal fossils of land, sea, and air.
And when things go south on this already-perilous adventure (which they obviously do), that team and a family of unlucky sailors whom they rescue en route come face-to-face with deadly dinosaurs. They make a startling discovery stranded on an island that once housed a research facility for the original park.
Back in December, EW spoke with the "Rebirth" team and learned the plan here was to go "back to basics," and that Edwards viewed the sequel as a "giant love letter to Steven Spielberg" — and that's honestly what the team has achieved.
Writer David Koepp (who also penned "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World") has delivered a lean, fairly propulsive adventure. Despite clocking in over two hours, it rattles along once things pick up, it boasts plenty of action, and even harks back to some of the original's most memorable sequences.
The tone is just right; it feels more like a "Park" sequel than a "World" sequel. Sure, the script doesn't always work; it takes a little time to really pick up steam, and some of the jokes and dialogue fall flat, but as a rollercoaster ride, it succeeds, especially after the team finds them stranded in the dinosaurs' tropical home.
Cast-wise, it's Jonathan Bailey who impresses the most; his wide-eyed enthusiasm for these creatures (and growing love of the adventure) is infectious. I also enjoyed Rupert Friend's callous, deep-pocketed turn, and Ali's arc, though I would say Johansson (a self-confessed franchise fan) has been better elsewhere.
Let's move on to the real stars, though. The dinosaurs look and sound fantastic on the screen; this is a colorful, frequently impressive-looking film, staged to make the most of these larger-than-life lizards.
Encounters with them come frequently once the adventure kicks into gear, and you can expect them to feel like genuine threats (and to off members of our expedition in sufficiently grim fashion), injecting the adventure with a real sense of jeopardy.
If I have one dino disappointment, it's that I'd have liked to spend more time with and see more types of the promised mutant dinos than I did (they felt a bit of a superfluous addition, even if their scenes are fun). The actual dinosaurs present, though, are better deployed here than they have been for years. And what more could you really want from
"Jurassic World Rebirth" isn't the best movie I've seen this year, but it is a handsomely presented, thrilling sequel, and a movie that I had a lot of fun with.
It boasts some seriously striking visuals, has actual, palpable stakes, fun dinosaur action, and is, in my opinion, a solidly entertaining summer adventure.
It's a movie that confidently clears the (low) bar set by "Dominion" with ease, and one that I'm more than happy to recommend to would-be moviegoers.