After attacking locusts in Jurassic World Extinction, this franchise needed a fresh start. Jurassic World: Rebirth revisits the original Steven Spielberg classic to offer its own twists on the formula. The results vary, but at least the dinosaur action is back.
Jurassic World Rebirth Review
One of the biggest complaints I and many others had about the Chris Pratt led Jurassic World films is that after the first one they seemed to forget why people loved this franchise to begin with – dinosaurs. Extinction featured way too many mutant locusts and not enough big carnivores doing big carnivore things. With Gareth Edwards directing and David Koepp returning to pen the script (Koepp was the writer for the original Spielberg film), it seemed like fans would get a course correct after the last film. There are sequences that absolutely work and show that Edwards in his element creating terror pieces on a large scale. But still others that fall flat. Make no mistake this is a solid step up from the last two in the franchise but it's hard to see where they could possibly go from here.
Jurassic World: Rebirth revisits the original film's formula to offer its own twists. There is a lot of great classic dinosaur action – hearing the T-Rex roar never gets old – but the newer additions, namely the “D-Rex” (which stands for deformed rex) are lackluster at best. Despite a lean script, Scarlet Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey find a way to give their roles some depth. Alexandre Desplat's score feels more horror-like than John Williams' one of awe but it works and gives Rebirth a more monster movie flair. If Edwards and crew had stuck with that feeling, Rebirth would've been excellent, instead he pulls back at times to play it safe with the tried and true Dino formula.
17 years ago, there was an incident at an InGen facility involving a newly mutated D-Rex, a scene cut from the same cloth as Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla opening. The island and research was abandoned and no one in their right mind would even think about going back there. Fast forward to present day (and obviously someone is desperate or dumb enough to go) and Pharma rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) is after some Dino DNA in order to make a drug to treat heart disease (for those who can afford it). In order to get to these dinosaurs, now only alive in a zone near the equator, he hires super spy/bad*ss Zora Bennett (Johansson), her friend who is also former military Duncan Kincaid (Ali), and paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). Oh and of course other dinosaur fodder. Throw in a random stranded family and you have an idea of where this is all going.
Rebirth's story requires the main cast to obtain blood and tissue samples from 3 big dinosaurs– one in the air, one on land, and one in the sea. All while trying not to die and eventually contending with mutant dinosaurs, which aren't as cool as they sound on paper. But I will get to that in a second. That premise alone sounds like we would be in for a wild ride. An Indiana Jones-type expedition, where they are racing against the clock to get these 3 nearly impossible items. However, the moments of pure peril or excitement are broken up thanks to the other cast. A family, dad Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), daughters Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa (Luna Blaise), plus the latter’s boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) are left stranded in the ocean thanks to an aquatic dinosaur. They end up with the mercenary crew and things would have likely been fine had the story not separated them again once they made it to InGen's island. By splitting them up, the film then needs to split its time between the two groups, causing some clunky transitions and loss of momentum. The lack of balance between the storylines is obvious.
Despite the stretched thin plot, Rebirth boasts the better ensemble cast out of all the Jurassic World works. Johansson, Ali, and Bailey commit to their characters and help flesh out their motivations even with the flimsy script. Lesser talent wouldn't have been able to pull it off but these 3 are powerhouses as we know. Johansson effortlessly steps into the female hero role here, something long overdue in this franchise. Fortunately no one makes a big deal about it or treats her differently because she is a woman. It's refreshing! Ali is charismatic as Duncan yet also conveys the overwhelming grief he is carrying as well. Bailey's role is to be the moral compass for everyone, which if handled by anyone else would come across preachy, boring, or both. However, he makes Loomis likable which means you want to see him survive.
Okay, let's talk dinosaurs.
As I mentioned above, hearing a T-Rex roar while stalking after its prey never gets old. The gentle Titanosaurus are awe-inspiring as they gently graze in the valley as Williams' theme crescendos with the camera sweeps. Mosasaurus is terrifying but awesome looking as it dives and leaps through the water. The Raptors get a blink and you miss it moment which seems to be included for toy purposes? I don't actually know.
So that brings me to the new dinosaurs. When I first heard they were going to be mutants I was thinking oh this is going to be epic. Dinosaurs that look cool with some sick new abilities or strength, these guys will be unstoppable (save for plot armor the humans wear). But what we got is anything but. D-Rex might get a terrifying intro but when he shows up again and you can see his deformed self in full view, disappointment is the word that comes to mind. He looks like a Rancor and T-Rex hybrid had a baby with a Xenomorph. The result was a creature with a big forehead, two extra appendages, and no upgraded intelligence, power, or versatility. Somewhere all of those monster baddies are embarrassed. D-Rex is one dumb Dino and the climatic face-off with it ends as lackluster as this mutant turned out to be.
Verdict
Jurassic World: Rebirth goes back to basics. On one hand it's following the original Jurassic Park formula to a tee, while on the other it adds in its own twists to varying success. At its heart, there is a story about people you want to see survive their encounters with these carnivores (save for a few you will be cheering for to get crushed). That story is certainly overstuffed with people and subplots while also being as thin as my patience with the boyfriend character. Yet the core cast does their best with what Koepp has handed them and thanks to their own talents, elevate it to something slightly more than barebones.
I think there was a monster-verse movie hiding in the shadows of Rebirth, and if they somehow come back for another one, I hope Edwards gets to play fully in the horror sandbox. The classic dinosaur action is great, something fans will truly enjoy, but the new additions are pointless and will have you wishing the T-Rex had a better agent and therefore more screen time.
Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters July 2. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference with a runtime of 2 hours and 14 minutes.
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