Looking for a compelling story outside of ‘Jurassic Park,’ the first film in the franchise, might be asking for a bit too much. The original movie, released in 1993, warned us about the dangers of using science to play God. It served as an allegory for human hubris and how, as the film famously put it, “nature always finds a way.” The films that followed explored similar themes, but the real attraction has always been seeing the dinosaurs interact, engage, and appear as majestic and terrifying as ever. This has remained the main draw of the ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Jurassic World’ movies. The latest installment, ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,‘ stays true to this formula.

Following the preceding film, ‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ we are now in a world where dinosaurs are part of the culture. Because the environment is no longer suited for them, the dinosaurs stay mostly within the tropical belt near the equator, which have been made illegal for humans to visit or even come near. Once in a while there are still a few left in the mainlands but they are dying out. The pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix recruits a mercenary and a scientist to sneak into one of the islands to retrieve blood samples from three of the largest dinosaurs in the sea, land, and air. They plan to use the genetic code to create a drug that may cure all forms of heart diseases. While on their mission, they come across a family who were travelling the Atlantic by boat but found themselves attacked by one of the aquatic dinosaurs and in a bid to escape, they find themselves right at the island running for their lives.

Story-wise, there’s nothing more generic than what we are given here in ‘Jurassic Park Rebirth.’ Once again, a corporation spends millions of dollars to send a group of people on a suicide mission to retrieve something they shouldn’t, all to create a drug the world desperately needs but will ultimately be sold for profit. In this case, the mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and the scientist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) represent two sides of the ethical debate. Zora is in it for the money, hoping to retire, while Henry wants funding for his team. Museums and dinosaur research are no longer in trend, as public interest has waned, and he dreams of seeing a real dinosaur at least once in his life.

The interplay feels a little thin because the story is rushed, unfolding over just three days. The characters quickly encounter the three dinosaurs they were sent to track while also dealing with a family that ends up caught in the middle. As a result, the plot feels underdeveloped and lacking in depth.

It doesn’t help that the story gets split in two once they reach the island. The characters are separated but maintain the same group composition as when they began. The family is on one storyline and the expedition is on another. The family has the least interesting storyline because they don’t belong in this island or this story. Strategically, you feel that they were put there because they are more “relatable” as characters but we have seen enough of these movies to know that they just don’t belong. You’d rather spend more time with the expedition team, who get the more engaging moments, especially since their mission involves getting close to the dinosaurs to extract blood samples.

Luckily, despite its thin storyline, the film is directed by Gareth Edwards, who knows exactly how to maximize big-budget moments for full effect. The film is action-packed and delivers plenty of thrilling scenes that can keep you on the edge of your seat. Sadly, though, the two best moments with the dinosaurs happen early on in the film – the ocean-dwelling Mosasaur and the high-flying Quetzalcoatlus – that the final act feels belabored and extraneous. 

Johansson and Bailey are wonderful foils to follow in this adventure, making their characters feel believable. Mahershala Ali, who plays Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s team leader, is unfortunately underutilized. Everyone else just seems to blend into the scenery and can’t find their spot underneath the shadow of the dinosaurs when Edwards has them in his frame.It’s a pretty straightforward and decent film within the franchise. It doesn’t feel as bloated as the other films in the ‘Jurassic World’ franchise and has a lot of homages to the first movie – much like composer Alexandre Desplat incorporating the original John Williams score into his work. 

My Rating:

‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and catch the action on the big screen!