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If you were to ask me about Universal making Jurassic World: Rebirth, a fourth movie with Scarlett Johansson, after Dominion, I would've lost my mind.
Despite grossing over $1 billion each, the Jurassic World trilogy continued to decline with each installment. Fallen Kingdom had its moments, especially when director J. A. Bayona leaned into horror, but Dominion was a train wreck.
But if Dominion was the Jurassic World series' Rise of Skywalker, filled with cheap nostalgia, Rebirth is its Force Awakens. I cannot act like Rebirth breaks new ground in the series, but it is the first Jurassic movie since the original trilogy to be somewhat scary.
Five years after Dominion, the world has grown ambivalent toward dinosaurs. As paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) says, his museum used to have a line extending beyond a New York City block when dinosaurs and humans began co-existing. Now, he's lucky to sell a dozen tickets in a week.
That's partially why he cannot turn down the opportunity to see some for himself. He is approached by Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a court operative recruited by the big pharmaceutical corporation ParkerGenix.
Their mission is to travel to Ile Saint-Hubert, which is where dinosaur experiments took place. There, they must retrieve blood samples from the remaining prehistoric species, which could be the key to revolutionary medicine.
While ParkerGenix's Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) has to convince both of them to join his team for their expedition (along with Mahershala Ali's Duncan Kincaid), Rebirth does not waste your time before getting into this Jurassic World movie's dinosaur action.
Jurassic World: Rebirth review — Gareth Edwards' direction
Director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) lets Jurassic World: Rebirth be about dinosaurs again, something the last trilogy seemingly lost sight of. He has been doing movies with giant CGI creatures for years, and his experience in the field shows.
It all starts with a flashback to over a decade before the events of Rebirth. Without spoilers, s**t hits the fan involving a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and it's Edwards' equivalent to the Darth Vader scene from Rogue One.
Starting the fourth Jurassic World movie like this sends a message that Rebirth is a new era for the series. Edwards isn't afraid to make Rebirth scary, unlike the last few in the series. It felt like Fallen Kingdom and Dominion tried to implement horror elements to be edgy, whereas Rebirth is just scary.
The opening scene sets the tone for what's the most thrilling Jurassic movie since the original. The aquatic sequences that involve rafts and boats glue you to the action. During the latter example, Zora is hanging off the boat to try and get the sample from the dinosaur attacking them.
The dinosaurs
There is a genuine sense of horror because of how the scene is shot. I remember Fallen Kingdom using more practical effects than the other Jurassic World movies, and that certainly felt like a throwback to the OG Jurassic Park series.
Due to the deformed and mutated nature of the dinosaurs in Rebirth, more CGI is used. CGI isn't a bad thing unless it looks shoddy, and for the most part, Rebirth's dinosaurs look good.
In Rebirth, the scale of the dinosaurs can be felt more than in previous Jurassic World movies. They don't shy away from having the humans outsized — especially in the sequence with Brontosaurus.
I'm pleasantly surprised at how good the visuals look. I remember the announcement that principal photography wrapped after what felt like a matter of weeks (it was about 14, to be exact). That wasn't that long for a blockbuster, and that worried me about the quality.
Tying into the larger franchise
Unlike the 2005 King Kong or later Jurassic World movies, Rebirth puts the humans on the back burner. Yes, Johansson, Bailey, Ali, and Friend are all A-listers, but they surrender to the dinosaurs. Perhaps that is why the story is so paper-thin.
David Koepp returned to the Jurassic series after a 28-year absence. He previously wrote Jurassic Park and co-wrote the sequel, The Lost World.
Koepp did a decent job writing a breezy script that moves at a good pace. The biggest flaw is the characters' underdeveloped backstories.
More often than not, Koepp leaves the traumas the characters have dealt with up to the imagination. Zora's is the most explored, and even then, it's just explicitly said why she may have needed more bereavement.
Bringing Koepp back was a return to basics for the Jurassic World franchise. The last trilogy got lost with its Star Wars sequel trilogy-like approach to the director's chair. Colin Trevorrow started the franchise before handing the keys to Bayona. Trevorrow then returned to conclude it with Dominion.
Like Star Wars, that approach didn't work. Hopefully, if Rebirth launches a new Jurassic World trilogy, Edwards will return. Having consistency behind the camera is key to a cohesive series.
At the same time, I think Rebirth works fine as a standalone movie. The main characters get full character arcs, and there are only so many more places you can go with the story (a problem that started when the series blew its load early on, having dinosaurs and humans co-exist in the real world).
How are Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey?
Replacing Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard is the trio of Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali, with Rupert Friend playing the objective-driven suit along for the ride.
Say what you want about Pratt, but Owen Grady was one of the few character types he could play. He brought an Indiana Jones-like swagger to the Jurassic World role.
That said, Johansson is a natural badass, and Rebirth allows her to show that. Unlike her Marvel role, Johansson's Jurassic World role doesn't stick her with corny one-liners. For as great as she can be — just watch Jojo Rabbit — some of her MCU lines were painful to listen to.
She is the connective tissue for most of the team. She has a history with Duncan, and she is able to talk sense into the in-over-his-head Henry.
Unlike Fiyero, Henry doesn't come from royalty. He's a struggling museum curator and paleontologist who has never worked in the field. Bailey is able to bring a relatability to the character that is needed for him to be believable. He has played royalty before, but this is a new game for him.
Mahershala Ali brings life to his underdeveloped story
Ali is the most prestigious actor of the trio. He has done franchise movies before, such as the Spider-Verse series, but his best work has come in dramas like Green Book and the highly underrated Swan Song.
Duncan has trauma that is never stated, one of Jurassic World: Rebirth's biggest flaws. It's implied that something happened with his son and wife, but it's never explicitly said. Even without a lot of background, his redemption moment is understood, and I credit that to Ali's performance.
There is also a family that is shipwrecked. Their expedition is led by Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). He is trying to take his daughters, Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), on one last trip across the Atlantic before his eldest goes to NYU. Teresa's lazy (by his own admission) boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono), tags along as well.
They get roped into the adventure as well, and it feels very Steven Spielberg-coded to have them involved. Having another set of characters for dinosaurs to torment helps Rebirth's pacing. They don't have to be stuck on the main team 24/7, and some of the best scares involve the shipwrecked family.
Should you watch Jurassic World: Rebirth?
Without a doubt, Jurassic World: Rebirth is a return to form. I truly thought that Dominion spelled the need for an extinction event of the series. It still puzzles me how each Jurassic World movie made over $1 billion at the box office.
Rebirth is the only one I can say deserves that milestone. It's a good old-fashioned summer blockbuster, complete with heart-pounding sequences and a charming cast.
Edwards should have been brought in sooner. He blows away the past work on the Jurassic World movies, mostly because he seems to understand what people see these films for: dinosaurs.
Maybe Koepp could have helped bring a little more focus on some of the humans, but Rebirth was dead-set on showing dinosaurs terrorizing humans.
Again, Rebirth is exactly what the title suggests. It is a reboot of the franchise, opening the door to countless possibilities. However, I stand by the thought that Jurassic World: Rebirth would be an appropriate end to the franchise. Unless they plan on crossing it over with the Fast & Furious franchise, that is.
Grade: B
Jurassic World: Rebirth will be released on July 2.
