PLOT: A pharmaceutical titan (Rupert Friend) hires a mercenary (Scarlett Johansson) and a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) to take him to a forbidden island to recover three DNA samples from dinosaurs—samples that could allow his company to cure heart disease.
REVIEW: Jurassic World: Dominion was a global blockbuster—but have you ever met anyone who actually liked it (check out our recent Awfully Good on it)? The general consensus following its release was that the franchise had run its course. However, that hasn’t stopped Universal from taking another swing with Jurassic World: Rebirth. Marketed as a return to the Spielbergian, “less-is-more” approach of the earlier films, Rebirth tries to recapture the magic by going back to a more contained setting. In the years since Dominion, we’re told, the 21st-century environment has once again wiped out the dinosaurs, leaving them isolated on remote islands.
The decision to return to the franchise’s roots isn’t a bad one, and I appreciated the bit of self-aware commentary—the public in the film has lost interest in dinosaurs, mirroring the franchise’s waning popularity. But otherwise, Jurassic World: Rebirth is a curiously dull sequel. Director Gareth Edwards brings none of the creativity he showed in Rogue One or The Creator to this overly familiar entry. Apparently, thinking dinosaurs are no longer cool enough, the film features mostly cross-bred hybrids engineered by InGen. One villainous creature resembles a T-Rex crossed with a xenomorph—because apparently, the original T-Rex and velociraptors just don’t cut it anymore.
What’s especially frustrating is how badly the core cast is underused. Many were excited to see Scarlett Johansson return to action-hero form in a role reminiscent of Black Widow, but she’s offscreen for large stretches, as are co-stars Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, despite their top billing. Instead, much of the runtime is devoted to a shipwrecked civilian family: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s Reuben, his daughters Tessa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Tessa’s stoner boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono). Although barely featured in the trailers, each of these characters gets as much screen time as the film’s marquee stars, suggesting the latter had limited availability—a major letdown.
Johansson’s role ends up feeling half-baked, with no standout action scenes to speak of. Ali fares slightly better as Duncan, her boat captain friend, mourning the loss of his son, who takes it upon himself to protect the shipwrecked family. The standout is Jonathan Bailey, who plays a character that’s a cross between Ian Malcolm and Alan Grant. He brings some fun, nerdy charm to the role and manages to shine in his scenes (while somehow keeping the world’s most indestructible eyeglasses intact). But again, these moments are sparse, drowned out by generic family drama and uninspired chase scenes that feel lifted from Jurassic Park III.
Even the dinosaur kills are lacklustre, toned down and predictable, with characters seemingly dispatched in order of billing. There are no memorable set pieces to speak of, which is surprising considering even the much-maligned Jurassic World trilogy managed to deliver a few decent moments of spectacle. Rupert Friend is stuck with a paper-thin role as the evil pharma bro, whose main narrative function is to give the audience someone they’ll want to see eaten.
While Rebirth isn’t as ridiculous as Dominion, it’s likely a duller film overall—with less action, fewer scenes for its stars, and a flat visual style. It’s telling that it’s not getting an IMAX release, with the company instead keeping F1 on premium screens for another week before Superman arrives. Truthfully, it would’ve been a waste of the format. It’s a shame, because Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker, but this one feels more like his lifeless Godzilla reboot than any of his more imaginative efforts.
One of the summer’s bigger disappointments, Jurassic World: Rebirth might finally prove that this is a franchise in need of a long break.
