‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’: Gareth Edwards Brings Visual Scope to Otherwise Lazy Sequel

Alci Rengifo

It has been 32 years since Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” conquered the world, but the franchise seems tired of its dinosaurs. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” has all the signs of a movie assembled by committee, and lazily so. You can imagine suits sitting around a table, deciding the only way to possibly keep this story going is by dumping the original prehistoric lizards and making up some B-thriller filler like mutant dinos. The credits promise more with the assembled talent on display. Sitting in the hired director’s chair is Gareth Edwards, a filmmaker of scope and memorable visuals. David Koepp, who penned the first two original Spielberg movies in the ‘90s, is back to write this one. The cast is packed with seasoned pros who know how to pose in an action adventure. So, why does it feel so small?

The opening gives us an update on what has been happening since 2022’s “Jurassic World: Dominion.” Like Universal, humanity has grown bored with the dinosaurs that are now wandering the globe. The giant lizards are also suffering from Earth’s environment becoming inhospitable, regulating them to few tropical zones. Rich guy Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) enters the picture. He has hired a mercenary named Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead an expedition into what is left of the original Jurassic Park with dino expert Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). The plan is to get DNA samples from specific large dinosaurs because of a potential cure for human heart ailments. They get on a boat led by Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to sail to Central America. An encounter with a Mosasaurus brings them into contact with a marooned family with whom they crash on an island, one where InGen scientists had been working on making mutant dinosaurs that are now on the loose.

There is a scene at a Caribbean locale where the expedition gets on its boat and someone is watching an old B-movie on a TV, one of those featuring claymation dinosaurs. Is it intentional self-referencing? Because most of “Rebirth” feels like something meant to play in a bygone era on late night television, when the attention span wavers. Cosmetically, this movie looks good because of cinematographer John Mathieson, a veteran of Ridley Scott movies and franchise entries like “Logan.” Composer Alexandre Desplat adds some of his wistful signature music, while fulfilling the task of referencing John Williams’ classic themes when needed. What is ever so hard to emulate in these “Jurassic” extensions is the sense of awe from the original, when digital effects were undergoing a revolution and Spielberg’s childlike wonder went into overdrive. Edwards is a filmmaker capable of majestic flourishes. His 2014 “Godzilla” made viewers impatient by focusing on the sensation of watching massive monsters from a distance. In 2023 he made “The Creator,” an AI war film where the writing takes a backseat to immersive images shot on technology groundbreaking for its affordability. When it comes to franchises, his “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is still the best of the post-Disney purchase “Star Wars” spinoffs. 

These skilled talents simply don’t mesh well with Koepp’s script, which plays like clichés stitched together without much inspiration beyond the task of keeping “Jurassic World” going. By now the personalities are interchangeable. Zora, as the mercenary, leads the pack with the stoic pose of someone who has seen many tough situations. She clearly crushes on Henry, the needed in-house nerd who knows everything about dinosaurs and is somehow still fit enough for jungle trekking. Their chemistry has promise but goes absolutely nowhere. Krebs meanwhile joins the long line of evil CEOs in all “Jurassic” movies, greedy to the core, careless about the dinosaurs and scoffing at the idea that medical breakthroughs should be free for all humanity. Does it ruin the plot to confirm he will get eaten?

As if the story didn’t need more people, Koepp then throws in a Latin family led by a father (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) trying to spend quality sailing time with his two daughters. The oldest (Luna Blaise) is going to college and has brought along her spacey boyfriend (David Iacono). This side plot serves no purpose other than having some sort of family-friendly component. They start to feel intrusive after a while. Though, their best scene is one of this movie’s better, more thrilling moments involving a Tyrannosaurus Rex chase down a river. It also works because Koepp plucks this scene from a famous moment in Michael Crichton’s original “Jurassic Park” novel. It is the only decent moment involving the franchise’s iconic giant, which then disappears. Another strong moment has the expedition come across a Brontosaurus herd in a dazzling open field. Two of the prehistoric giants seem to begin a mating ritual, in a rather elegant scene reminiscent of Edwards’ great 2010 indie debut, “Monsters.” 

If “Rebirth” was banking on introducing new, mutant dinosaurs to replace these classic favorites, the movie does it in a surprisingly half-formed way. We barely glimpse at anything truly new or terrifying. There is a cute baby mutant dinosaur that becomes the pet of one of the sisters. The big, new ugly monstrosity hinted at in an opening prologue sequence is an anti-climactic dude. It has a bulbous head similar to the dragon from “Willow” and doesn’t have the rage to even eat its prey. You apparently just have to wait the thing out before it lumbers away. What then has happened to this franchise? “Rebirth” could have been cheerful summer fun like “Jurassic Park III.” It could have pretended to have campy depth as in “The Lost World.” People here slip down ridges, avoid prehistoric flying dinos and Johansson has one good moment firing DNA-collecting injections at dinos at sea. Yet, it is all still empty. “Dominion” already had warning signs when much of the original “Jurassic Park” cast was brought back to fight killer locusts. Despite all the talent involved, what this franchise needs is to truly evolve or go extinct.

“Jurassic World: Rebirth” releases July 2 in theaters nationwide.