Jurassic World: Rebirth – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Jurassic World: Rebirth  – Dino Expedition of a Familiar Bite

Through film, exploration and escape become one in the same.  From the realistic touch of the moment to the imaginative eye of the unknown, the experience can be breathtaking.  Each film provides a path towards something truly defining, even if it is just another retread.  In this review, I take a look at the latest chapter in the popular dinosaur franchise.  Through nostalgia and action, Jurassic World: Rebirth might be retreading recognizable tropes, but it still packs a punch of the adventure kind.

Many years since dinosaurs were brought back to life, a group of individuals travel to an undisclosed location in hopes of new discoveries, even if it puts the expedition in danger.  In a film franchise, we have certain thoughts that build our expectations of advancing the story, characters and overall world-building.  No matter the genre, there is a hope that each new entry provides something unique, even if there is a blend of familiar things.  For the Jurassic franchise, it has been trying to recapture that unique feeling that was defined in the first film.  With this next chapter, it grounds through a simple foundation with a hope of capturing that feeling.  The film begins with an explicit historical build up before moving into the present.  We learn that it has been five years since the last film, and the allure of dinosaurs has slowly lost its luster.  Through a linear directive, we learn that the head of a pharmaceutical company, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), has enlisted two mercenaries, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), and there crew to help lead an expedition with Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) on a mission to extract DNA from specific large species of dinosaurs to help develop a life-changing drug.  Once all the pieces are set, the filmmakers build an adventure that dances with new ideas within familiar iconography (of the franchise).  It is here that any type of enjoyment relies heavily on two distinct things:

Grounded in Caution

As the expedition makes there way to the specific island, it becomes a ‘point A to B’ like journey that stays on repeat.  With each encounter with specific dinosaurs, it is built through tense and ‘last second save’ situations.  These contrived moments are a mirage of danger, but it also grounds the iconography to reflect upon each character in a different light.  Seeing what is ‘individually’ at stake adds layers to their decision making, providing something to grip to in familiar waters (from previous entries).   For all the high-flying interactions with water, ground and air type dinosaurs, that pull of tension is precise and leads into the second point:

An Adventure of Spectacle

When the expedition becomes lackluster, this is where the scope of the technical and atmosphere rises to a feeling of making you be in the moment.  For all the caution in storytelling, you are enraptured by the details of the world on this specific island.  From the traversal of dangerous rapids, surviving a fall from a cliff or the ominous feeling of open fields with Brontosauruses, it is the spectacle that gleams delight in the face of commonality.  As each point of ‘extraction’ is expected, it is the moments in between that dispel any drag down from the generic directive or heavy foreshadowing. 

As the journey builds through its moments of awe and wonder, the obvious notions still stagger through an adventure of potential.  As they reach the point where they can escape the island, this leads to a third act of brooding tension, explosive-like set pieces and the fragility of survival.  With everything at stake for the mission, it builds towards a euphoric like climax and wholesome epilogue.  Jurassic World: Rebirth is a mix bag of potential growth vs familiar settings.  For fans (of the series) or adventure films, I say this will pull at your heartstrings.  For everyone else, there is enough for a good time at the theaters, at the right price. 

Full Score – 3 out of 5 (Theater Discount)