Jurassic World Rebirth Review
This is a spoiler-free review of Jurassic World Rebirth.
The Jurassic World franchise is complicated, to say the least. Most fans agree that the original is, by far, the best, but everybody has their own opinions about its five sequels and conflicting ideas about what the franchise should do next. One strong sentiment, however, is that the Jurassic movies should return to their roots and draw from the horror elements of both the original novel and the 1993 classic. Jurassic World Rebirth achieves this, providing a breath of fresh air from the lacklustre action spectacle of Dominion to deliver thrilling dinosaur encounters and emotional character moments that combine to form an enjoyable film which more than justifies its own existence.
While the film certainly looks good and the cinematography, acting and score are all exceptional, I’m going to review this film from a writing perspective and delve deep into the core story behind it. I’m going to break it down into what I call the six pillars of storytelling: Plot, Conflict, World, Characters, Story and Theme.
Plot
The Jurassic premise of a group of people getting stranded on an island full of dinosaurs is nothing new. It’s something we’ve seen in half of these movies, all of them having a different excuse to end up in such a scenario. Rebirth’s method for getting its characters onto the island in search of DNA for a pharmaceutical drug is unique enough to not retread too much of what we’ve seen before. While seeing people going on a mission to a dinosaur island is all too familiar, Rebirth sets it up well enough. The way the team has to acquire DNA from three specific species establishes objectives that give the plot momentum. It’s something that The Lost World, in particular, I believe failed to do, as the characters’ goals are constantly changing from one thing to the next. Jurassic World Rebirth’s plot is simple but straightforward, allowing its characters to be brought from one dinosaur setpiece to the next in a way that isn’t groundbreaking or unpredictable, yet is engaging and gives the pacing a good sense of motion. I found the ending to be a little abrupt, but there was enough resolution to leave me satisfied.
Overall, the plot was fine, even if the circumstances requiring them to reach this scenario were a little bit contrived.
Conflict
This is a dinosaur movie, so we all saw it coming. The conflict is with the dinosaurs. Rebirth learned from Dominion and avoided anything to do with locusts or evil megacorporations. The film’s conflict is on a scene-by-scene basis. They’re not facing the same antagonist over the course of the movie like the spinosaurus or the Indominus Rex, but rather, they go from one action scene to the next, each one bringing new threats. The conflict of trying to get the DNA provides a solid throughline as the characters have an objective to work towards in addition to their own survival. Something that The Lost World and Jurassic Park III suffer from is a lack of progression. In those movies, the characters are just trying to survive. Most of the conflict is similar to that of Rebirth as they go from one scene to the next, each time facing new obstacles, but the scenes themselves hardly forward the conflict. Rebirth having multiple steps that the characters have to take toward victory provides a feeling of accomplishment as they progress in their mission.
This film also dabbles with interpersonal conflict. I especially enjoyed this aspect of the movie as it wasn’t something I was expecting from a Jurassic film. Each of the main cast members has a separate line of motivation that drives them, resulting in them making different choices under duress. Seeing their ideals clash was entertaining and provided character conflict in the midst of the chaotic dinosaur action. Shifting priorities isn’t quite something we’ve seen in a Jurassic movie before, at least, not in the heat of the moment. It’s something that makes the characters seem much more like real people than action heroes.
Ultimately, the conflict was great, combining both external stakes and internal character drama to make the action compelling and interesting.
World
Unfortunately, the world was an aspect in which the movie fell short. After Dominion’s marketing pushed heavily for the ‘dinosaurs in our world’ idea, I find it hard to believe that, after less than a decade, the only remaining dinosaurs are the ones living in tropical regions. The reason behind it was explained well, so it wasn’t forced. And, of course, returning to the franchise’s roots is part of what makes this film work. Sticking to Dominion’s idea of dinosaurs in our world would have had some potential, but Universal seems to have learned their lesson and taken Rebirth back to what made the original Jurassic Park so good. Of course, the idea that there’s yet another island full of dinosaurs and weird dino experiments is a bit unbelievable, but it’s still required to make this movie work, so if you accept it, you’ll have a good time. Unfortunately, it’s still something that takes points away.
For a movie with ‘world’ in its title, Jurassic World Rebirth’s worldbuilding, while fairly standard, is a bit contradictory to previous installments, which may annoy fans of the franchise, but won’t be much of an issue for new audiences.
Characters
The characters in this movie are a bit of a mixed bag. The family I thought were very interesting, especially the boyfriend, Xavier, and the father. In addition to having some nice character moments, Xavier is genuinely funny and I found many of his lines hilarious. The family as a whole feels realistic and relatable and each member adds to the story in a meaningful way. That isn’t to say that they’re the most fleshed-out characters in the world, but they have a place in this dinosaur movie.
I can’t quite say the same for the team of mercenaries. The standout characters were Henry Loomis and Duncan Kincaid, but the rest were forgettable. There’s nothing particularly wrong about any of them; Martin Krebs and Zora Bennett both had compelling motivations and some interesting moments, but if it weren’t for the excellent actors behind the characters, they wouldn’t be noteworthy. I can’t say too much more without going into spoilers, but Henry was definitely my favourite character in the movie. He and Duncan both have entertaining dynamics with Zora, so even though Zora isn’t that interesting herself, her two companions bring enough to the table to make the characters memorable. Even some of the characters with smaller roles had enough to do that they didn’t completely fade into the background. The French guy was funny and Bobby Atwater, while not a likeable character, was compelling and interesting enough to fill his small screentime.
The Jurassic movies aren’t known for their strong characters, but Rebirth manages to form an ensemble cast that, for the most part, are well-developed and fun to watch, leaving hope for their return in future entries.
Story
Jurassic World Rebirth’s story is one of family, companionship and—surprisingly—morality. Henry Loomis gets to share his opinions on the morality surrounding dinosaurs and using them for experiments, but he doesn’t do so in a way that’s preachy. Rather, his stance contributes to the arcs of the characters around him. It’s difficult to discuss the story without spoiling anything, but the story is personal to who the characters are and how they deal with their situation. It’s realistic and believable while also keeping things simple. It can tug on your emotions if you let it, delivering a heartwarming and immersive experience.
The story was good. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it did what it needed to do for the characters and plot, delivering a film that has emotional weight and certainly isn’t soulless.
Theme/Tone
As I mentioned previously, Rebirth tackles ideas concerning the morals of dinosaur pharmaceuticals, but they’re not the centrepiece of the film. Instead, Rebirth adopts the franchise’s staple themes of family and friendship, showing how its characters grow closer together over the course of their harrowing adventure. They’re classic themes, especially for the Jurassic franchise, but there’s nothing wrong with repeating themes if they work, and they certainly work. Nearly every film before this one has had some sort of emotional core rooted in familial love, which is a trend that Rebirth does not stray far from. Neither is the tone any different. Despite rumours circulating the internet, Rebirth is neither scarier nor darker than any other Jurassic movie, which keeps it on par with the franchise as a whole.
The themes tackled in Rebirth are nothing groundbreaking, but they do their job well of giving the film the emotional core that all Jurassic movies maintain.
Final Verdict
Jurassic World Rebirth absolutely falls short of the original masterpiece by Steven Spielberg, but that’s understandable. It’s also not very telling to say that it’s the best of Jurassic Park’s sequels, but it’s certainly a position that can be defended and one that I’d probably agree with. Rebirth relives much of the thrills of the original movie in a modern setting, learning from the mistakes of the Jurassic World trilogy to make a franchise film that doesn’t rely on cameos or nostalgia-bait, which is something rare and refreshing in today’s era of franchise blockbusters. Instead, Rebirth stands alone thanks to its exciting action, simple but effective story and memorable themes that will resonate with both longtime Jurassic fans and new audiences alike.
8/10
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