Jurassic World Rebirth Review: A Disappointingly Clunky Return to the Franchise

Just when I thought the Jurassic World trilogy wrapped up the franchise for good, here comes Jurassic World Rebirth. Besides, it was only three years ago since Jurassic World Dominion ended with terribly mixed reviews. Yet, it managed to accumulate a little over a billion-dollar box office juggernaut. Well, money talks and as Jeff Goldblum’s Dr Ian Malcolm used to say, Life, uh, finds a way.

And Universal sure manages to find its way. Not only does the studio bring back the original screenwriter behind the first two Jurassic Park films, David Koepp, but also enlists franchise newcomer Gareth Edwards, who is no stranger to monster-themed sci-fi seen in Monsters and the 2014 Godzilla reboot. Since Jurassic World Rebirth is positioned as a standalone sequel, this allows Koepp to start with a clean slate with a new story and characters.

But as expected, any trace of originality is tossed out of the island in favour of something familiar: Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a Big Pharma executive from ParkerGenix, is looking to assemble a team for an unsanctioned expedition to Isle Saint-Hubert. The mission? Obtain the blood samples from not one but three different live dinosaur species: land (Titanosaurus), sea (Mosasaurus) and air (Quetzalcoatlus). Apparently, their combined blood can help the pharmaceutical giant to develop a cure for heart disease that will be worth a fortune.

Martin first convinces former special forces vet-turned-private contractor Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) for the job after enticing her with a lucrative fee she can’t refuse. The rest of the team soon follows: paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), a boat captain who used to work with Zora in the past.

Here’s the thing about Jurassic World Rebirth that I find hard to believe: It feels agonisingly slow for a big-budget summer movie blockbuster. Sure, Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking 1993 original isn’t exactly a cinematic thrill ride from start to finish, and you have to wait until the halfway mark for the iconic T.rex rampage. And yet, Spielberg knows well how to proceed with his deliberate slow-burn to his advantage as he maintains an engaging story in the first half while making us root for the characters like Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr Ellen Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). By the time the payoff finally arrives, Spielberg pulls no punches once all hell breaks loose.

It looks to me that Edwards wanted to ape Spielberg’s narrative approach, but the pacing is curiously off, making me wonder if he’s on autopilot when he directed the movie behind the camera. The first half of Jurassic World Rebirth is particularly tedious to the point where I almost fall asleep watching it. The movie’s so-called character development where Zora and Duncan are given brief backstories about their sad pasts. And yet, none of them really matters since they are perfunctorily written.

Koepp’s screenplay also throws in more characters along the way with the unnecessary introduction of a family led by Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who’s on a sailing trip with his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa’s lazy boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono). By separating the story between the Martin-led expedition and Reuben’s family trip, it makes me feel like I’m watching two movies in one, even though the latter eventually join Martin’s team at some point, only to be split up again and vice versa.

Try as hard as Edwards may, his direction lacks the much-needed heart and soul. Even when the characters are in peril, I have a tough time caring about whether they are going to make it at the end of the day. The cast is rather forgettable, and not even recognisable names like Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali can do much to elevate the already-dull material.

With the story and characters falling flat on the ground, this leaves the action set pieces. Edwards still knows how to stage some thrilling moments, such as the raft chase between the panicked family and the T.rex. Then, there’s the nighttime action-packed third act that takes place in and out of the abandoned facility, showcasing Edwards’ flair for merging practical and visual effects seamlessly.

But exciting scenes like this aren’t enough to offset most of the shortcomings, resulting in the worst movie I’ve ever seen in the Jurassic Park/World franchise. Twenty-four years after I still find Jurassic Park III as the weakest entry in the franchise, a new replacement has now emerged, and its name is Jurassic World Rebirth. Perhaps it’s time for the franchise to close the chapter once and for all, especially if they can’t find a way to match or improve for the better.