The “Jurassic Park” franchise has been recreated many times over the past decade from movies, books and even games. As the seventh film installment in the series, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” welcomes a star-studded cast of Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and Rupert Friend into its high-stakes environment. Johansson plays Zora Bennett, a covert operations specialist, who is tasked with the mission of extracting genetic material from dinosaurs that contains life-changing medical ingredients. Along with the rest of the cast, Zora sets off to a tropical island where these creatures reside.
Gareth Edwards takes on the helm of directing “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” Although Edwards is no Steven Spielberg, his resume includes movies such as “Godzilla” or “Rogue One,” which are both blockbusters within a larger franchise. In addition, these movies have generally favorable reviews. It’s safe to say that it’s not Edwards’s first time handling a beloved series with a big IP.
In addition to Johansson’s Zora Bennett, Jonathan Bailey plays Henry Loomis, a paleontologist. Ali plays Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s old friend and team member, and Friend plays Martin Krebs, a pharmaceutical company representative that initiates the entire mission. While each individual actor in the cast is certainly talented and experienced, their chemistry in the movie is mild at best. The characters and their backstories are the weakest part of the film. The audiences get to know their background through spoken exposition and are given little reason to get emotionally attached to these new faces.
Of course, the movie wouldn’t be Jurassic if it didn’t include dinosaurs. Sadly, the new movie does not carry on the spirit of using practical effects. Instead, Edwards’s Jurassic world is inhabited with CGI dinosaurs. The graphics look believable, but they aren’t the main focus of this film. Compared to the original “Jurassic Park,” which made everyone afraid of the infamous T-Rex, or even the first movie of the reboot, “Jurassic World,” the dinosaurs are far and few between in this newer film. Their presence does not take on the same command that they were once given, and as a result, both the human cast and the dinosaurs fail to deliver the palpable tension that is expected from the franchise.
An unexpected delight of “Jurassic World: Rebirth” was the inclusion of the Delgado family. After their sailboat gets attacked by one of the sea-dwelling dinosaurs, the Delgados discover that the boat that rescued them is actually on a dangerous mission to go right into the home of these archaic animals. Despite the revelation, the family sticks together through life-threatening situations and provides a heartfelt dynamic to the film. For some fans, these characters might remind them of the kids from the original.
Overall, the movie is not bad by any means. Edwards makes sure that the audience can feel the legacy and grandeur of the original series. However, the repeated reboots and sequels do take away the magical wonder of the first “Jurassic Park.” The familiar faces in the cast give away who and who isn’t quite famous enough to survive. For example, audiences can anticipate that Johansson will not meet her end in the mouth of a T-Rex. Still, the movie provides action-packed moments even with the absence of heavy suspense.
The “Jurassic Park” franchise has come a long way since its first installment in 1993. With many changes in its crew, cast and settings, it has gone through the same fate as the dinosaurs: constantly being modified, with their core DNA being played with for a newer, more sensational narrative. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is not a failed experiment, but it might have been best to let the dinosaurs rest. No matter how much the movies deliver this lesson, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” leaves its ending open even without a confirmed sequel. For now, the franchise won’t go extinct.