Jurassic World: Rebirth (United States, 2025)

14 years sounds just about right. That’s the amount of time it took between the release of Jurassic Park III, with its waning box office, and that of the resoundingly successful reboot, Jurassic World. The problem is that the third Jurassic World movie, Dominion, with is waning box office, didn’t come out 14 years ago – it arrived in 2022. Is it any wonder why there’s so little anticipation surrounding the opening of Jurassic Park: Rebirth, the seventh film in the now-32-year-old franchise? I’m not going to argue that dinosaurs are passe – just ask any 12-year-old boy if you want an argument against that point – but the things that made the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films so compelling have lost their freshness.

Jurassic World: Dominion recognized this problem and writer/director Colin Trevorrow tried to fill the gap with a weird cloning subplot and the return of Jurassic Park stalwarts Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm. It didn’t work. Jurassic World: Rebirth is a reboot of sorts, taking place in the same world but largely divorcing itself from the previous episodes. The core premise remains the same but this is designed as a stand-alone adventure with an all-new cast. Maybe it’s just me, but I was hoping for a cameo or two along the way.

Rebirth introduces Ile Saint-Hubert, the third of the “Ingen islands.” In a brief prologue, we venture into the research lab built deep in its jungle where something goes terribly wrong. Containment fails and the mutated dinosaur species escape, either eating or chasing away all the scientists. Years later, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), an executive for the ParkerGenix pharmaceutical company, decides to mount an expedition to Ile Saint-Hubert with the express goal of obtaining blood samples from three varieties of super-large specimens. He believes that having the dino blood will allow him to crack the code and develop a wonder-drug for heart disease. Since international law forbids human transport to the island, Martin’s venture is covert. He brings along mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), boat owner/pilot Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), paleontologist (and former post-doc student of Alan Grant) Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonthan Bailey), and weapons specialist Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein). Before they reach their destination, they are diverted to answer a mayday and are joined by four members of a family they rescue at sea: Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa’s lazy boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono).

Executive Producer Steven Spielberg was allegedly involved in the development of this film and recruited writer David Koepp to come on board, although his script for Rebirth will not rank among his best efforts. Spielberg also handpicked Gareth Edwards to direct. Edwards can be credited with crafting a visually impressive movie – everything from set design to special effects to the film’s look – is top-notch. Unfortunately, the screenplay isn’t on the same level. Koepp’s story features too many underwritten characters (a few of which should have been wearing red shirts) wandering around in a generic story that cobbles together beats from the first three Jurassic Park movies. The film’s biggest innovation, the Distortus Rex (a mutated T-Rex), looks like the unholy union of a dinosaur and an Alien xenomorph.

Two elements turn the movie into an overlong slog. The first is that the first 30-40 minutes are spent primarily on backstory development and it’s not interesting stuff. The only characters who are accorded even a semblance of multi-dimensionality are Zora and Duncan. Then there’s the Delgado family, who frankly should have been cut out of the film altogether. They are superfluous, often annoying, and seem to exist primarily to bloat the running time. Nearly every scene with these characters functions as a momentum-killer.

What about the dino action (the real reason why anyone in their right mind would go to see a Jurassic World movie in 2025)? Edwards delivers several high-octane sequences (my favorite being the one on the boat) but it never feels like there are enough of them. There are too many scenes with characters wandering around the jungle. The plot outline feels like it was ripped from a video game: achieve three objectives before moving onto the next level.

Maybe I’ll be wrong and Jurassic World: Rebirth will be a massive hit. Maybe the dinosaurs are enough to guarantee box office gold. But if I’m a little bored and tired of what this worn-out series is selling, I’ll bet I’m not the only one. It’s past time to let the dinosaurs take a nice, long vacation. That way, when they come back, maybe we can once again be excited about them. “Excitement” is not something Rebirth delivers with relish or consistency.

Jurassic World: Rebirth (United States, 2025)