3 out of 5 dinosaur-infested islands (average)
Jurassic World Rebirth is exactly the kind of fun blockbuster the summer movie season exists to provide. It’s the 7th (!) installment in the Jurassic Park series, but stands alone while also laying eggs for the future, providing all the dino action and sexy celebrities one could ask for even if you have to wait a little bit to get to the goodies. Jurassic World Rebirth roars the franchise back to life with an escapist action chomp that shows it still has some bite left.
Jurassic World Rebirth | Official Trailer
Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) is a covert operative who’s never met a moral or ethical line she wouldn’t cross to get the job done. She’s recruited by pharmaceutical rep Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend, Homeland) to illegally travel to an isolated island where dinosaurs are safe (They can’t roam the rest of the world without a Snuggie due to incompatible temperatures) and retrieve 3 blood samples from the living beasts that will fast track countless disease cures. Krebs and Zora also pick up nerdy paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey, Wicked) and tough-as-nails ship captain Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to ferry them there. Before arrival, our heroes rescue the capsized Delgado family: father Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, The Lincoln Lawyer), college-bound Teresa (Luna Blaise), her sister Isabella (newcomer Audrina Miranda) and Teresa’s lazy lover Xavier (David Iacono), only for the groups to get separated upon reaching the island and fighting to avoid becoming rib-eye for its inhabitants.
Jurassic Park is a classic just as much for its spectacle as it is for its well-drawn characters and ideas, and Jurassic World Rebirth isn’t up to snuff in the latter categories. The cast elevates it (Particularly Ali exuding Movie Star charisma and Garcia-Rulfo), but I spent the first chunk before reaching the island coasting on the actors’ bodacious bods and hoping it wouldn’t disappoint on the action front. Luckily, director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One, and the abysmal The Creator) brings a fun intensity to the chases and gets good performances from his cast. The film also has some light criticism against the pharmaceutical industry in keeping previous films’ themes of side-eying corporations but it knows we’re here for chases and to watch likable, sexy people bounce off each other and delivers on that. The film ends with a potential door to a meatier sequel should it be made, and whether it bites into that meat or not, I”ll be there to see it. Jurassic World Rebirth takes some time to get into gear, but an attractive cast and Gareth Edwards’ action direction ensures this series has “found a way” to justify future entries. Chomp down on it at your local cinema.
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence/Action, Bloody Images, Some Suggestive References (Oooo hide your children), Language, and a Drug Reference