'Jurassic World: Rebirth' Review: New DJ, Same Playlist
The Dinosaurs are back wreaking havoc yet again in the latest Jurassic instalment.
Jurassic World: Rebirth centers on a character named Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a highly trained covert operative who is hired by a wealthy businessman Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), to go on an expedition to an abandoned island of dinosaurs that were deemed too dangerous for the original park in order to secure blood samples from three species that will aid in research that could prevent heart disease and of course make his company a ludicrous amount of money in the process. Headed on the expedition with her is Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), the former a paleontologist and the latter an old friend of Zora’s who will help escort them to the island.
After the previous Jurassic World trilogy, this franchise desperately needed some fresh blood in order to reinvigorate the series and give it new life. Fortunately, boarding the ship is director Gareth Edwards, the filmmaker behind blockbuster films like Rogue One, 2014’s Godzilla, and The Creator. His artistic flair and confidence behind the camera fortunately carries through into this latest installment. Despite the fact he was thrown into the mix very late in the pre-production process, Edwards does a tremendous job directing this film. The dinosaurs have a breathtaking sense of scale and majesty again, dominating the frame and evoking the sense of awe and bewilderment that has been missing from previous entries. The set pieces are electric, handsomely made, and are given the palpable sense of suspense and tension they absolutely need in order to deliver high-quality theater entertainment. Whether it’s a raft sequence involving a T-Rex or a horrifying encounter with a genetically modified D-Rex, audiences will get exactly what they’re looking for from a Jurassic film.
Returning to the franchise is screenwriter David Koepp, who penned the original film. While his script leaves a lot to be desired unfortunately, there are some areas he explores that have tremendous narrative potential in future installments. The film establishes early on that the public’s interest in dinosaurs since their return thirty two years ago has exponentially waned, the public seeing them as more of nuisance than stunning pieces of history. This is not only effectively shown in the first act of the film, but adds more context and justification to the incessant genetically modified abominations scientists have been cooking up in previous films in order to keep the public entertained and fascinated. If this was explored more deeply in a future film, it could have the makings of a truly great Jurassic Park story. Koepp scratches the surface, but never probes deeper.
Another shortcoming of Koepp’s script is the characters who are as two-dimensional as they come. This is especially disappointing considering the talent in the front of the camera here. While Johansson looks like she’s having the time of her life throughout, there simply isn’t much to her character other than a loss that she awkwardly discusses with Duncan early on in the film. Speaking of Duncan, he’s another character with wasted potential, a character that had an intriguing backstory that was never fully explored and Ali does the best he can with his lackluster material. However, Bailey is easily the standout here, imbuing Loomis with an Alan Grant like warmth, dry charm and infectious affinity for dinosaurs. His character is easily the most interesting of the new lineup and it would be a shame if he didn’t return in inevitable future installments.
One of the biggest flaws of the film is easily the addition of a family that gets marooned on the island after having a dangerous encounter with some dinosaurs on their sailing trip. These characters are not only wholly uninteresting, but they feel completely unnecessary to the story. If you deleted their story from the film entirely and gave their set pieces to the main crew, you would not only lose nothing in terms of the story, but make the film tighter and better paced. Any time the film shifts focus to their story and predicament, it loses steam substantially, especially considering one of the characters is quite possibly the worst introduced in this franchise in quite some time.
However, the biggest flaw of the film is that it doesn’t try anything new. It plays things safe, delivers what it knows fans want, but nothing else. At this point, the franchise feels like a wedding DJ that is complacent recycling the same tired playlist over and over again, keeping the guests happy, but never giving them a night they’ll never forget. If this franchise wants to evolve and live up to the quality and magic of the original film, it needs to take risks, flesh out its characters, and deliver spectacle audiences haven’t seen before. There’s a leaner, meaner and more lively story trapped here, bubbling beneath the surface dying to break free of its cage. Edwards is capable of far better than this, but he not only needs more time to craft the film he clearly wants to make, but needs a script that will be just as enthralling as the big-budget dinosaur-fueled spectacle he can deliver in spades.
Jurassic World: Rebirth is definitely a refreshing change of pace after the messy previous trilogy, bringing back that classic Jurassic Park look and feel that was noticeably absent and sorely missed. Edwards and company deliver the blockbuster entertainment fans of this beloved series have come to know and love, but unfortunately the sequel doesn’t have much else to offer. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but if this franchise doesn’t start taking risks and exploring new avenues, it may be in danger of soon becoming extinct.