This film is a standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion. It’s supposed to have taken place 5 years after that movie, which was set in 2022. So we’re looking two years into the future with this storyline.
At the heart of this story, Dinosaurs aren’t exciting anymore, and we’ve moved on to other, less interesting things to obsess about. So, when a representative for a big conglomerate pharmaceutical company, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), with deep pockets and no morals, makes a pitch to a former special forces operative and top-notch extraction expert, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), things get interesting.
Martin tells Zora that they need DNA from three giant, living specimens of dinosaurs to create a new drug that will give people with heart trouble their lives back. He tries to play on her sympathies, knowing that her own mother passed away from heart trouble, but that doesn’t work. What does work is adding a lot of zeros to the end of the price he’s willing to pay for her to lead this expedition. Because the only place these dinosaurs are still thriving is in a No-Go Zone near the equator, where no one is allowed to be, and all governments avoid it. It’s the perfect place for an unscrupulous branch of the original Jurassic Park team to conduct their experiments on these dinosaurs, until, of course, things went wrong, as they always do. Now it’s just a big, creepy, dinosaur-infested, broken-down facility. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Zora has the contacts, in particular, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), with whom she served in the military. He’s a good friend and just the man who can navigate that part of the ocean with his ship’s crew, Nina (Philippine Velga) and Leclerc (Bechir Sylvan). His boat is fast and well-equipped to get the job done. For good measure, Zora brings in her buddy, Atwater (Ed Skrein), who is in charge of protection and weaponry. The money man, Martin, adds one more person to the team. A civilian named Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) a paleontologist who can help the team find and obtain the samples they need. He’s a former student of Alan Grant (from the first Jurassic Park films). His temptation is not just the substantial paycheck he’s looking to earn, but also the opportunity to see the dinosaurs in their natural habitat in person.
Once this team is assembled and everyone, including Martin, is on the boat and hunting for the first sample they need, which lives in the ocean, fate throws them a curveball. They intercept a Mayday call from a family consisting of dad Ruben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his youngest daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda), her older sister Teresa (Luna Blaise), and her slacker boyfriend, Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono).
Ruben had his kids during summer break and was sailing with them when they had a scary encounter with a dinosaur that capsized their boat.
Once on board with Zora’s team, they are thrust into the job these people have come to do. Whether they like it or not. Through various circumstances, they all end up on the island I spoke of earlier; you know, the one with the broken-down facility that’s infested with all the surviving, failed dinosaur experiments.
Will they obtain the necessary samples? Will they get out alive? Will we have to listen to another variation of that theme song ten more times? You know which one I’m talking about —the score from the original Jurassic Park film, Da da da da DA, da da da da DA. You will just have to watch the movie to find out.
This newest addition to the Jurassic film franchise is a pretty good film, but not great. It’s managed to snatch a little bit of the original magic that the first film had. But it also borrowed too heavily from the original to stand out on its own. For example, the score was composed by Alexandre Desplat, which “incorporates” elements of John Williams’s original Jurassic Park themes. Desplat even decided against a synthesized sound and used a 105-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir in London to get the job done. So, there is a lush depth to the score that reminds the audience how cool older films sounded. It just would have been nice not to recycle what John Williams made iconic.
My only major complaint about the film is that it’s too formulaic. Especially with that Da da da da theme running through the film and lingering in your mind after you see the movie. Add to the mix a child being scared out of their mind by giant creatures trying to eat them. It just feels a little like deja vu, which is too bad because there’s a legion of fans for these magnificent dinosaurs, who wouldn’t mind seeing something new.
I give Jurassic World: Rebirth 3.5 stars. It’s not as good as the first film, but it’s definitely not as bad as some of the other five films in-between. It’s best to experience it on the big screen. But keep in mind, this is not for very young children due to the violent deaths we get to watch.
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Written by: Michael Crichton, David Koepp
Rated: PG-13
Selig Rating: 3.5 Stars
Running Time: 2 h 14 min
Adventure/ Action/ Sci-Fi
Wide Release: In theaters only July 2nd
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Mahershala Ali, Audrina Miranda
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen, but wish I hadn’t paid for it.