A mercenary is hired by a pharmaceutical company to acquire DNA samples from three species of dinosaur in Jurassic World Rebirth. The Neo-Jurassic Age has, on the modern Earth, has proved to be inhospitable for the de-extinct dinosaurs that escaped into the wilderness. The only exceptions are the dinosaurs that flourish on highly restricted tropical islands near the equator, including one that housed a decommissioned InGen research facility that was developing unstable hybrids.
Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) is a covert operations expert who is approached by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a representative of the ParkerGenix pharmaceutical company. Martin wants Zora to lead a team to the research island to recover living DNA samples from the aquatic Mosasaurus, terrestrial Titanosaurus, and avian Quelzacoatlus dinosaurs, to be used as part of a new heart disease cure. Joining the expedition are paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), Zora’s boat captain friend, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and a crew that includes Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein), Nina (Philippine Velge), and Leclerc (Bechir Sylvain). The mission hits a snag when the crew have to rescue the capsized Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono), only for them to get separated when the boat is forced to crash land onto the island.
Jurassic World Rebirth Synopsis
Jurassic World Rebirth is the sixth sequel to 1993’s Jurassic Park, which brings back that film’s screenwriter, David Koepp, with Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla, The Creator) directing. The film is a standalone entry in the series, set five years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, where it turns out that the de-extinct dinosaurs living in the wilderness can’t adapt to the modern climate. This has resulted in them beginning to die off, along with the general public’s interest, resulting in the closure of museums, as the one worked at by Dr. Henry Loomis, a former student of Alan Grant, played by Jonathan Bailey (Wicked). Henry is hired as a civilian member of a mercenary team led by Zora Bennett, played by Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), who was hired to acquire three distinct dinosaur DNA samples to be used as part of a heart disease cure.
The aquatic Mosasaurus, the first sample being tracked down, turns out to be particularly hostile towards the boat, and the rescued family of Reuben Delgado and his daughters Teresa and Isabella ends up going overboard, before the boat crashes onto the island. With the two groups separated, Zora insists that they continue acquiring samples, while an injured Reuben tries to lead his family to the abandoned InGen facility. Both groups only have two days to reach the helipad, where a planned rescue helicopter will do a pass by.
My Thoughts on Jurassic World Rebirth
I was eleven years old when I saw Jurassic Park in 1993 and remember feeling both awe and immense fright at seeing dinosaurs on the big screen. Now, I am 43 and feeling jaded that Universal Pictures is, again, rebooting the franchise. Released a decade ago, 2015’s Jurassic World had the benefit of nostalgia, which helped it have more longevity than its follow-ups, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.
With Executive Producer Steven Spielberg bringing back Jurassic Park‘s original screenwriter, David Koepp, the intention of Jurassic World Rebirth was for the film to go back to the roots of the franchise. This is also likely what helped attract director Gareth Edwards and star Scarlett Johansson. However, the eye-rolling began for me in the opening prologue of Jurassic World Rebirth, where a containment breach at the InGen research facility is caused by an errant Snickers wrapper. It is this prologue that introduces the Distortus Rex (aka D-Rex), a mutant T Rex, looking a lot like the Rancors from Star Wars, which is one of the new hybrids introduced in this film, the others being the Mutadon, a hybrid of Velociraptor and Pteranodon. Both hybrid dinosaurs play a big role in the climax of Jurassic World Rebirth.
For the nostalgic, Jurassic World Rebirth features set-pieces that throwback to the original Jurassic Park and, to a lesser extent, its first sequel, The Lost World. This includes the obligatory T-Rex chase scene, this time involving a rubber life raft, and a scene with the Mutadons inside of an abandoned gas station convenience store, highly reminiscent of a similar scene involving Velociraptors in the original. Speaking of which, the Velociraptors are relegated in this film to a “dino cameo” sight gag, along with a brief appearance by the frilled Dilophosaurus.
I would be amiss not to mention Dolorous, the baby triceratops, who is befriended by the young Isabella Delgado. Dolorous is clearly in the film to appeal to kids and create a demand for dolls. I’m also left baffled by how Dolorous keeps returning after being separated from the Delgado family.
While Jurassic World Rebirth is arguably the best film in the franchise since Jurassic World a decade ago, it just doesn’t feel right that this franchise is continuing after two complete trilogies. I would probably be more receptive to Jurassic World Rebirth if it were rewritten as a completely independent adventure film without the three decades’ worth of baggage. Just like the general public in the film, I am no longer that 11-year-old boy feeling awe at dinosaurs and am now wishing the world would just move on.
Trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth
