Jurassic World Rebirth Movie Review

“Jurassic World Rebirth” roars into theaters on July 2nd, 2025.

 

“Jurassic World Rebirth” is another saga in the ‘Jurassic’ creature-feature kingdom. This is an IP (Intellectual Property) that refuses to die. And as they say – ‘IP finds a way’. The prehistoric beasts are back with a vengeance, ready to stomp and chomp anyone who enters their domain. Dinosaurs may no longer Rule the Earth, but the Studio is hoping they will again Rule the Box Office!

 

It has been 37 years since the dinosaurs have come back to this world, thanks to a now defunct company named InGen. Resurrected dinos from prehistoric DNA had led to making genetic species alive and well. Then ongoing genetic testing and splicing has made quite a few horrific monster hybrids.

 

The testing lab on the isolated island named Isle Saint-Hubert. A terrible accident shut down that operation 17 years ago. But then five years ago, the recent events had let all of the dinosaurs loose into the wild.

 

In a world where dinosaurs have been released to roam freely, most have died out or migrated to the warmer tropical climates. That fact gets a greedy pharmaceutical top exec named Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) get a special team together. This team will have a goal to get to the isolated Isle Saint-Hubert and collect samples.

 

He turns to Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), who is adept at ‘specialized security situations’. That means she can get people in and out of tricky environments. She will need to have a trained specialist to get specimens.

 

This will be Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), who is trained as a paleontologist — and studied under Dr. Alan Grant. Zora, Martin Krebs and Dr. Loomis will be led to the island by a friend of Zora’s. This is captain Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), who has a crew of seasoned ruffians. On the sea near the island are some other travelers.

 

This is a small yacht with a family on an adventure. It is a father named Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) who has with him his daughters. Teenage Teresa (Luna Blaise) and middle-school age Isabella (Audrina Miranda) are aboard. Also tagging along is Teresa’s slacker boyfriend named Xavier (David Iacano).

 

The scientific team on Duncan’s boat is here to get three important things. Blood or tissue samples of three of the largest dinosaurs on the land, above from the sky, and in the sea. This is all because the Big Pharma Bro Krebs knows he can turn the DNA into a multi-billion drug for the medical market.

 

All that money is the only reason he was able to drag Zora and Dr. Loomis along on this trip. But the small yacht group has no protection against the super-sized sea-bound dino. Soon, they are capsized and are calling a Mayday for help.

 

Duncan turns around to save the family, and then they turn around to fetch the ‘Sea’ sample from the sea creature. There are some other big dinos in the ocean, and they are out to get Duncan’s large boat. He guns it for the shoreline. The family, now saved, do a 180 — and all four of them go overboard again in the chaos. Martin Krebs is glad to be rid of them, because he did nothing to save Teresa from falling off.  Now on shore, the crew is still attacked by wild dinos. The survivors head off to find the two other samples.

 

This is the same island that was abandoned after the gene-splicing accident. So who knows what type of monstrous creatures are on this island. The ones they want to find now are more peaceful herbivores. So, that means no more team members are on the menu. At least, not yet. Meanwhile, the family group is separated from the scientific team. They have clue as where to go. They follow some geo-thermal pipes that ought to lead to the original headquarters and lab area.

 

The Krebs team, lead by Zora, have a friendly encounter with a group of the largest land dinosaurs. This meeting is more awe and not as much awful as other ones. They snag the ‘Land’ sample, and are ready to move on. Dr. Loomis, having never been ‘in the wild’ before — is slightly thrilled at seeing huge animals that do not want to eat them. But now they are onto the next creature, the ‘Sky’ sample is going to be more difficult.

 

The family group is not moving very quickly. The father Reuben sprained his ankle back on the boat. The boyfriend Xavier is still a bit of slacker and is good at wasting time. Teresa seems to be keeping them on track. And young Isabella finds that a cute little dino also has a craving for Twizzlers, just like she does. They find a small river and an inflatable raft. That is a good way to make up for lost time. Too bad it is also the best way to attract a huge and hungry T-Rex!

 

There is a cliff-side adventure to obtain a ‘Sky’ sample. The flying dino has returned to the nest in the side of the cliff. The creature does not like that Zora and Dr. Loomis have gotten to her eggs for the next sample. There are more terrifying moments, and the team finally escapes to the forest floor.

 

They will need to get to the original compound by nightfall. Zora has arranged for a helicopter to come by and check on then at that time. Now the three samples locked away safely, Martin Krebs decides to take charge and be the only one to get out.

 

At the main compound, the scientific team meets up with the yacht family group once again. The helicopter is about to come around for a rescue. Teresa is furious at Martin Krebs for letting her go overboard. Krebs has a weapon he found, and keeps everyone at bay. He wants to be the one to leave with the samples so that he can become rich. But he has forgotten that the gene-splicing lab has been broken open to let the monster hybrid dinosaur out to roam freely.

 

So, the dinos are loose — and now they are hungry. The groups together are able to make their way to the docks. The helicopter help from the air will not be coming. The Big Pharma Bro has turned into a Big Boy Breakfast. There could be an old escape boat by the docks. If they can only get past the freakish-looking hybrid creation with the big head and the bigger teeth. At this point – anything can happen. As long as it does not involve distracting a mean, angry dino by running away holding a flare — while wearing high heels!

 

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“Jurassic World Rebirth” follows the formula that was started in 1993 with “Jurassic Park”. There is yet another group of hapless people stuck on a remote island with a roving pack of hungry and angry dinosaurs.

 

This basic framework has been used over and over again, but there is wear and tear that is beginning to show though. The Studio Heads have commanded that the ‘Jurassic’ franchise must go on. It must never go extinct! The Studio Bosses wanted a new movie — they were “so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”.

 

That does not mean there are no really good things to be found in this movie. After all, the Director (Garth Edwards) is first-rate. The cast (including Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey) are all quite talented. But it is very difficult to make a good performance with these slim and paper-weight characters.

 

It takes about half of the movie’s run time just to get to the scary Dinosaur Island — that of course does not help. Add on to that breaking the main story into sections to fill it with the ‘yacht family’, that is another weird choice.

 

Getting the original screenwriter back from the original 1993 “Jurassic Park” would seem to be no-brainer. The results have quite a bit of action and tense suspense. But the overall plot, including the extra stranded ‘yacht family’ really bogs it down quite a bit. This turns out to be a mere shadow of the original ‘Park’ experience. The settings and cinematography are excellent. But this is more like paddleboats in the lagoon compared to “The African Queen”.

 

“Jurassic World Rebirth” does its best to make you really like Dinosaurs again, almost as much as you liked them in 1993’s “Jurassic Park”. However, the sheen is fading and the ‘adventure’ feels forced.

 

“Jurassic World Rebirth” roars into theaters on July 2nd, 2025.