Jurassic World Rebirth Is Big, Dumb And Fun. What More Could You Want?

Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in "Jurassic World Rebirth."Let’s be honest, there hasn’t been a great Jurassic movie since 1997. Once Steven Spielberg vacated the director’s chair after The Lost World, the quality began to dip almost immediately. Sure, other filmmakers like Joe Johnston and Colin Trevorrow have managed to wring some remaining magic out of the franchise, but we can all admit the words “new Jurassic movie” aren’t exactly synonymous with “cinematic masterpiece”.And yet, we love these movies. Audiences continue to show up in droves to see them, and there’s no denying the thrill of watching a giant CGI dinosaur projected on the big screen. The bar is low. The upside is high. Enter: Jurassic World Rebirth.From director Gareth Edwards (best known for making visually gorgeous but narratively jumbled sci-fi epics that come in impressively under budget), Jurassic World Rebirth is the franchise’s second major revival. With a star-studded cast and the promise of mutant dinosaurs, there’s the potential for greatness. And while Rebirth offers an exciting premise and some epic dino action, it’s also dragged down by an unnecessary side plot and some underwhelming special effects.Jurassic World Rebirth begins five years after the previous film. Don’t worry, it’s fine if you can’t remember what happened in Dominion, as the events of that film are quickly swept aside. Dinosaurs had briefly roamed the Earth in a “Neo Jurassic” era, but they’re now confined to a few islands along the equator (we’re told that’s the only part of the planet still hospitable to these prehistoric creatures). Meanwhile, public interest in dinosaurs has dwindled. An aging brontosaurus that breaks loose from a New York zoo is seen as more of a nuisance than a spectacle, and ticket sales for museum exhibits are plummeting.There’s an interesting parallel between the state of dinosaurs within this movie and the state of the Jurassic franchise in real life. Both are seemingly diminished, but still powerful. Both have potential, but the path forward is unclear. These are all smart ideas worth chewing on – Jurassic World Rebirth swiftly bypasses them in favour of dinosaur action.Instead, the plot hinges on a pharmaceutical company that wants to harvest dinosaur blood to develop a lifesaving new heart medication (and make billions of dollars). To do so, a shady company representative (Rupert Friend) hires a mercenary (Scarlett Johansson) and a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) to lead the operation. Once they arrive at the equator, the team expands to include a ship captain (Mahershala Ali) and his extremely disposable crew. On their way to dinosaur island (it has a name, but you won’t remember it), the group also makes an unplanned pit stop to save a shipwrecked family, providing Jurassic World Rebirth with its requisite child actors (a tradition dating back to the original film).A scene from Jurassic World RebirthOf course, the mission quickly goes sideways. The ship crashes during a battle with some aquatic dinosaurs, and the surviving characters make their way to the island to complete the mission and rendezvous with a helicopter scheduled to save them the next evening. The family also gets separated from the rest of the crew, clumsily setting up a B-plot to break up the main dino-hunting action.That B-plot drags the movie down in ways that make me wonder why nobody thought to cut it entirely. It’s as if Jurassic World Rebirth needed to satisfy a checklist (kids, cute baby dinosaur, T-rex scene, annoying boyfriend who becomes a hero, etc.) and decided the best option was to cram them all into a secondary plotline. None of it serves any purpose to the main story, and while it’s always entertaining to watch a Tyrannosaurus rex chase after puny humans, that’s not enough to validate the half-dozen other scenes we’re forced to sit through in an already bloated two-hour-plus movie.Thankfully, the main plotline is straightforward and thoroughly enjoyable. Our heroes charge across the island in search of the biggest dinosaurs they can find. This, unsurprisingly, leads to some dramatic set pieces, including one where they rappel down the side of a cliff to surprise a flying monster. These moments are dumb and fun in the best way possible, with the only drawback being some rough CGI that probably needed a bit more work (Edwards notably made Rebirth for half the budget of the previous Jurassic movie, but perhaps he could have spent a bit more on those dinosaur effects).This also, unfortunately, applies to the movie’s final showdown between the reunited cast and a mutant dinosaur that was teased in the opening scene (and many of the trailers). The creature is all flailing arms and has an oversized, bulbous forehead, giving it an alien look that somewhat detracts from the original premise of Jurassic Park. Dinosaurs are scary enough on their own. Why do we need to turn them into body horror monsters?Jurassic World Rebirth doesn’t offer a convincing answer, although its final fight for survival is still plenty entertaining. Perhaps, like the dwindling interest for dinosaurs established in the movie’s opening scene, Hollywood is worried that audiences will eventually grow tired of the Jurassic franchise if they don’t introduce some new sci-fi twist. But if the last few movies are any indication, our real-world fascination with these creatures is as strong as ever. All the movies need to do is provide a big, dumb, blockbuster experience. The dinosaurs will do the rest.MORE FILM NEWS:Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Trailer Is Already Sparking Debate For This 1 Reason28 Years Later's Teen Star Names 1 Scene That 'Creeped Him Out' During FilmingMark Hamill Reveals How He Really Feels About Controversial Star Wars Film The Last Jedi

Comments

Breaking news

Jeffrey Epstein’s final moments caught on CCTV outside his prison cell

Metro

JOHN MURDOCH'S DRIVE TIME: We try out the new Skoda Elroq all-electric SUV and examine why some manufacturers are moving to bring back switches and buttons

about 3 hours ago

West Lothian public pools and gyms get funding assurance from council

Daily Record

Comments

Similar News

Scarlett Johansson becomes highest-grossing lead actor EVER after Jurassic Park Rebirth opens with $318M

‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ bites off $318 million at the global box office

Jonathan Bailey: 11 Roles You'd Forgotten He Played Before Jurassic World And Wicked

‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Review: Dull Action, Dull Characters, Dull World-Building

Breaking news

Jeffrey Epstein’s final moments caught on CCTV outside his prison cell

Pub staff tried to save man after he was stabbed to death outside Wetherspoons

Man found dead inside 28ft python after being crushed and eaten

Nissan recalls 480,000 vehicles over fears their engines might fail

Huge flames force Brixton Underground station to close while firefighters tackle blaze

Paramedic who gave woman abortion pill without her knowing jailed for 10 years

Elderly woman dies after waiting 14 hours for ambulance following fall

'I'm A Neurologist – This Common Sleep Habit May Raise Dementia Risk'

This Wild Scene Was Removed From The New Superman Film After Controversy During Test Screening

British teenager jailed in Dubai for sex with 17-year-old freed after royal pardon

Photos show the aftermath of the flooding in central Texas

How the mushroom murder trial gripped Australia – and the world

You can now get snacks and fresh foods delivered in 15 minutes, thanks to Amazon

Parents battle charity for £100k donations to dead son to be spent on terminally ill daughter

Police block roads and businesses close ahead of planned protests in Kenya

Photos of a Buddhist festival show ritual dances in India’s Ladakh

Trump live updates: President says Elon Musk ‘off the rails’ as tech boss hits back over Jeffrey Epstein

Body found in search for woman who got off cruise ship and never came back

High-profile trial for deadly hotel fire that killed 78 opens in Turkey

Shell trims gas outlook in volatile market

Poland reinstates border controls with Germany and Lithuania to discourage asylum-seekers

Scientists unlock secrets of oldest rocks on Earth

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Four dead and dozens injured in new wave of Russian strikes

Mapped: Where the third UK heatwave of the summer will hit

April Jones killer Mark Bridger attacked in prison as her family say 'he deserves it'

Amazon Prime 'don't click' warning issued for members amid surge in scams

First picture of woman found dead in Bellshill home as man arrested and charged

'Hannibal Lecter' wife killed lover, cooked his head and served it with potatoes

JOHN MURDOCH'S DRIVE TIME: We try out the new Skoda Elroq all-electric SUV and examine why some manufacturers are moving to bring back switches and buttons

West Lothian public pools and gyms get funding assurance from council

Chilling video clip shows nightmare neighbours fighting with knives as mum living in fear

Bridge in rural Stirling fully re-opened to traffic following £1.2m project

Lanarkshire team protecting the safety of locals wins a prestigious award

British teenager jailed in Dubai for sex with girl is released after royal pardon

Erin Patterson found guilty of murdering her three in-laws with death cap mushrooms

Man, 31, arrested after teenager ‘raped’ in public toilet on Bournemouth Beach

3 Signs You're Using Charity Shops As A Guilt-Free Skip

Julian McMahon, Nip/Tuck And Charmed Star, Dies At 56

Michael Douglas Reveals Why He's Chosen To Take A Step Back From Acting

Does Cheese Cause Nightmares? It Might If You Have This Condition

Starmer Facing Fresh Labour Revolt As Minister Fails To Deny Special Needs Are 'On The Chopping Block'

Zayn Malik Calls Out Racism He Experienced During His Time In One Direction

Pope speaks about childhood and early mornings as an altar boy

How a family’s beef wellington lunch ended with three dead and a mother guilty of murder

Wimbledon's expansion plan heads to court while facing opposition from local residents

An unclear motive and a media frenzy: The mushroom murder trial, explained

Pamplona holds opening bull run during San Fermín festival

Scientists discover 3,500-year-old lost city in Peru that rivalled Ancient Egypt

Woman ‘loses arm’ in lion attack at Australian zoo

India’s air pollution crisis found linked to rising pre-term births and low birth weight

Erin Patterson trial latest: Mushroom lunch killer found guilty of murdering in-laws

Starmer braced for fresh rebellion over reforms to special needs support

Pilot's harrowing final three words before plane plummeted into ocean killing all 228 on board

Tories set to call for PIP face-to-face assessments on all claims as part of new DWP reforms

Rural roads clean-up moves on to Hamilton area this week

Dentist fined £150,000 for keeping patients' teeth too clean

Mushroom poisoner found guilty after lunch killed three of estranged husband’s relatives

British teen jailed in Dubai over 'holiday fling' freed after royal pardon

'I was next to 7/7 bomber and about to ask five-word question before world changed'

Diver 'died' 300ft underwater after losing oxygen but what happened next defied science