Jurassic World: Rebirth Roars Up a Fun, Visually Dazzling Throwback
Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
As the smoke dies down from all the Fourth of July fireworks, Hollywood decided to finally start delivering some of its real heavy hitters for the summer. Just last weekend, Universal unearthed the fossilized remains of the Jurassic Park franchise to clone a new reboot with the latest entry, Jurassic World: Rebirth. Boasting an impressive $300 million dollar opening in the first five days, I was eager to see if life found a way for these movies to thrive after the rather lackluster Jurassic World: Dominion.
The story focuses on ex-military specialist Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) leading an expedition to procure DNA samples from the three largest dinosaurs, which hold the key to a new heart disease treatment. She teams up with paleontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) to chart the expedition as they work alongside a team of mercenaries led by Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). They soon discover that the island houses a plethora of mutated dinosaurs, many of which try to eat them amidst their mission.
The story refreshingly returns to basics, mixing together some of the best parts of the earlier sequels like The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3. The tone is much more mature and darker when compared to the more recent entries, evoking the raw grit and awe that made the earlier entries so much more entertaining. It has a likeable bunch of characters (maybe a bit too many) that are very charming and likeable to watch, even if the story is pretty predictable.
The acting was really good, with Johnathan Bailey rounding out the bunch with his delightfully quirky performance as paleontologist Henry Loomis. He boasts a lot of charm and works well off his co-stars, making him an incredibly likeable lead. Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali were also fantastic in their supporting roles, adding a lot more weight to the story with their performances. Manuel-Garcia Rulfo was a real standout as the father of a shipwrecked family forced to work with the team on the island.
The cinematography was absolutely breathtaking, emulating a grand sense of size and scale I haven’t felt since the original Jurassic Park. It definitely blows the other sequels out of the water, boasting a colorful canvas tailor-made to be seen on the largest screen possible. Director Gareth Edwards really captured the epic size of these giant dinosaurs when compared to their human counterparts, even shooting the movie on 35mm film to evoke a visual style similar to the original.
While it is hard to top John William’s iconic and incredible score, Alexandre Desplat worked well with his orchestra to craft a really engaging soundtrack. It really captured the awe-factor and terror of the first films, properly amping up the tension as the stakes grew higher. Star Jonathan Bailey even wanted in on the action, playing the clarinet in the orchestra pit during one of their recording sessions.
While the VFX were noticeably more CGI-heavy when compared to earlier installments, they were at least pleasing to the eye. Almost all of the dinosaurs were very colorful and vibrant to look at, with the textures of their skin looking incredibly detailed on the screen. I do wish there would have been more practical effects, but I will admit that the dinosaurs blended in nicely with the jungle background and rarely felt out of place.
For me personally, this film was the Jurassic sequel I’ve been longing to see ever since I was a child. Even if the story is weaker than the other entries, it boasts a lot of fun dinosaur action and epic photography that really captures that sense of scope that’s been lacking since the original film. With director Gareth Edwards at the helm and a colorful cast of characters led by the ever so charming Jonathan Bailey, Jurassic World: Rebirth roars up a fun adventure with plenty of thrilling set-pieces and gorgeous visuals.
Jurassic World: Rebirth is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★☆
