“Jurassic World: Rebirth” may not be the single worst installment in the “Jurassic Park” franchise, but it is certainly the most cynical. Although the series has not produced a legitimately good installment since Steven Spielberg’s original classic from 1993, each subsequent sequel has steadily chipped away at everything that made viewers fall in love with the world in the first place. Any notion of legitimate science has been eroded, any human characters with genuine passion for the prehistoric creatures have been removed, and an awe-inspiring spectacle has been traded out for generic monster movie shenanigans. “Rebirth” is an odd title for this new sequel, as it could be more aptly titled “Repetitive.”
Set five years after dinosaurs began to walk the Earth freely once more at the end of “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth” quickly doubles back to suggest that the planet has become too inhospitable for these prehistoric wonders. Dinosaurs, and the potential genetic resources that they hold, have become more challenging to track down, which is why the pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) hires the covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead a team to head to the forbidden island of Saint-Huber. Zora convinces the paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) to join the team to provide his expertise, and makes contact with the boat captain Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to transport them into dangerous territory.
If the original “Jurassic Park” presented characters like Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Satler (Laura Dern), who had a genuine interest in biology, prehistoric studies, and anatomy, the protagonists in “Jurassic World: Rebirth” are shallow and only motivated by money. Even though Krebs is the only one specifically framed as morally dubious (in the most unsubtle ways possible), Zora seems to approach her new gig as if it were just another one of her illegal jobs. It would be one thing if “Jurassic World: Rebirth” played into the moral ambiguity of the characters, but discussions about ethics are thrown out the window once the action starts. Although Loomis is given a few moments to describe the nature of evolution, his intelligent words are undercut by the ridiculous plot developments designed to keep the characters in constant danger.
None of these performers can be blamed for the blandness of their characters, as the screenplay is so bare-bones in its approach that it feels like a first draft. Although screenwriter David Koepp did write the original “Jurassic Park,” it’s worth remembering that his most recent credits include disasters like “Mortdecai” and the last two “Indiana Jones” sequels. Koepp’s only method of building character development is to include bland, unusually somber conversations in which the performers are forced to recite expository lines that reference their backstories and motivations. Given how uncreatively these are framed, it’s as if the film itself is giving the viewers the opportunity to zone out until dinosaurs appear.
Also Read: Jurassic Park Was Never About Dinosaurs but Computers—A Reddit Theory That Changes Everything
The dinosaurs do eventually appear, but it takes far too long, as after a cheesy opening scene (caused by a scientific error that is laughably innate), it takes another solid thirty minutes before there is even a hint of stakes or tension. This is also when the film makes the disastrous decision to expand its cast. Although the trailers may have successfully masked it thus far, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” also introduces a family of tourists, which includes the single father Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his younger daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda), his elder daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise), and her boyfriend Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono).
To say that these characters are superfluous to the plot would be an understatement, as they add no expertise that would be compelling and undercut the main storyline whenever they appear on screen. Perhaps Koepp intended to insert relatable characters for the audience to invest in, but the dynamics of the Delgado family are so ridden with cliches that it’s impossible not to root for them to be devoured by dinosaurs.
The dinosaurs themselves feel almost secondary to the narrative, as Krebs’ goal is to extract biomaterial that could be used to make himself rich. None of the action scenes involving dinosaurs last long enough to leave a strong impression, and the characters are seemingly so impervious to danger that there’s never any legitimate suspense. It’s quite telling that the only instance in the film that involves actual awe and wonder for dinosaurs is a sequence involving a brachiosaurus that almost directly mirrors the iconic moment from the original film. It’s also astounding that, despite over three decades of visual effects, the CGI used to render Saint-Huber lacks the weight, dimensionality, and gravity of the original park.
As with “Godzilla” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the two previous franchise films helmed by director Gareth Edwards, “Jurassic World: Rebirth” seems to mistake convolution for complexity, as a good deal of scientific jargon, competing motivations, and references to unseen events can’t mask the fact that the plot is incredibly straightforward. Edwards has also shown once again that he believes absence and anticipation are the same thing. Just because he masks the dinosaurs from view doesn’t mean that a sequence automatically becomes more frightening. There’s also little effort on Edwards’ part to give any personality to specific dinosaurs that would have distinguished them as unique creatures. Despite its innumerable flaws, “Jurassic World” at least attempted to bridge a connection between Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady and the raptor known as “Blue.”
Although it is refreshing that “Jurassic World: Rebirth” lacks the saccharine pining for nostalgia that made Colin Trevorrow’s contributions to the franchise so intolerable, there’s little sense of continuity within the “Jurassic Park” franchise, as the outside world is only occasionally glimpsed. Even the score by the great Alexandre Desplat seems to hint at themes from John Williams’ original, only to pull back at risk of being an exact replication. This may have been more admirable had the film made any attempts to differentiate itself from its predecessors; with ideas borrowed from “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “Jurassic Park III,” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” the new film is a mishmash of unwanted ideas and failed concepts.
Perhaps the logical, ethical, and emotional incompetence of “Jurassic World: Rebirth” would be forgivable if the film contained any joy, but the sluggish pace seems to only gradually shift between indistinguishable setpieces. The climax is so muted in its tension (possibly because its twists were quite easy to anticipate) that there is little evidence to suggest that the story has actually reached its endpoint. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” is a sign that the “Jurassic Park” franchise does not have the capacity to evolve, as its attempt to reset the stakes only leads to a familiar path. If audiences finally grow attuned to the decline in quality, then perhaps this dreaded franchise will finally go extinct.
![Bare Trees in the Mist [2020]: ‘DIFF’ Short Film Review – The wafer-thin weight of gratitude](https://79468c92.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Bare-Trees-in-the-Mist-1-highonfilms-768x428.jpg)
