(Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
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(“Jurassic World Rebirth” trailer courtesy of Universal Pictures)
“Jurassic World Rebirth” is not as great as some cheering advance screening audiences make it out to be, which is something that critics can sometimes let influence them.
It is also not as horrible as some movie critics believe.
But “Jurassic World Rebirth” is a watchable and nice change of pace for the dinosaur movie franchise.
A wise person once said that timing is everything, especially in business.
When something is new and exciting, the numbers show that people are enthusiastic.
But when the hoopla dies down, so do the interest and profits.
When dinosaurs returned in earlier “Jurassic Park” films, they brought an equal amount of hysteria and hype.
But years later, very few people care about the gigantic creatures from prehistoric times because they have grown accustomed to their presence.
Museums sell very few tickets as opposed to earlier years.
And scientists, who study dinosaurs, do not know where they will find their next gig because dried-up ticket sales and grants lead to dried-up funding for their research.
Five years after “Jurassic World: Dominion,” it seems dinosaurs are tired of interacting with humans, too.
The dinosaurs have all migrated to the islands near the equator because of the climate, vegetation and other factors, which are more suitable to their existence.
Because of the utter destruction that dinosaurs have caused in the past, it is illegal for humans to travel to those equatorial islands.
But laws have rarely stopped people from participating in illegal activity and taking penitentiary chances when a lucrative payday is involved.
Therefore, when Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”) approaches Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”) with an opportunity to make millions of dollars by visiting the forbidden islands, she kind of reluctantly agrees and assembles a team of mercenaries to chase the best financial hustle of their lives.
Martin’s pharmaceutical company believes that learning from dinosaurs could one day lead humans to major breakthroughs in cardiovascular health.
The company believes that if they can extract DNA from certain dinosaurs and study the findings, they can add 10 years to the lives of people who suffer from heart disease.
While Zora and her band of mercenaries are hustlers, Martin has a little hustle in his game, too.
He knows that Zora lost her mother to heart disease back in the day.
As a result, she might want to take a chance on losing her life to a ruthless dinosaur if it will save other families the grief that her family endured.
In “Jurassic World Rebirth,” Zora brings Duncan Kinkaid (Mahershala Ali, “Swan Song”), amongst others, into the mix because he has a suitable boat for the excursion.
But Martin still must convince Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey, “Wicked”) to accompany the team because they will need someone with expert knowledge on the big animals.
Although the crew of mercenaries is skirting the law for a profit, Ruben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, “Widows”) has ventured into the dangerous waters for naïve and innocent reasons.
Before his daughter Theresa goes off to New York University, he wants to spend some quality family time on the water.
In fact, the family has ventured out into the dangerous waters many times before, and they have never run into any dangerous and prehistoric creatures that might threaten their very existence.
But when Ruben, his youngest daughter, Theresa and her lazy, weed-smoking boyfriend Xavier have a wild encounter with a big water creature, they might find themselves in as much danger as the mercenaries who are on a mission to encounter dinosaurs.
When the family crosses paths with the mercenaries, joy quickly turns into pain when all in the water realize that their little adventure might become the test of their lives.
And when they realize that they must fight from within their own ranks and not just with the dinosaurs, they quickly find out their survival is definitely not guaranteed.
Thanks to technological advancements, the “Jurassic Park” franchise has grown leaps and bounds.
The dinosaurs from the 1990s look like a joke compared to the dinosaurs of 2025.
For that reason alone, it would have almost been better if the franchise had been born in current times as opposed to 1993.
However, technology does not always make things better because storylines still play an important role in filmmaking.
With movie franchises that last over three decades, finding adequate storylines to justify a continuation of the series is the problem, not dope graphics.
The “Jurassic Park” franchise finds itself in the same position as the “Fast and Furious” franchise.
After a while, there is nothing unique to bring to the story.
Therefore, the franchises rely on next-level visuals.
While the storyline in “Jurassic World Rebirth” is admirable, with its emphasis on saving lives, it is not unique enough for an entire movie.
Despite the storyline not living up to past storylines, some of the characters make “Jurassic World Rebirth” worth a watch.
Johannsson does her thing in “Jurassic World Rebirth.”
Furthermore, Ali is one of the greatest actors of this generation.
Therefore, the Oscar winner more than holds his weight against the bulkier dinosaurs.
However, the best performances in “Jurassic World Rebirth” are from the younger stars.
David Iacono plays the lovable loser, Xavier.
Although Xavier is a slacker and has no cares in the world, he has a good heart and cares dearly about his girlfriend, Teresa.
Additionally, Audrina Miranda is adorable as Teresa’s baby sister, especially her relationship with little Delores.
But holding a couple of performances in great regard does not make a movie great.
Unfortunately, “Jurassic World Rebirth” is not a great movie.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
