Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) – Review

Grade – 3.5 Genetically Modified Dinosaurs out of 5.

Quick Thoughts:

1. Aquatic action is plentiful – I love it

2. I like how straightforward it is. People go to an island and terrible things happen

3. As always, director Gareth Edwards understands scale

4. T-Rex in the water! Mosasaurus! Spinosaurus! – I love aquatic action.

5. Depending on the day, it’s the second or third-best JP film

The best thing that can be said about Jurassic World: Rebirth is that it goes back to basics and embraces the “people getting eaten on a remote island” trope. Director Gareth Edwards (The Creator, Godzilla, Monsters) and writer David Koepp (who wrote the adapted screenplay for the OG Jurassic Park) waste no time putting its main characters on multiple boats that have them converging on an island of death. Their goal is to find the three biggest dinosaur species (land, sea, air) so they can snag DNA samples from each of them in hopes of curing heart disease (and making a lot of money). Of course, things go wrong and it leads to several fun set pieces that involve river rafts, tunnel systems, and aquatic mayhem. 

The film starts off with an obligatory dinosaur attack before it heads to the real world where dinosaurs are dying off due to the earth’s inhospitality and museums are closing because nobody cares about dinosaurs anymore. We learn that the remaining dinosaurs live on isolated tropical islands near the equator – and they are left alone because visiting the island means certain death. This is where mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) comes into play. Backed by pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), she recruits paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and retrieval expert Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to join on her nigh-impossible journey to the equator. On their way to death island, they pick up Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters, and Xavier (David Lacono), the boyfriend of the eldest daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise). The four were left shipwrecked after a Mosasaurus attack left them stranded in the water. 

Things get violent before they get to the island as a Mosasaurus and a pack of Spinosaurus attack Kincaid’s boat during a lengthy action scene that sees several of his crew becoming dinosaur food. It’s a fantastic scene that looks great and ends with a bit involving a camouflaged Spinosaurus that received loud applause from the audience. After the aquatic battle, the group is separated which leads to two intercutting stories and several memorable set pieces. 

What separates Jurassic World: Rebirth from the latest trilogy is that the dinosaurs on the island aren’t jerks (or super-intelligent). Before Zora and her team landed on the island the dinosaurs were living their lives and the introduction of easy-to-eat prey is what kicks off the action scenes. The Distortus Rex (Rancor-looking dino) and Mutadons (basically a flying Velociraptor) aren’t treated as antagonists because they just want to snack on Scarlett Johansson. Also, the characters are much more likable than the island travelers in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, and the JW trilogy. It was a smart move casting Johansson, Bailey, Friend and Ali – because they are all legit actors who are given enough backstory to be interesting. You can tell that Johansson (who wanted to be in this film), Bailey (who played his clarinet during the recording of the score) and Ali love being a part of the JP franchise and their energy is infectious. The casting directors should be applauded as well because David Lacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda are likable and I found myself cheering for them while they ran away from hungry monsters. 

Since the film is directed by Gareth Edwards and filmed by John Mathieson (Gladiator, Logan, Kingdom of Heaven), the movie has a large scope and the dinosaurs look hefty. Whether it’s the Tyrannosaurus Rex (who gets a great scene) or the Distortus Rex, they both look huge and menacing. Their weight and size come across on screen and it’s something the franchise has been missing. The dinosaurs are respected in Jurassic World: Rebirth, and days after watching the film they’ve kept lingering in my memory. 

Jurassic World: Rebirth plays things safe and isn’t afraid of playing the hits (kid endangerment, snooty villain, island mayhem), but it does introduce interesting dinosaurs who make things unique and interesting, For example, velociraptors are largely left out of the film and are replaced by Mutadons – who are flying Velociraptors (they are great). They play well because they’re familiar  but different enough to feel fresh. By keeping the plot simple, Koepp and Edwards can give their characters backstories and focus on fun set pieces that deliver the goods.

Final Thoughts – It made me very happy.