What’s It About

Zora Bennett leads a team of skilled operatives to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park. Their mission is to secure genetic material from dinosaurs whose DNA can provide life-saving benefits to mankind. As the top-secret expedition becomes more and more risky, they soon make a sinister, shocking discovery that’s been hidden from the world for decades.

 MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Let’s be honest here. Three years after Jurassic World: Dominion hit theaters in 2022, we really didn’t need another dinosaur movie. This latest attempt feels rushed and totally pointless. The worst part? Even the movie knows it’s boring because it starts by telling us that people got tired of dinosaurs. When a dying Brontosaurus blocks traffic in Manhattan, everyone just sees it as annoying roadkill instead of feeling sad about it. That pretty much sums up how this whole movie feels. The story follows Zora, played by Scarlett Johansson, who works as some kind of secret agent for hire. A pharmaceutical company guy named Martin, played by Rupert Friend, offers her big money to collect dinosaur blood samples. He claims they need the samples to create a wonder drug that stops heart disease, but we all know it’s really about making tons of cash. The movie tries to make a point about greed, but it’s about as subtle as a T-Rex in a china shop. We learn that seventeen years ago, InGen’s lab had a massive accident and shut down. Of course, it happened because someone carelessly threw away a candy wrapper in the wrong place, causing all the systems to crash. It’s the same old story where humans mess everything up and then act surprised when things go wrong. As one character says, “We put ourselves in places where we don’t belong, and that’s kind of our specialty.” At least they’re self-aware about it. Zora convinces Dr. Henry Loomis, a paleontologist played by Jonathan Bailey, to join her mission. Loomis is about to lose his museum job because nobody cares about dinosaurs anymore, and the chance to see living creatures instead of dead bones is too good to pass up. They head to Ile Saint-Hubert, a forbidden island in the Atlantic Ocean, using a boat owned by Duncan, Zora’s mercenary buddy, played by Mahershala Ali. There’s a weak attempt at character development when Zora and Duncan talk about old times, but it feels empty and forced. Director Gareth Edwards, who made the 2014 Godzilla movie, clearly loves monster films and this franchise. The original Jurassic Park writer, David Koepp, came back to write the script, so you’d think this would be amazing. Unfortunately, it lacks the excitement and suspense that made the first movie so special. Even compared to the mediocre Jurassic World movies, those at least had some memorable action scenes. This one only has one decent sequence involving a T-Rex and a river raft, and that’s mainly because it’s similar to a scene that got cut from the original Jurassic Park due to budget problems. The movie adds another group of characters that nobody asked for. There’s a family on vacation, including a father named Reuben, his two daughters Isabella and Teresa, and Teresa’s annoying boyfriend Xavier. They get dragged into the dangerous mission when their boat gets wrecked. Xavier starts off really irritating but becomes somewhat funny in the first half, then completely disappears in the second half. The family doesn’t really add anything to the thin plot. There’s one sweet moment when young Isabella befriends a baby dinosaur she names Dolores, but it doesn’t lead anywhere interesting. The main problem is that there’s no real tension or scary moments. When the dinosaurs attack people, it feels pretty mild, even for a PG-13 movie. The original movie knew how to build suspense, like that famous scene where the water in the cup shakes when the T-Rex approaches. Edwards tries to copy many of Spielberg’s techniques, but they fall flat. The movie has lots of throwbacks to the original, including a banner reading “When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth” falling to the ground. Edwards even tries to recreate that magical moment when characters first see a living dinosaur. Remember when Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler watched the Brontosaurus while John Williams’ amazing music played? Bailey tries hard to recreate that feeling, even crying as he touches the dinosaur’s leg, but it ends up looking funny instead of touching. It’s not Bailey’s fault since he actually does a good job playing a scientist with a good heart. Johansson, on the other hand, never convinces me she’s a tough mercenary. At least she’s not running around in high heels, but she still doesn’t feel right for the role. Both she and Ali were supposed to be the big stars, but their performances feel flat. Friend does okay as the typical greedy villain who gets what’s coming to him in the end. The music by Alexandre Desplat gets overshadowed whenever Williams’ classic theme plays. While that score is one of the best ever written, hearing it for the seventh time really weakens its impact. When we first heard it in 1993, it gave us chills just like the characters felt. Now it feels overused and doesn’t match the weak scenes it’s trying to make exciting. The special effects look great, which makes sense given the nearly $200 million budget. The dinosaurs themselves are impressive, and the T-Rex chase scenes are still fun to watch, especially seeing those tiny, useless arms. The best scene happens at a Quetzalcoatlus nest, showing the biggest flying animal ever. The final battle with the Distortus Rex isn’t very exciting, though that ugly creature with its whale-like bulbous head is pretty memorable. This movie isn’t really a “rebirth” like the title suggests. Instead, it’s more like “clone me again and again” until nobody cares anymore. I never thought the Jurassic World movies could get worse, but apparently I was wrong. The franchise has become so predictable that even the movie admits people are bored with dinosaurs. Maybe it’s time to let this series become extinct before it embarrasses itself even more. The sad truth is that Jurassic World: Rebirth proves that sometimes dead things should stay buried. With the same tired plot about people going to an island, things going wrong, and dinosaurs eating people, this movie offers nothing new. It’s a factory-made product that reminds us why the original was so special by showing us everything it wasn’t. Save your money and just watch the 1993 classic instead.

OUR RATING – AN EXTINCT 4

MEDIA

• Genre – Fantasy
• Street date
• Digital –August 5, 2025
• 4K/Blu-Ray/DVD – September 9, 2025
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 2.39:1
• Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
• Subtitles – English SDH, Spanish, French

Extras

• Audio Commentary with Gareth Edwards, James Clyne, and Jack Ravenscroft
• Audio Commentary with Gareth Edwards, Jabez Olssen, and David Vickery
• Alternate Opening (HD 1:39)
• Deleted Scenes: (HD 4:17 Total)
  • Raptors
  • Mutadon Attack
• Jurassic World Rebirth – Hatching A New Era: (HD 56:20 Total)
  • The World Evolves
  • Off the Deep End
  • Trekking Through Thailand
  • Rex in the Rapids
  • Don’t Look Down
  • Mini-Mart Mayhem
• Gag Reel (HD 1:52)
• Meet Dolores (HD 3:57)
• Muchned: Becoming Dino Food (HD 5:34)
• A Day At Skywalker Sound (HD 10:24)
• Hunting for Easter Eggs (HD 6:35)