In June 1993, Steven Spielberg amazed moviegoers with his groundbreaking science fiction thriller Jurassic Park which brought dinosaurs alive on the screen through CGI and animatronics. With a script inspired by Michael Crichton’s novel and a star-studded cast, Spielberg’s epic dinosaur tale worked. That summer blockbuster has spawned several lackluster sequels, and now Universal is attempting to reboot the dino franchise with the 2025 release, Jurassic World Rebirth.
Rebirth opens with Black Ops operative Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) being recruited by big-pharma schemer Martin Kreb (Rupert Friend) to lead a small team of skilled operatives. Their top-secret mission involves a trip to the island of Ile-Saint-Hubert, where the engineered dinosaurs from Jurassic World are now living. Once there, they are to extract dino DNA from the three largest living dinosaurs, which will be used to create a revolutionary, life-saving drug.
The big three dinos that Bennett and her group must find are the Mosasaur, a sea dinosaur; the Titanosaurus, a massive land-based herbivore; and Quetzalcoatlus, the largest flying dinosaur with a wingspan the size of a school bus.
After meeting up with her partner and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), the captain of the boat taking them to the island, the group sets out to find the Mosasaur. When they locate the giant sea dino, they are shocked to discover other deadly sea dinosaurs are helping the Mosasaur hunt them. Bennett and her group quickly realize that the top-secret dino DNA mission is turning into a desperate and deadly struggle to survive.
Jurassic World Rebirth is more of a retread than a reboot, borrowing plot ideas and scenes from the first Jurassic Park as well as Jurassic Park III. It fails to offer anything creatively new or exciting. And even more disappointing, Rebirth has talented actors portraying one-dimensional characters.
Scarlett Johansson, one of the most talented actors of her generation, is wasted here portraying Bennett, a cocky and sarcastic mercenary who is only interested in a big payday. The character arc the script tries to give Bennett fails miserably. Johansson also has zero chemistry with Jonathan Bailey as Dr. Loomis or any of her other co-stars.
Mahershala Ali’s character, Duncan, is given a little depth with the mention of a broken marriage due to the loss of a child. But it’s not enough to make him interesting or give the character a personality, other than just being overprotective of the one child accidentally caught up in the deadly chaos on the island.
The best sequence of the film takes place once Bennett and her group are on the sea and engage in a chase with the massive Mosasaur that gets flipped to them being the ones hunted. It’s reminiscent of the first-ever summer blockbuster, Jaws, and is visually impressive.
Once Bennett and her group end up stranded on the island, the film simply re-tools/copies scenes from previous Jurassic films, including the jaw-dropping scene from the first film when Dr. Grant (played wonderfully by Sam Neill) first sees the dinosaurs and drops to the ground awestruck. What’s missing is the magic, wonder, and heart-pounding suspense that Spielberg’s first film brought to the screen.
The weak script also introduces a family of four on vacation who end up trapped on the island as well. These four characters are not even one-dimensional and add nothing to the film, except a distraction from Bennett and her group’s quest. It’s impossible to care or connect with any of these characters, thus killing any true suspense.
Disappointingly shallow, Jurassic World Rebirth is an empty, forgettable adventure that proves it’s time for Universal to let this film franchise go extinct like the real dinosaurs.
GRADE: C-
Rating: PG-13 for a drug reference, action, some suggestive references, bloody images, intense sequences of violence, and language
Release Date: July 2, 2025
Running Time: 2 hours 14 minutes
Directed By: Gareth Edwards
Studio: Universal Pictures
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