No matter how much closure you give the franchise, the Jurassic World (née Park) universe will never go away. Rebirth is set five years after Dominion in a world where dinosaurs can only survive in biomes around the equator. An expedition is kicked off to extract DNA from three dinosaurs in order to facilitate a medical breakthrough.
This is one of those franchises that I will return to time and time again regardless of whether the previous entries have delivered. Why? Because at the end of the day dinosaur action is going to be fun regardless. Rebirth doesn’t revamp the franchise in any game-changing way, but it does incorporate new ideas and an intriguing narrative structure that piqued my interest. With a whole new cast of characters, and a pretty sizeable one at that, this soft reboot allocates plenty of time in the first act to set up its key arcs and relationships. For that reason there’s not a lot, if any, dinosaur action in the first 45 minutes, but I still found myself enjoying (almost) every interaction.
The narrative is largely split across two groups of characters – on one hand there’s the DNA-hunting mission with mercenaries and scientists, and on the other there’s a family who become caught in the chaos. In a surprising turn of events, I enjoyed following both groups in their efforts to survive the dinosaur onslaught. It’s mainly due to the fact that each group is made up of a unique collection of characters with different methods of survival. It’s awesome seeing how the weapon-equipped crew navigate extracting DNA from live creatures, and it’s equally as tense watching a father and his daughters scramble to survive Earth’s deadliest predators. Yes, various character arcs are filled with franchise-specific cliches and predictable beats, but they’re not so much a blight on the film. Just because they’re elements we’ve seen before, it doesn’t mean they’re not fun to watch. With charismatic personalities like Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey leading the charge, it’s a well-rounded cast of likeable characters.
While the first act is doing the bulk of the character work, the second and third acts are rich with roaringly good dinosaur set-pieces. Whether it be the action-packed kind or slower, tension-filled bouts, there’s plenty of fun to be had as our characters find themselves in increasingly dire circumstances. There’s two things I loved about the dinosaur set-pieces in this one – the tension and the scale. Even before our characters make it to the island, the tension is tremendous. The threat of these cunning dinosaurs lurking in the jungle means there’s hardly a moment to sit and compose yourself. When the dinosaurs go on the offensive, it’s very heart-pounding stuff that has you fearing for the characters. There’s a few suspense-filled sequences in claustrophobic settings, but most are out in the open yet feel tight and claustrophobic anyway.
As far as the scale is concerned, that’s where this film benefited greatly from having Gareth Edwards at the helm. This man knows his way around lizard-like monsters and how to capture the terrifying scale of a creature… see, Godzilla. When the film is dealing with its marine-based dinosaur, Edwards plays with perspective really well to highlight the size of the threat in comparison the the boat. There’s even an extended T-Rex sequence that is exhaustingly tense, exhilarating and chaotic. His ability to capture scale is most prominent towards the climax when the film’s new big bad dinosaur takes centre stage. There’s a couple of shots I can see being influenced from Godzilla, and they work just as well here.
Speaking on the dinosaurs, the Jurassic World franchise has taken it upon itself to find new ways to excite audiences beyond the regular-old breeds. Earlier films focused on hybrid dinosaurs like the Indominus Rex and were successful in making them a relentless threat. This film introduces us to mutated dinosaurs – failed mutation experiments being kept alive on yet another secluded island. What’s disappointing is that the centrepiece of the mutated species’ isn’t all too terrifying. As I mentioned, Gareth Edwards does a fantastic job of capturing it in a way that highlights its size, but its actual appearance looks more goofy than scary. That does impact the tension of the climax, but not so much as there’s another (albeit smaller) mutated species that is the most relentless and menacing of the film. The Mutadon is like a Velociraptor on steroids, and every sequence that had these creatures terrorising the cast was exceptional. They prove to be a constant issue that’s damn-near impossible to get away from and lend themselves to some of the most stressful moments.
I mentioned the sizeable cast, but how are those performances? I thought everyone in here played their part very well, selling us on the terror while bringing out their likeable or unpleasant personalities. Scarlett Johansson (Zora) as the lead is having so much fun and that really translates through the screen. She knows how to kick ass, nails each and every action sequence and has a strong screen presence that enhances not only her own character’s arc but those around her. She exhibits great chemistry with Mahershala Ali (Kincaid) and Jonathan Bailey (Loomis), selling us on their relationship and elevating their performances in turn. Bailey’s paleontologist character is a little quirky but also heroic when he needs to be – honestly it’s brilliant casting for the role. Rupert Friend plays Martin Krebs, the guy you know you’re going to hate, and plays him well. He’s the same corporate douchebag who’s in all of these movies, so while not a groundbreaking character, he presents an interesting team dynamic.
As for any issues with the film, I don’t have any glaring points, moreso one minor gripe. That being the presence of David Iacono’s Xavier, the lazy boyfriend who joins the family on their vacation. I see why they included the character – to add a little more tension to the family arc. However I feel the family dynamic was strong enough without his annoying ass that they could have left him out. He’s frustrating and only holds back the story with his predictable arc. One other thing I want to touch on isn’t really an issue, just an observation, but it involves franchise references. Rebirth has references in the form of character relationships and dinosaur interactions that fans will recognise, but John Williams‘ iconic theme is heavily featured. We get it, it’s one of the best pieces of music in film, but I could’ve sworn it’s mixed into the score on at least 3-4 occasions. Does it give me goosebumps every time I hear it? Yes. Can it still be overused? Also yes, and this film teeters on the edge of that.
In the end, considering I didn’t have high hopes for yet another Jurassic franchise revival (or “rebirth”, if you will), Rebirth does a solid job at sticking to the formula while bringing new elements to the table. It doesn’t seem like the film is setting up a multi-film arc, so maybe the franchise’s future lies in standalone adventures. It could be risky, but I’d be open to the approach. This adventure though is a fun one for fans of the franchise – it introduces a new, likeable ensemble with performances that deliver and arcs that are engaging. There’s also no shortage of dinosaur action – there’s suspense and tension aplenty as our characters scramble to survive the onslaught of new and returning species’. Does this change the game? No, but it’s great fun and the best film since Jurassic World.
7.1/10
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