How do you make a Jurassic Park movie without having your audience feel the need to compare it with the original?
Five sequels and counting, we continue to be bombarded by headlines about how a new Jurassic movie does not capture the magic of Steven Spielberg’s seminal adventure film. Perhaps, it’s because every new sequel continues to replicate something we’ve been so familiar with.
A dinosaur on the verge of eating our hero will suddenly be eaten by a much larger dinosaur. The side character does something atrocious that causes his inevitable death. Or by how the capitalist character never gets out safe in the end.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” followed plotlines that have been repurposed for so long, that it could’ve been its genre entirely. The film is set years after the events of “Jurassic World Dominion”, where dinosaurs live in the same environment as humans with minimal disruption. The more dangerous species get to stay in remote islands, and their DNA could be key to life-saving innovations in curing human illnesses. A team led by Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett goes on an expedition to extract this from them, even if the journey takes a dangerous toll on their lives.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” makes great use of Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey as an action vehicle for the stars, but not much for the characters they’re playing. Any growth for their roles was mostly distracted by a shoo-in family that only hurt the story rather than benefit from it.
It can be difficult to get a sense of thrill out of a film about dinosaurs unleashing havoc on humans if the human characters themselves are also difficult to empathize with. Even more disappointing is that “Rebirth” is directed by Gareth Edwards, who did the complete opposite with his amazing “Godzilla” film in 2014, and penned by David Koepp, the screenwriter of the original “Jurassic Park”.
“Jurassic Park” isn’t mindless fun, but its sequels keep being one. Keep your expectations low on “Jurassic World Rebirth” and you’ll have a pleasant time. A rebirth should not be what you call it though.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” is now showing in cinemas.
Featured images from Universal Pictures.
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