Jurassic World Rebirth: Stars Shine but Film Feels Stale and Safe

Photo: Instagram/@jurassicworld

The new dinosaur movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, stars Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey. It tries to follow the same story style as the first famous movie, Jurassic Park, but it doesn’t quite reach the same excitement.

The story feels a bit old and tired. The movie tries hard to bring something new to the series, but it mostly just repeats the idea of “run away from dinosaurs.” This idea has made lots of money in the past, so the filmmakers were careful not to change it too much. However, this made the movie less exciting.

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This is the seventh movie in the Jurassic series. It is like restarting the story again, following the path set by Steven Spielberg’s original movie from 32 years ago. After the first three films, there was a new set called Jurassic World, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Many hoped this new movie would bring fresh energy.

Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, a tough mercenary hired by a big medicine company to collect dinosaur DNA. Jonathan Bailey plays Dr. Henry Loomis, a smart scientist who helps her. They go to an island where dinosaurs live freely. The company wants the DNA to create a medicine that can stop heart disease and make a lot of money. Rupert Friend is the villain, a greedy man who works for the company and looks like he will be eaten by a dinosaur soon. Mahershala Ali plays Zora’s loyal friend, a sailor who helps take the team to the island.

There is another important part of the story about a family in danger. Reuben, played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, takes his two daughters, Teresa and Isabella, and Teresa’s boyfriend, Xavier, on a boat trip. Their boat is attacked by a huge sea dinosaur called a Mosasaur, which is even bigger and scarier than a whale or shark. This part is the most exciting and scary in the movie. The family gets saved but then gets lost on the island. Their story runs alongside the main mission and is more interesting because the family feels more like real victims who could be eaten at any moment.

The problem is that the main story with Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey is less exciting. Their characters never seem to be in real danger because we expect them to survive. So their close calls with dinosaurs do not make the audience feel tense or worried. The director, Gareth Edwards, known for movies like Rogue One, often keeps the stars far from the biggest dangers, making the action less thrilling. Some parts even feel clichéd or forced, like a scene where Henry nervously chews a mint, which seems like an awkward attempt at humor.

At the beginning of the movie, it says that dinosaurs are now endangered because of changes in the environment, and people are less interested in them. This might be a hint that the movie needs bigger and scarier dinosaurs to keep viewers interested. The team has to capture DNA from huge creatures like the Titanosaurus (the largest carnivore ever), the flying Quetzalcoatlus, and the swimming Mosasaurus. These dinosaurs look impressive and sometimes beautiful, but they are not very scary.

One scene shows many long-necked dinosaurs quietly eating grass. This is meant to make us feel the wonder and awe that the characters feel, just like in the original Jurassic Park movie. The music also reminds us of the original film’s famous theme. But this scene mostly shows how good the first movie was, because that feeling of wonder and excitement is still hard to beat.

Among all seven Jurassic movies, the first one is still the best at creating suspense and keeping the audience interested. The later movies have been uneven and never quite as exciting. The director said that Steven Spielberg helped with the story and was very involved, but he did not direct the new film. And that makes a big difference. If you cannot do better than Spielberg’s original, maybe it is better to try something new and bold instead of playing it safe.