Jurassic World Rebirth wants to be a fresh start for a franchise that has spent two sequels wandering through the wreckage of its own history. It is not. The film, directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp, takes the familiar template — a small team on a remote island, a creature attack, a race against time — and dresses it up with a new mission and a new cast. But the bones underneath are the same ones that have carried Jurassic World since the first film. The result is a competent, occasionally thrilling entry that never quite breaks free from the patterns that made the series feel stale in the first place.
The setup is simple. Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a covert operations expert, is hired to lead a mission to collect genetic material from the world’s three largest dinosaurs. The goal is to extract samples for a heart disease treatment. When her operation collides with a civilian family whose boat was capsized by a Mosasaurus, everyone gets stranded on an island where a sinister discovery has been hidden for decades. The tagline promises a new era. What it delivers is a recycled one.
Trailer, via Universal Pictures.
Zora Bennett and the Mission
Zora Bennett is the film’s anchor. Scarlett Johansson plays her as a cool, capable operative with a sharp tongue and a sharper aim. She is the best thing in the movie, and she carries scenes that might otherwise collapse under the weight of exposition. Her chemistry with Mahershala Ali’s Duncan Kincaid, her longtime associate and team leader, is the one human relationship that feels genuine.
But the script buries her under a mountain of exposition. The mission’s purpose — securing DNA samples for a heart disease cure — is explained repeatedly, even though it is never fully earned. The film trusts the audience to accept that dinosaurs hold the key to curing cardiovascular disease without ever explaining why. That lack of curiosity is the film’s fatal flaw.
Duncan Kincaid and the Family Rescue
Mahershala Ali plays Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s team leader. He is a skilled operative who knows the ropes of these kinds of missions. His scenes with Johansson are the film’s emotional core, but they are also the quietest parts of the movie. The film spends far more time on the creature sequences than on the people doing the fighting.
The family at the center of the collision is the Delgados. Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is a father sailing with his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), along with Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono). When a Mosasaurus capsizes their boat, the family becomes a burden to the mission. Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), the executive from pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix who enlisted Zora for the job, insists they keep moving. The film’s central tension is the question of whether the team can save the family while keeping the mission secret.
The Creatures and Their Island
The island is where the film finally finds some life. The three dinosaurs — the aquatic Mosasaurus, the terrestrial Titanosaurus, and the flying Quetzalcoatlus — are the reason the mission exists. Edwards shoots them with scale and menace, and the scenes where they attack are genuinely tense. The Mosasaurus, in particular, is a terrifying presence that dominates its scenes.
But the island itself is a trap. The film sets up a mystery about what has been hidden there for decades, but it never fully pays it off. The reveal is thin, and the resolution feels rushed. The pack of semiaquatic Spinosaurus that joins the Mosasaurus in attacking the ship is a visual spectacle, but it does not add much to the story beyond another threat to dodge.
The Cast and the New Era
The cast is a mix of familiar faces and newcomers. This is the first film in the series to not include any returning actors from previous installments, which is a bold move. It means the film has to build its world from scratch, and it mostly succeeds. The chemistry between Johansson and Ali is the highlight, but the supporting roles are less distinct. Nina (Philippine Velge) and LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain) are competent but forgettable.
The casting process is a story in itself. Jennifer Lawrence was considered for the role of Zora but turned it down. Glen Powell, who voiced Dave in the animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, was reportedly in talks to play Dr. Henry Loomis but declined, saying “There’s somebody better that’s gonna breathe more life into this, or can do a better job than I can.” That humility is refreshing, even if it means the film lost a potential cast member.
The Direction and the Budget
Edwards directs with a steady hand. The action sequences are well choreographed, and the film moves at a brisk pace. But there is a sameness to the way he handles the dinosaur encounters. The camera swoops and circles, the creatures loom, and the humans run. It is effective, but it is not inventive.
Koepp’s script is where the film stumbles. The dialogue is functional, but it is often delivered in service of the next plot point rather than the character. The film is 134 minutes long, and it could easily lose thirty of them without losing much substance. The pacing is uneven, with stretches of slow setup giving way to bursts of action that feel rushed.
The Franchise and Its Future
Jurassic World Rebirth is the fourth installment in the Jurassic World film series and the seventh overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. It follows a pattern of sequels that have grown increasingly reliant on spectacle over story. The heart disease cure is a thin excuse to put people on an island with dinosaurs, and the film does not pretend otherwise.
The film is a cash grab, pure and simple. It is designed to keep the franchise alive, and it does that job. But it does not do much else. There is no attempt to engage with the moral questions raised by the previous films. There is no reflection on the consequences of bringing back extinct animals. There is only the next mission, the next attack, the next escape.
The Verdict
Jurassic World Rebirth is a technically proficient but creatively inert entry in a franchise that has lost its edge. It is watchable, thanks largely to Johansson’s performance, but it is forgettable. The creatures are impressive, the action is competent, and the premise is interesting. None of that adds up to a great movie.
“There’s somebody better that’s gonna breathe more life into this, or can do a better job than I can.”
The film’s failure is not that it is bad. It is that it is unnecessary. It repeats ground the series has already covered without adding anything new. The heart disease cure is a convenient hook, but it is not a reason to care.
| Element | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Zora Bennett / Johansson | The best performance in the film | Buried under too much exposition |
| Duncan Kincaid / Ali | Strong chemistry with Johansson | Underdeveloped as a character |
| Creatures | Terrifying and well shot | Island mystery left unfinished |
| Pacing | Moves quickly between action beats | Uneven, with too much setup |
| Story | Interesting premise | Thins out quickly |
The film ends with a promise of a new era, but it does not deliver one. It delivers the same kind of movie the series has been making for years. That is not a crime, but it is not a triumph either. Jurassic World Rebirth is a solid, professional entry in a franchise that has become predictable. It is worth seeing if you are a fan of the genre, but it is not worth celebrating.
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