While many expected a longer break between films—especially with the previous trilogy concluding just three years ago—we’re heading back to the land of dinosaurs this week with Jurassic World Rebirth. Hatched from the mind of Steven Spielberg himself, this new chapter takes the franchise in an exciting and terrifying new direction, simply by going back to basics.
**This review may contain minor spoilers for Jurassic World: Rebirth.**
Set five years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion, the seventh installment in the blockbuster franchise kicks off a standalone storyline featuring an entirely new cast of characters. Led by Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), and Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), the team is sent to a previously unknown island—Ile Saint-Hubert—to retrieve the DNA of the three largest remaining prehistoric species: from land (Titanosaurus), sea (Mosasaurus), and air (Quetzalcoatlus) in hopes of developing a revolutionary drug capable of saving millions of human lives.
Meanwhile, a civilian family—the Delgados (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda)—find themselves shipwrecked near the island after an early encounter with one of these colossal creatures. Forced to survive the escalating chaos, they join forces with Zora and her team of mercenaries and ultimately uncover the island’s deep dark secret: mutant dinosaurs!
That’s the film’s basic premise, setting the stage for an old-school adventure that leans closer in tone and scope to the original Jurassic Park films—particularly Jurassic Park III—rather than the world-building ambitions of the Jurassic World trilogy. Director Gareth Edwards and screenwriter David Koepp acknowledge what’s come before, but after thirty years of dinosaur cinema, they’re more interested in having fun and upping the scares rather than turning dinosaurs into the prehistoric Avengers.
Despite an accelerated production schedule, Edwards and Oscar-nominated cinematographer John Mathieson make Rebirth look and feel more dangerous and vibrant than its predecessors, thanks in no small part to the film’s on-location shoot. While dinosaurs have looked cool in cities, they unsurprisingly feel far more terrifying in the jungle. Edwards takes full advantage of this setting, using it to amplify suspense and create opportunities for terrifying encounters. He also injects a healthy dose of fun, embracing the insanity of the premise and avoiding the overly self-serious tone of the recent trilogy. Unlike the previous three films that tried to make dinosaurs more family-friendly, Rebirth allows them to simply be animals—feral, unpredictable, and, above all else, deadly.
Borrowing from his own '90s playbook, Koepp structures the film like a relentless theme park ride, hurling us from one deadly encounter to the next with barely a moment to breathe. Just escaped the Mosasaurus? Here come four Spinosauruses. Then it's on to the Titanosaurus, followed by a swooping Quetzalcoatlus. Was that a Velociraptor? And now a Dilophosaurus? Oh, hello, Mr. T-Rex. And just when you think you’ve seen it all—Mutadons?! And finally… the D-Rex!
Whew. If you're here for dino thrills, the film delivers. If you're looking for substance, though, it leaves a bit to be desired. While Zora, Henry, and Duncan make a good team, their mission isn't particularly compelling, especially since it never seems overtly challenging. In contrast, the shipwrecked Delgado family carries much of the film’s heart and tension. Watching a helpless child evade a dinosaur is inherently more terrifying than watching competent mercenaries, most of whom exist solely as dino fodder. The stakes do feel predictable—those you expect to die, do; and those you expect to survive, well, uh... they find a way.
When it comes to action, Rebirth doesn’t disappoint. The standout is the long-awaited T-Rex river raft chase—a moment fans of the Michael Crichton novel have been waiting over three decades to see depicted on screen. It’s the film’s crown jewel. amd as a longtime fan of the series, I selfishly wanted it to be longer, but it’s near-perfect as is. The newly designed Tyrannosaurus also looks fantastic, offering a fresh yet faithful update to the franchise’s most iconic creature. While we’ll always love Rexy, this new King is is more than worth the price of admission. Other standout moments include the Mosasaurus/Spinosaurus team-up, the Quetzalcoatlus attack, and the explosive finale featuring the Mutadons and the Distortus Rex.
The new cast of Johansson, Ali, and Bailey are all likable, and they make for a strong lead trio, although the former two would have benefitted from more fleshed out character backstories rather than the vague conversation we’re given. Bailey’s character has a fun connection to Dr. Alan Grant, providing the only real link to the earlier films beyond a shared continuity. The Delgado family is easy to root for, and the dynamic between Garcia-Rulfo and his daughters adds both heart and levity to the film.
What the characters lack in depth, they make up for with action chops—especially Johansson. Already an A-list action star thanks to her Black Widow past, she channels that same energy here, proving more than capable as the film’s human lead. Whether she headlines a new trilogy remains to be seen, especially since the ending wraps this story up in a satisfying manner, but after her promising debut, it's certainly an exciting prospect to consider.
The dinosaurs are, as they should be, the true stars. The T-Rex gets the biggest applause-worthy moment, but each creature has its time to shine. As for the new additions, the Mutadons are sufficiently creepy and terrifying in their third-act hunt, while the D-Rex is quite impressive as the film’s final boss, wreaking all kinds of havoc in an explosive finale, although he doesn't really get that much screentime, so he doesn't exactly make a lasting impression.
Ultimately, Rebirth is a welcome addition to the franchise, an unforgiving theme park ride that successfully transitioning the series into a new era—one where we can simply enjoy dinosaurs being dinosaurs again, rather than expecting them to save the day with a conveniently timed, movie-ending dino brawl. While the human characters could have benefited from more depth, stronger dialogue, and a little basic logic, it's a mostly forgivable shortcoming given the film’s primary objective: delivering a satisfying dose of summer dino mayhem.
We're also treated to a fantastic new score from Alexandre Desplat, which perfectly captures both the awe and tension of the film’s biggest moments.
Jurassic World Rebirth launches a bold new era for the franchise, one that favors tension, scares, and spectacle over lore and exposition. It’s an adrenaline-fueled crowd-pleaser that understands exactly what it is—and delivers exactly what it promises. With Scarlett Johansson leading the charge and the long-promised T-Rex river chase finally realized, this is one summer blockbuster thrill ride you won’t want to miss.
A new era is born. This summer, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth.
Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind.
Also starring acclaimed international stars Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp.
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.