Jurassic World: Rebirth Review

Runtime: 2h 13m  Genre: Action/Sci-Fi Release Date: 2nd July 2025

Plot: Mercenary Zora (Scarlett Johansson) leads a group to a deserted island filled with towering dinosaurs so they can retrieve their blood, which will help make a breakthrough heart treatment.

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It's been 32 years since Spielberg's groundbreaking Jurassic Park arrived, delivering a summer blockbuster that's still just as beloved now as it was on release. Now, Gareth Edwards is taking the helm, delivering a soft reboot to the franchise with Jurassic World: Rebirth, the seventh entry in the series. Hoping to erase the disappointment of Jurassic World: Dominion, this latest adventure aims to give audiences more dinosaur goodness whilst also reinvigorating the franchise, but does it succeed?

Taking place after the events of Dominion, Rebirth starts early doors, delivering plenty of exposition to set the state of the world and streamline the series following the ending of the previous trilogy. After all that's clarified, a small group is recruited by pharmaceutical bigwig Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) to go on a covert mission and extract the blood samples of three towering dinosaurs in forbidden territory. The team is led by extraction specialist/mercenary, Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), her fellow mercenary, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and along for the ride, palaeontologist Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey). The three required dinosaurs will see them take to the water, land and skies with the ocean-based Mosasaurus, the land-based titan, Titanosaurus and finally the flying Quetzalcoatlus on the team's blood extraction list.

Joining the cast is a family on a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean, the father, Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his eldest daughter, Teresa (Luna Blaise), and his youngest, Bella (Audrina Miranda), joined by Xavier (David Iacano), Teresa's layabout boyfriend, who the Reuben actively disapproves of. The family find themselves swept up in the action after their boat is overturned by the Mosasaurus, putting them on a path with the covert group.

It's a solid enough premise to get you into the dinosaur action, and the Mosasaurus hunt is a great set piece that kicks off the dinosaur-fuelled mission, as the crew tensely tussle with the aquatic titan. When the dinosaurs are on screen, the action is good, but varies in quality after the crew arrives on land, with a T-Rex raft chase stealing the thunder. The others vary in quality as the movie aims to balance the fear and awe at these towering titans, failing to hit the mark it hopes to. Part of that is down to the weaker characters heading Rebirth, the extraction team, and family are serviceable enough characters that keep the plot going, but never feel fleshed out enough that you get drawn into their plight.

The central team of Henry, Zora, and Duncan are fine, and Johansson, Ali and Bailey do try to bring what they can to their characters. It feels like the script needed more work to elevate the cast, with Xavier acting as the comedic relief at times, only to come across as incredibly unlikable, making it hard to back him, even with his redemptive moments.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jan5CFWs9ic

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Director Gareth Edwards does a great job bringing the scale and (occasional) thrills as he has done in the past with The Creator and Godzilla, but it all feels like a mixed bag, with dinosaur moments that vary from the tense to tiresome. It's a shame that the kills aren't as frequent or memorable as other titles, and there's not much carnage left in the wake outside of the initial ocean conflict, so the stakes and terrors never ramp up the way you'd hope. Instead, the film seems to stall once the crew hits land, and the pacing never truly recovers.

The climactic finale also falls incredibly short, pitting the remaining heroes against the teased mutant D-Rex, the fight feels predictable and underwhelming. Despite Edwards' best attempt to add some drama to proceedings, the climax ultimately feels devoid of tension and emotion, making for a rather forgettable final clash.

I'm gutted that Jurassic World: Rebirth is just okay. Some moments work well, but the film is often crippled by weak characters and dinosaur encounters that fail to match up to the magic of previous instalments. It's better than the last outing, but it probably needed more time gestating before being reborn.

2.5/5