'Jurassic World: Rebirth' Review
Image Source: Marksmendaily.com
As the opening sequence of Jurassic World: Rebirth reminds us, it has been 32 years since Steven Spielberg invited us into Jurassic Park. I shook my head in amazement, remembering how I saw that film in the movie theater with my mom and sister, and now, here I am sitting with my 11-year-old to see this next film in the franchise. (Yes, I know it’s rated PG-13, but having two older brothers at home, I knew he could handle it.) I remembered back to the time when Spielberg’s first Jurassic movie had everyone amazed at the special effects, and I wondered if this one would have the same magic.
Definitely, the visuals and special effects are great in this movie. The scenery is beautiful, a testament to the natural beauty of Thailand and Malta. (Before the movie started, one of the previews showed how cast and crew committed themselves to cleaning the beaches of Malta while they were there - even using SCUBA gear to do so!) The dinosaurs fit right into this environment. Heck, even the dinosaur that was causing the traffic jam in New York City didn’t seem out-of-place. It was amazing how everything fit seamlessly together. My son was able to name the different types of dinosaurs that appeared in the film, so aside from the “mutant dinosaurs”, it was quite accurate.
RELATED:
Image Source: Hypebeast.com
As far as the plot of the movie goes, the characters were pretty easy to type as well. The heart of the plot is a very rich pharmaceutical tycoon, Mr. Krebs, played by Rupert Friend, wanting to get blood samples of the three largest dinosaurs living in a no-go zone around the Equator in order to make a drug that can cure heart disease. These are the aquatic Mosasaurus, the terrestrial Titanosaurus, and the aerial Quetzalcoatlus. In order to do this, he enlists Scarlett Johannson, who plays the mercenary Zora Bennett, who is overcoming past personal trauma, her friend, the ship captain Duncan Kincaide, who has his own family tragedy, played by Mahershala Ali, and his crew, and the brainy professor, Dr. Loomis, who is losing his job taking care of dinosaurs in a museum because of lack of interest, played by Jonathan Bailey. They all set off on what promises to be more than a 3 hour tour.
As we get to know these characters, there’s a whole other set of typecasts who have also literally set sail in the same area: The adventurous dad (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) who is having a one-last-adventure with his daughters before the oldest (Luna Blaise) goes off to college. There is the precocious younger sister (Audrina Miranda) and, for some reason, the rascally lazy boyfriend (David Iacono) has been allowed to tag along. While the first group has been following the tagged Mosasaurus, the Mosasarus has found our family group, capsizing the boat with Jaws-like vigor. Perhaps a nod to producer Steven Spielberg’s 50th anniversary of his famous shark? They are able to send out a mayday and are found by the mercenary pharmas.
Image Source: Deadline.com
Once all of the characters have met up, their traits come to the fore. The rich pharmaceutical is okay with letting the older daughter drop to her death (so he hopes) instead of letting her send out a mayday and let others onto their scheme. The brainy professor keeps saying that “science is for everyone” and is nervous when it comes to the adventurous parts of the trip, but brightens when beautiful mercenary Zora is near. She has gotten talked into this trip, not just for the $10,000,000 promised, but because her own mother died from heart complications - and Zora missed her own mother’s funeral, while on a deadly mission in Yemen. The ship captain has a heart of gold and promises that he will not let anything happen to the children that he now finds in his care, thinking of his own lost son. The one character who actually has a character arc is Xavier, the goofy boyfriend. As the movie goes on, he starts to prove his mettle in the wilderness and finally earns the respect of Theresa’s father, Reuben. I definitely had him pegged for an interesting, dinosaur-induced death before his character showed promise.
While there are some deaths, these belong to the ship’s crew, auxiliary characters who we don’t really get to know so well, so their demises are not that shattering. Annoying boyfriend redeems himself as mentioned, so is saved as well. Tycoon gets his just desserts, and ship captain with a heart of gold sacrifices himself to keep his promise to protect the children. I thought Mahershala Ali’s performance to be the best in the film. Already a veteran of much more serious fare, winning Oscars for his roles in the acclaimed Moonlight and Green Book, Ali doesn’t let the whimsical nature of the script dampen his talent. His eyes show real emotion when faced with obstacles in the story.
Image Source: jurassicparkfandom.com
At the end, we get to see a mutated dinosaur that looks suspiciously like it’s been cross-bred with the Rancor from Jabba’s palace. (My son agreed.) Everyone makes the right choices, especially as far as making health care accessible to everyone, and the audience can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the future of mankind might possibly make it for a million years (despite the odds given by the optimistic Dr. Loomis).
So, did Jurassic World: Rebirth make the magic come alive again? It would be easy for me to scoff and say that nothing could top the effects that were new at the time of the original, over three decades ago, especially with the very two-dimensional characterizations. But, as my son happily exclaimed each name of the dinosaurs that he recognized, and clutched my arm as the carnivorous ones chased the people in the film, I realized that indeed, the magic is being passed to the next generation.
Rating: 7/10
Jurassic World: Rebirth is rated PG-13 and is playing in theaters.
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
