Jurassic World: Rebirth Review
Like jumping back into an old memory, the new Jurassic World: Rebirth offers plenty in the way of nostalgia - the good kind - without really pushing the boat out in terms of plot. And that’s more than OK.
Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) leads a team of skilled operatives to the most dangerous place on Earth - an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park. Their mission is to secure genetic material from the three biggest dinosaurs, whose DNA can provide life-saving benefits to mankind. But they may have bitten off more than they can chew.
Gareth Evans tackles the dinosaurs in what is effectively a rehash of just about every Jurassic Park film gone before. And the first thing to get out of the way is that there is nothing ‘new’ here. If you’re expecting this film to break the mould, don’t - this is about as been there, done that as any Jurassic film could be.
But at the same time, to write this off as nostalgia bait would be wrong.
Rebirth doesn’t drag aged and faded stars back to this world from prior films. It doesn’t shoot for little easter eggs. The nostalgia that Evans tackles is instead for the big blockbuster glory of days of old. It’s for those of us longing for a return to the great Amblin Entertainment days, those of us more than happy to sit back and revel in a big wide sweeping shot of dinosaurs in a valley for minutes on end, as the film’s score swells. It’s for those of us that long for the cinema, more than we long for a story.
The story here is not much to go on, and you could probably guess it all from the trailer. There are also some moments of terrible CGI, and none of the quippy dialogue ever lands, either due to the writing, editing or performances.
But that isn’t what makes this film special. What makes it special is how it looks - grainy, aged, colourful and classic. It’s also made special by the lack of quippy dialogue, which feels refreshing in the day and age of every character needing to be a thesaurus. And it’s also made special by the wonderful set design and costuming when doing physical work.
Ultimately, this is a movie that I am sure a number of viewers will detest. But for me, it worked; it’s just a good old time in the cinema.
