Bring me a big tub of popcorn, please.
Jurassic World Rebirth
The film stomps into movie theaters worldwide on Wednesday, July 2. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
After three increasingly busy and progressively less interesting installments, Jurassic World Rebirth returns the franchise to its roots, courtesy of writer David Koepp and director Gareth Edwards.
Koepp wrote the final draft of Jurassic Park (1993), based on Michael Crichton's novel, and kept it ruthlessly simple. He dropped some of my favorite sequences from the book, but it was all in favor of the story's propulsive nature, which played to the strengths of director Steven Spielberg. Sure, the movie had its sweet and tender moments with the genetically-engineered dinosaurs, but mostly it was very good at placing children in mortal peril and setting things up so dinosaurs could eat the supporting characters.
In his writing (and occasional directing) career since then, David Koepp has shown his sterling talent at writing both mainstream blockbusters and clever thrillers (and sometimes both at the same time). Jurassic World Rebirth leans hard on the origins of the story; Steven Spielberg reportedly came up with a new idea, which he and Koepp then developed. The film lays out a path that is easy to follow.
The gist is that the genetically-engineered dinosaurs that threatened to take over the entire world in the previous trilogy of films are now restricted to a narrow equatorial band, due to climate conditions and the animals' poor response to modern life. Humans fear to tread in the forbidden zone -- shades of Gareth Edwards' Monsters (2010) -- which makes it the perfect location for our intrepid cast of characters, who are lured there by the slick and slimy Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend).
Krebs represents a powerful pharmaceutical company that wants the DNA from three specific dinosaurs so they can synthesize a new drug that will prevent heart disease. He recruits mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johannsson), her longtime comrade in arms Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), the first two with the promise of a huge payday, and the last because of his interest in seeing dinosaurs in the field.
The three dinosaurs are to be found in the sea, on land, and in the air, which allows the film to differentiate itself from previous franchise installments, and powers its narrative engine with a deceptively simple goal in mind: collect three DNA samples and return. First, though, they must survive a prehistoric world that is thriving without humans, though, in fact, many dinosaurs enjoy eating humans as a tasty treat.
If that outline sounds too straightforward, add in the complication of a family that has picked a very odd time for a trip across the seas and discovers that dinosaurs are not like dolphins. Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and his two daughters, teenage Teresa (Luna Blaise) and young Isabelle (Audrina Miranda), along with Teresa's layabout boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono), shipwreck and are picked up by our primary crew of DNA hunters.
After they reach an island where rescue is possible, the two groups split up, out of raging (and understandable) mistrust between them, doubling the dinosaur scenarios and, more relevant for those who fondly remember Jurassic Park, again placing a child in mortal danger of being eaten by a dinosaur multiple times.
In its early scenes, Jurassic World Rebirth plants several Jurassic Park Easter Eggs, includes at least one (modified) scene from the original novel, and features music from John Williams' original film scores, but mostly it engineers a new ride through less charted waters. Scarlett Johansson anchors the film securely with her performance as a morally-centered mercenary who can handle any firearm anytime, and must save the men who surround her countless times.
It does the film no disservice to call it a B-movie, even it is made with top-notch, A-movie photography (by longtime Ridley Scott collaborator John Mathieson) and special visual effects that merge well with all the dynamic action captured by director Gareth Edwards, who helms a film that feels very Spielberg-ian.
This is a B-movie that knows what it is and, indeed, embraces it with a bit of cheeky fun, plenty of star power, and a lot of giant freaking dinosaurs ruling their domain.