Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)
In an era where blockbusters often feel obligated to shatter the universe, Jurassic World: Rebirth arrives with the welcome restraint of a well-trained raptor. Director Gareth Edwards has crafted something that feels refreshingly modest in its ambitions: an old-fashioned Saturday afternoon family adventure that prioritises character-driven thrills over spectacle-driven excess.
Five years after the events of Dominion, dinosaurs are once again relegated to isolated tropical regions, struggling to survive in Earth’s modern climate. When pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) contracts covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to extract genetic material from three massive dinosaur species for medical research, the stage is set for exactly the sort of high-stakes expedition that made the original Jurassic Park so compelling.
What works best about Rebirth is Edwards’ commitment to practical storytelling over narrative grandstanding. The film’s greatest strength lies in its return to the franchise’s survival thriller roots, eschewing the convoluted plotting that plagued recent entries in favour of straightforward adventure cinema. When the team inevitably encounters a stranded family and finds themselves trapped on the forbidden research island of Ile Saint-Hubert, the film settles into a rhythm that Steven Spielberg would recognise—methodical tension-building punctuated by moments of genuine terror.
Johansson brings welcome grit to her role as team leader Zora, marking a considerable improvement over previous Jurassic World protagonists. Her character feels competent without being invulnerable, and crucially, she’s given agency beyond romantic subplot obligations. Jonathan Bailey’s paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis provides both scientific exposition and unexpected charm, particularly in his scenes with Johansson where their easy chemistry suggests a partnership built on mutual respect rather than forced romance. Mahershala Ali, meanwhile, brings his characteristic gravitas to Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member, though one wishes the script had given him more substantial material to work with.
Edwards demonstrates his visual mastery throughout, particularly in sequences involving the massive Mosasaurus, which evokes the best of Jaws in its restraint and oceanic menace. The director’s experience with creature features serves him well here—he understands that dinosaurs are most effective when they feel real rather than simply impressive. A river chase sequence featuring a Tyrannosaurus Rex (adapted from Michael Crichton’s original novel) and a cliff-side nest extraction showcase Edwards’ ability to stage coherent, geographically logical action sequences.
However, Rebirth stumbles in its adherence to franchise formula. The inclusion of a stranded family feels perfunctory, adding little beyond demographic appeal and slowing the film’s momentum whenever it cuts away from the core expedition team. The mutant Distortus Rex, despite its genuinely unsettling design inspired by xenomorphs and rancors, feels underutilised—more merchandising opportunity than meaningful threat. At 125 minutes, the film runs longer than necessary, particularly in its first half where exposition occasionally overwhelms character development.
The film’s production values are consistently impressive. John Mathieson’s cinematography captures both the lush beauty and lurking menace of the tropical locations, whilst Alexandre Desplat’s score wisely incorporates John Williams’ iconic themes without becoming slavishly derivative. The dinosaur effects, courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic, maintain the tactile quality that distinguishes the best Jurassic films from their CGI-heavy contemporaries.
Perhaps most importantly, Rebirth understands what made the original Jurassic Park special: the sense that these characters are genuinely in peril, operating in a world where prehistoric predators pose real consequences. Edwards resists the temptation to turn his dinosaurs into mere action figures, instead treating them as animals with their own motivations and behaviours. When the film focuses on this dynamic—humans as intruders in a domain that belongs to creatures from another age—it recaptures that primal thrill that made audiences fall in love with the franchise three decades ago.
Jurassic World: Rebirth may not revolutionise the franchise, but it successfully rehabilitates it. This is the sort of confident, unpretentious adventure film that once dominated summer cinema—no universe-building required, just solid characters facing extraordinary circumstances with practical wit and determination. Whilst it doesn’t quite achieve the sustained excellence of Spielberg’s original, it represents a significant course correction for a series that had lost its way in increasingly complicated mythology.
For families seeking an afternoon escape that delivers genuine thrills without overwhelming younger viewers, Rebirth hits its marks with workmanlike efficiency. It’s the kind of film that reminds you why people fell in love with movie dinosaurs in the first place, even if it occasionally struggles under the weight of modern blockbuster expectations. In a franchise that has often confused bigger with better, Edwards’ willingness to embrace smaller-scale storytelling feels both nostalgic and necessary.