Movie Review: Scarlett Johansson's 'Jurassic World Rebirth' has its moments, but is largely forgettable

Khaleej Times

a day ago

At this point, it feels like the Jurassic franchise is less about evolution and more about selective repetition. Jurassic World Rebirth, the latest dino-sized instalment by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Godzilla), tries to reboot the legacy with a new cast, bigger hybrids, and enough callbacks to make Alan Grant nostalgic — but ends up somewhere between a popcorn flick and a prehistoric shrug. David Koepp, returns after writing the original Jurassic Park and The Lost World.
The plot, if you're curious, is straight out of the 'What If We Just Went Back to the Island Again?' playbook. Scarlett Johansson stars as Zora Bennett, a covert ops specialist who, alongside Mahershala Ali's commanding Duncan Kincaid and Jonathan Bailey's charmingly flustered paleontologist Henry Loomis, is sent to retrieve dino DNA from a forbidden island that's definitely not on Google Maps. The quest giver, you guessed it, is an evil corporate company eyeing the dino DNA for money-making purposes. Rupert Friend, who plays Martin Krebs, is their representative.
Tagging along? An entirely random, narrative-deadweight family who happen to be there as a result of pure chance, and other members of the crew — because why not throw in some dinosaur treats? It was fun guessing who would become the treat first.
Now, let's be real: watching Johansson go full action-heroine amidst T-Rex-sized threats is undeniably fun. Black Widow may be gone, but Zora's got gun, grit and great hair. Bailey brings in some candy along with the nerdy-cute energy, dropping flirtatious one-liners with enough charm to make even a Velociraptor blush. Mahershala Ali, as always, elevates every scene he's in with gravitas and warmth.
The rest of the team? To reiterate, they're here only to be chased through the jungle in increasingly creative ways. Even then we don't really get satisfying dinosaur gore.
But oh, the dinosaurs. While some of the creatures still inspire awe (there's a Titanosaurus sequence that's straight-up heartwarming, and an Aquilops you just want to adopt), the mutated 'Distortus Rex' feels like someone fed a T-Rex bad soup and added two extra limbs just for the final boss fight vibes. It's ugly, clunky, and barely terrifying with that Beluga-shaped head.
Also, not to nitpick, but can someone please give the wardrobe department a memo? One character refuses to button up his shirt for this dinosaur adventure.
Visually, the film is slick — but it never quite reaches the grandeur of Spielberg's original. There are moments meant to stir nostalgia (yes, there's a river raft sequence borrowed from the original novel), but they feel more like fan-service band-aids than bold reinventions.
Ultimately, Rebirth isn't a disaster — it has thrills, laughs, and a few scenes worth the IMAX — but it lacks the thematic weight and cinematic awe that once made Jurassic Park feel like lightning in a bottle. Instead, this is a franchise trying to find a heartbeat in its DNA, unsure whether to go full monster flick or prestige reboot.
Final verdict? Entertaining enough for a night out, but hardly the rebirth this franchise needs.