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New Statesman
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Jurassic Park Rebirth is phoney and illogical
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad The seventh film in the Jurassic Park franchise may be a boring and dispiriting slog, but it has a surprisingly coherent premise. It's been 32 years since dinosaurs were brought back from extinction, and public interest in them has waned. Kids aren't visiting dinosaur exhibits any more, palaeontologists are out of work, and the few dinos that remain are dying of diseases in a climate that doesn't suit them. The savvy pharmaceutical executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), however, believes that dinosaurs could still be put to use. He recruits Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a gun for hire who does rough jobs for whoever pays well, to venture to an island near the equator, where a number of remaining dinosaurs have been dumped. Zora's job – with the help of softboy palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) – is to find the three biggest dinosaurs on the island and get a sample of their blood while they're still alive. The hope is that the creatures' DNA will unlock a cure for heart disease. Why these three dinosaur species in particular? They have huge hearts and live for a long time; it's called science. Soon enough, the journey to the island hits a snag when the expedition leader, Duncan Kincaid, (Mahershala Ali) intercepts a mayday signal from a sailing boat that is sinking nearby. As luck would have it, the culprit is one of the very dinosaurs the team is seeking, a vast sea-dwelling leviathan with dreadful teeth and a lust for human flesh. It would be eccentric to watch Jurassic World Rebirth expecting originality; it's almost funny how predictable the beats of the story are. Minor characters are given just enough personality to register – then are fed, with grim inevitability, to the dinosaurs that wait behind every tree. As I watched these poor up-and-coming actors being gobbled and mauled, I found myself fantasising about another film, the dark side of this one's moon, in which the assembled stars – Johansson, Ali, Friend and Bailey – are unceremoniously stomped on, and the rest of the story is given over to the NPCs. The screenplay was written by David Koepp, who co-wrote the 1993 Jurassic Park adaptation with Michael Crichton, and at points, the characters act in ways they did in the original. When our righteous (and helpfully hot) palaeontologist sees a dinosaur in the wild for the first time, for instance, he cries: 'Ahhhh! It's beautiful!' Later, the gang encounters a lovely herd of vegetarian dinos, and the pace of the film slows as the camera takes in their curved necks, their graceful tails, the loving way they tend to one another. The trouble is, the 1990s energy Rebirth is trying to channel feels phoney. Bailey does a perfectly good job of pretending to be struck with awe by the sight of the dinosaurs, but he's such a thinly drawn character you don't care that he's having an epiphany. If what you want is a 1990s blockbuster with 1990s energy, you'd be better off watching a 1990s blockbuster. The film also has a size issue. Bennett and co may be looking for the biggest dinosaurs on the planet, but even so they are ridiculously, impossibly big. The largest animal ever to have lived is the blue whale – larger even than a megalodon, the prehistoric shark. Yet these dinosaurs are thundering Godzillas that would make a blue whale look petite. In the logic of the franchise, of course, this makes sense. To win back an audience, every film must deliver a bigger, badder foe. Seven films in, the dinosaur inflation has reached such a scale that the creatures feel silly and fantastical, not extinct animals brought back to life. And when the main characters escape them again and again, their good fortune begins to ring hollow: come on, you think, they'd have been killed in five minutes flat. Hardcore Jurassic Park fans may yet get something out of this film. It does tick some of the essential boxes: dinosaurs, dread, Jeeps. There are jokes that drew laughs from the audience (though many others were punished with silence). Friend has been underused by Hollywood for years, so it's nice to find him here. Ali brings his usual laid-back warmth; Johansson makes an effort. But really, this is a disposable film that makes you feel stupider and sadder the longer it goes on; not the worst film ever made, but one of the more demoralising ones. Jurassic World Rebirth is in cinemas now [See also: 28 Years of Zombie Britain] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
New Statesman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Eugenia Cheng Q&A: 'In another life I'd be a voiceover artist'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Eugenia Cheng was born in 1976 in Hampshire. She is a British mathematician, educator and concert pianist. She is known for explaining mathematics to non-mathematicians often using analogies with food and baking. What's your earliest memory? I have vague memories of a playgroup when I was two, but my first really distinct memory is of being told off unfairly at nursery school when I was three. I was outraged by the injustice of it. Who are your heroes? My childhood hero was my piano teacher, the late Christine Pembridge. She taught me not just about the piano, but about music in general, education and life. I don't think I have heroes any more; I try to learn what I can from everyone around me. What book last changed your thinking? I read Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff a while ago, but it had a deep and lasting effect on me, completely changing how I think of myself and talk to myself. Much of my life – mathematics research, writing, making art, composing music, practising the piano, baking – is solitary so I spend a lot of time talking to myself in my head. What would be your Mastermind specialist subject? My expertise is in higher-dimensional category theory, but I'd be terrible at answering quick fact-based questions about it. I'm good at seeing large, overarching structures that take months or years to elucidate. So perhaps for Mastermind it would be plots of Agatha Christie murder mysteries. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? Twenty-ninth May 1913. I'd like to go to the premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and experience the near-riot at the then new Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. What TV show could you not live without? I don't watch TV as I just mindlessly scroll the internet instead, but I do re-watch the BBC Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Who would paint your portrait? I think if it's going to be a painting rather than a photo I'd like it to be something really surreal, where someone depicts me as a lamp post or a packet of crisps or something. I'm not sure who would do that. Perhaps one of my students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. What's your theme tune? Currently what's going round my head is the 'Dance of the Seven Veils' from Strauss's opera Salome, but that could be rather misinterpreted as a 'theme tune'. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Almost all the advice I've received has been unsolicited and laughably useless. A notable exception is that when I began my PhD I asked my supervisor, Professor Martin Hyland, for his general advice, and he said I should remember that just because someone had published something in a research paper it didn't mean they were more intelligent than me. That was very helpful. What's currently bugging you? Leaf blowers outside my window. What single thing would make your life better? Teleportation. When were you happiest? It seems sad and also incorrect to say that some point in the past was when I was happiest, so that means the answer must be right now, which is not what I was expecting. In another life, what job might you have chosen? When I was little I really wanted to be a news reader. I still enjoy reading from an auto-prompt, and loved recording my audiobook for the first time. So perhaps I'd be a voiceover artist. That or a neuroscientist. Are we all doomed? My gut response is yes, but then I realise that I'm still here making an effort to help, so deep down I must believe there is hope for us. Eugenia Cheng's 'Unequal' is published by Profile Books [See also: Mark Hoppus Q&A] Related
New Statesman
26-06-2025
- Health
- New Statesman
Joanne Baker Q&A: 'I admire journalists who battle misinformation daily'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Joanne Baker was born in 1969 in Penzance. She is a writer and an editor who holds a PhD in astrophysics. She has been a Nasa Hubble fellow at the University of California, a Royal Society university research fellow at the University of Oxford, and a Radcliffe fellow at Harvard University. What's your earliest memory? I can remember being a baby, being bounced on my parents' knees and carried on their shoulders, and waking up to bright sunlight in my cot. Who are your heroes? BBC foreign correspondent Kate Adie inspires me – she was brave and bold and out all over the world reporting on everything, from wars to famines. Astronomer Patrick Moore was key to me studying physics and astronomy; I recall seeing a talk by him in a town hall when I was around ten years old. As an adult, I don't have a single hero, but I admire anyone who stands up for what's true, right and fair, including numerous journalists who battle misinformation daily. What book last changed your thinking? Eating and Being: A History of Ideas about Our Food and Ourselves by Steven Shapin. It's a history of the idea that 'we are what we eat'. For example, today we believe that people who eat lettuce, carrots or organic foods are not just healthier, but also morally superior to those who eat burgers. Modern nutrition is a lab-based equivalent to old concepts – dating back to ancient Greek and medieval medicine – where we try to eat things that correct some aspect of our body that's 'out of balance'. In an age of obesity drugs, the book really made me think about diet trends and how deep-rooted our attitudes to food are. What would be your Mastermind specialist subject? Although I might need to scratch my head to remember details, astronomy is the subject I've spent the most time absorbing. I just hope they don't ask me the name of a notable exoplanet – they have unmemorable identifiers like PSR B1257+12 B or OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb. What political figure do you look up to? Strong women inspire me, and one hugely influential figure is Gro Harlem Brundtland. She is a former Norwegian prime minister who led international policy on sustainability and climate change. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? San Francisco in the 1960s. The music was great – Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete and Peggy Seeger, Joni Mitchell – as well as exciting jazz. Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg were pushing the thought boundaries. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Do what you love. And yes, I've followed it. One of my university lecturers said this to me when I was unsure whether I could do a PhD in astronomy, after having been discouraged. I was one of few women in the field and experienced a lot of sexist attitudes. So, I did the PhD. I've also followed this advice by going into journalism and writing. What TV show could you not live without? Gardener's World. I can't believe how many years I have watched it. I'm a keen gardener and I find it both relaxing and comforting. During Covid-19 lockdowns, when they brought in video snippets of the public showing off their own amazing gardens with such enthusiasm, it was a bright spot. What's currently bugging you? Apart from Donald Trump's wild policies? Artificial intelligence. It's being rolled out to the public with hardly any safeguards, and it stands to change how we interact, work and access information about the world, with profound consequences. What single thing would make your life better? More time to do all the good things, like exercise, get out in nature, spend more time with people, and travel. When were you happiest? When I was 18 and had no cares or worries, just after my A-levels when I was about to go to university and could spend the summer hanging out at the beach and looking ahead. Also, when sailing – getting away from worries onshore. In another life, what job might you have chosen? I would be a landscape architect – I trained in it, but journalism captured me. Being creative, working directly with nature, and being outside a lot would be lovely. We badly need to green up our environments. Are we all doomed? Well, yes and no. Of course, we're not going to live forever. But that's why we should enjoy the here and now on this lovely planet while we can – we just have to make sure we don't trash it. Joanne Baker's 'Starwatchers: A History of Discovery in the Night Sky' is published by Bloomsbury [See more: English literature's last stand] Related
New Statesman
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Mark Hoppus Q&A: 'Enjoy every second and rage against the dying of the light'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Mark Hoppus was born in 1972 in Ridgecrest, California. He is the bassist for the punk-pop band Blink-182, which he co-founded in 1992. He is the only band member to appear on all of the group's nine studio albums. What's your earliest memory? I was in my parents' closet looking for something and ended up playing with an empty spool of thread – this is how boring it was in the desert in early 1970s in California. Who are your heroes? Growing up, it was my mom's dad, Alan. He was a soldier in World War II. He fought through the war and liberated concentration camps. When he got back to the States he became a teacher. After going through probably the most brutal experience a human can go through, he came back and decided that he wanted to help educate kids and become a kind person. My hero as an adult is my wife. What book last changed your thinking? I read East of Eden for the first time maybe two years ago and I was blown away by it. I'd always know that John Steinbeck was a great writer but that story specifically affected me a lot. What would be your 'Mastermind' specialist subject? I know a lot about the City of London, its history and its inhabitants. I have always been fascinated by London. When we would tour over here my wife and I would come over a week early and we'd stay a week later. We loved it so much that we moved to London for three years; our son went to school here. I love walking through the city and learning about English history. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? I'd like to go back to the early 1990s before the internet – with Sonic Youth, Nirvana and great bands like that. I miss the thingness of things, the joy of finding an object that you didn't know was there before. It's different than finding something new on the internet that you just download. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Right before I got married my mum gave me some advice. She said that marriage is very rarely even 50/50 – it's more of a shifting 60/40, and sometimes even 70/30. That's really given me a lot of perspective, Knowing that it's not always equal: sometimes you lean on the other person and sometimes they lean on you. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe What's currently bugging you? European showers are the worst experience in the world. The fact that you don't have shower doors is ridiculous to me. I've showered from the dirtiest punk-rock clubs to the nicest hotels, and no matter where I take a shower there's always a soaking wet bathroom floor with a wet towel in it. What single thing would make your life better? I'm blessed beyond blessed. There is nothing in the world that could make my life better other than time with my band and time with my family. When were you happiest? I'm happiest creating a song with Tom and Travis. The moment of creation in the studio, where somebody has an idea and somebody else says, 'What about this?' and it improves the song. In another life, what job might you have chosen? I would have been an English professor. Educating others would be a joy for me and it would be a tribute to my grandfather. Are we all doomed? Absolutely. Every single one of us is doomed, so do the best you can while you're here, enjoy every second and rage against the dying of the light. Mark Hoppus's 'Fahrenheit-182' is published by Sphere [See also: Inside No 10's new dysfunction] Related This article appears in the 04 Jun 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The Housing Trap
New Statesman
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Viet Thanh Nguyen Q&A: 'My earliest memory? Being taken to school on a Vespa'
Illustration by Kristian Hammerstad Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Buôn Ma Thuot, Vietnam, in 1971. He is an award-winning novelist and professor of English and American studies. His debut novel, The Sympathizer, won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. What's your earliest memory? Being taken to school on the back of a motorbike, later confirmed to be a Vespa. Who are your heroes? In childhood: Spider-Man. Now: my mother and father. Which political figure do you look up to? I don't think we should look up to political figures, who are often flawed and often have to make compromised choices, or outright bad ones. We should look to political movements, whose collective virtues can outweigh individual failures. What book last changed your thinking? Rashid Khalidi's The Hundred Years' War on Palestine. What would be your 'Mastermind' specialist subject? I know how to read and write and I love stories and poems, so literature, from the perspectives of both readers and writers. In which time and place, other than your own, would you like to live? Being born in the United States in the mid 1950s was probably nice. Too young to go to war, too old to really confront the worst of the climate catastrophe to come; part of a wealthy country that still had a vibrant middle class. Of course, this answer is much more true if you are white, male, able-bodied. So the real answer is that I don't think it's so much about time and place but about resources. If you have wealth and privilege, most places and times were probably pretty good times, until the revolution came. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Who would paint your portrait? My daughter. She's five. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? About my writing: focus on the process, not the outcome. My partner told me that and she was absolutely right. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it took three decades of process to become a writer. The process taught me humility and that art is a discipline and a calling, akin to a spiritual path – not a profession or a career, which is important but only secondarily so. What's currently bugging you? I was tempted to say Trump, but I think he's more of a symptom. What bugs me is the lack of a powerful, global, unified left movement that can so far match the billionaires, their politicians, and the arms and fossil fuel industries. What single thing would make your life better? World peace. But more realistically, if everyone could just read a book a month, I think the world would be a better place. And even that seems unrealistic. When were you happiest? Right now, with my family, which is my real home. In another life, what job might you have chosen? Writer. It was pretty good this time around. Are we all doomed? Yes and no. That depends on how you define 'we'. The human species will adapt, get wiser, and survive, I hope. But not all of us will survive, given the inequalities between nations and within them. That makes it urgent that the definition of 'we' is as inclusive as possible, so that more of us can be saved. If we are willing to sacrifice the least and the weakest of us, there is the distinct danger that we are perpetuating conditions that will inevitably doom all of us. 'The Cleaving' edited by Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Lan P Duong and Viet Thanh Nguyen is published by University of California Press [See also: Martin Freeman Q&A: 'My childhood hero was Jesus as portrayed by Robert Powell'] Related
