Jurassic World: Rebirth plus Short Takes on some other cinematic topics
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, but better options are on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue below [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)
My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)
Here’s the trailer:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size;
activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $ (as well as recognizing those readers like me who just aren’t that tech-savvy). To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid these all-important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters with colors plus arrows:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
WHAT HAPPENS: 17 years ago on Île Saint-Hubert (best as I followed, in the Equatorial zone of the Caribbean, an island near Costa Rica but not one in previous episodes of this lengthy franchise) the InGen corporation ran a research lab where hybrid dinosaurs were created until a freak accident caused a crew member to be trapped, killed by a huge carnivore so the facility was shut down, made off-limits to human occupation or travel. In the ensuing years, most of the dinos from the previous Jurassic Park/… World have died due to changing environmental conditions so only the survivors on this island in a very warm zone remain. (Wait! Isn’t climate change making our entire planet warmer? Oh, yeah! This is all a big dose of fiction! But don’t let anyone—especially in our wayward U.S. government try to convince you climate change isn’t real either!) In the present day, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a honcho at ParkerGenix pharmaceutical company, recruits ex-military Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to join an expedition to this forbidden zone to extract DNA from the 3 largest dinos (one aquatic, one landbound, one aerial) to (somehow [remember: fiction!]) lead to a heart disease cure which will make trillions for his enterprise, with her share of this windfall convincing her to take the offer (they’re also joined by reluctant paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis [Jonathan Bailey]). A big payday is absolutely the needed enticement for Zora’s friend, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), captain of a small boat, to take them to their destination, along with his crew of LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain), Nina (Philippine Velge), and Bobby (Ed Skrein). As they near the island, though, they find a family—father Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), older daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise), her boyfriend Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono), and young daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda) adrift in the sea as their boat’s been overturned by a huge Mosasaurus, which provides Zora with her first DNA sample as she uses a drone-like device shot into the animal which extracts some blood, then the syringe decouples and flies back (aided by a little parachute) to Zora.
However, the Mosasaurus attacks again, with Teresa attempting to radio for help until Martin, wanting to preserve the secrecy of the mission, pushes her overboard, makes no attempt to save her, so Dad, younger daughter, and Xavier jump into the water to help her in this great time of distress, even as the beast kills Bobby. The boat crashes onto the island, Nina dies in the process, the family makes it to shore, Zora tells them she’s arranged for a helicopter pickup in 24 hours. Zora’s second sample is easy to obtain from the huge herbivore Titanosaurus, but the flying Quetzalcoatlus is a dangerous adversary so a few of the group rappel to a nest in a cliff face to extract the DNA from an egg; however, Mom returns and attacks, killing LeClerc as the others escape. Meanwhile, Reuben’s group hunts for the abandoned InGen complex, escaping dinos in the process even as Isabella make a pet of a tiny Aquilops, then they all raft down a river to avoid a charging T Rex. ⇒Everyone makes it to the InGen site where Teresa’s furious with Martin who grabs the DNA samples, drives away in a truck to meet the helicopter while the others are attacked by flying Mutadons. Eventually, they escape via underground tunnels, but the chopper’s destroyed by a huge Distortus rex, who also kills Martin. All of the rest of the group head out to sea on a small boat while Duncan distracts the DIstortus with a flare until the beast moves on, allowing Duncan to be taken in by the others. As they motor away, Henry’s now able to convince Zora to make this new, vital medicine open source so it can aid everyone on Earth without becoming horribly expensive.⇐
SO WHAT? Although I was well aware the OCCU is just marginally-supportive of Jurassic World: Rebirth (more on that in this review’s next section, just below) I decided to watch it when it made its streaming debut—quickly for a change, after have been in theaters for just about 1 month—given that I’d indulged (in some cases, endured) most of the previous episodes in this long-running franchise so I thought it was time to dive in again, especially as it was possible this might finally be the end of a long-running cluster of stories about humans running away from hungry dinosaurs (although that probably won’t be the case given how much cash this movie’s bringing in; more on that just below also). For me, the far-and-away best entry in the filmic aspects of this media behemoth (see here for extensive details of the entire franchise)1 is the original movie, Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993 [based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel of the same name]) for the manner in which it combined suspense, terror, some comedy, and the wonder of overwhelming visual impact of how computer-generated imagery could render plausibly-looking dinosaurs (the well-developed characters played by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, B.D. Wong, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight, and many others added to the impressive impact as well).
1If you’re just in a mood to wallow in previous … Park/… World info you can further explore this site along with this one and/or watch this summary video of the previous movies (19:09 [ad interrupts at 8:35]), with, of course, many Spoilers throughout all of these long, fact-filled resources.
Had I been writing reviews for this blog back then (Did blogs even exist that long ago? Well, technically yes, but I wouldn’t have been involved in those very early stages. anyway) I would have given 4½ of my 5 stars to this Spielberg marvel (Rotten Tomatoes gave it 91% positive reviews, Metacritic was typically hesitant with a 68% average score) which is far more than I’d have given to all that have followed: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Spielberg, 1997), Jurassic Part III (Joe Johnston, 2001) which I didn’t even see, probably due to OCCU dismissal (RT 49%, MC 42%), Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) which got my 3½ stars, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (J.A. Bayone, 2018) which I also didn’t see, likely again to the OCCU (RT 47%, MC 51%), Jurassic World: Dominion (Trevorrow, 2022) which got just 3 of my stars. Yet, I ventured fearlessly into … Rebirth, even though it was clear this movie is just more of the same stuff that’s been around for over 3 decades on large and small screens (as a little boy I was fascinated with dinosaurs, though, which I’ll bet many kids still are today—along with the adults who still find intrigue in these huge, near-mythical beasts) even as I was sure I’d seen this all before (I had!); however, another reason to see this current movie is to celebrate Scarlett Johansson (a long-time favorite) who now has the title of most-successful box-office movie star ever (when playing lead/co-leading roles) at $14.8 billion, not that there’s anything particularly different or outstanding as this current character, but it’s good to see her again, nevertheless, especially because, along with her, I have little prior connection to most anyone else in the cast save for Ali and Friend, unlike the cluster of known (to me, at least) stars in Jurassic Park, which, now that I think more about it, would likely be a better choice anyway and is certainly cheaper as you can stream it for only $3.99 at Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.
BOTTOM LINE FINAL COMMENTS: Jurassic World: Rebirth (this, for me, though, is a questionable title given that it’s been only 3 years since the previous installment of this seemingly-never-ending narrative, plus there aren’t any new dinos invented here [they’ve all be infesting their island for years after the previous people wisely pulled out], so the only “rebirth” is another massive infusion of cash for Universal Pictures [the main goal for them, I'm sure]) debuted in domestic (U.S.-Canada) theaters on July 2, 2025, had its widest release in 4,324 venues (still in 2,691 of them), so far has grossed $397 million ($800.4 million worldwide, making it #4 for the 2025 global box-office so far), but, if like me, you’d prefer to not visit a theater right now with COVID-19 variants lurking, you can always turn to streaming where it rents for $19.99 (see, I told you the original movie’s much cheaper—and more fascinating), also from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+. The OCCU’s not that encouraging for you to do so, though with the Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews (all 384 of them) at a paltry 51%, the Metacritic average score at an amazingly-near-parallel of 50%, so they’re obviously not overwhelmed either, despite marvelous renderings of gigantic beasts and some truly-terrifying close calls. (Along with a few not very close at all; but, dinos gotta eat too, ya know!)
I think by now you’re likely overwhelmed with Jurassic … lore, so I’ll just bow out with my standard close of a Musical Metaphor, this time Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Run Through the Jungle” (on their 1970 Cosmo’s Factory album) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbGpfGDZwQg &list=RDHbGpfGDZwQg&start_radio=1; OK, this version’s from 2005 featuring John Fogerty with a new band, so if you want the original recording here it is. Many feel this song’s seemingly being about the terrors of the Vietnam War, but I think it can easily be applied to the terrors to be found on and around Île Saint-Hubert too: “Woah, thought it was a nightmare / Lord, it’s all so true / Lord, it’s all so true / They told me, don’t go walkin’ slow / The Devil’s on the loose / Better run through the jungle.” Yet, I’m willing to acknowledge, with other lyrics about guns, you’d have plenty of company if you focused on the Vietnam connection, so if you’d prefer to have that idea illustrated here you go; still, in an interview a few years ago Fogerty said the song’s about the dangerous proliferation of firearms in the U.S. so help yourself to any interpretation you prefer (including with those dinosaurs).
SHORT TAKES
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
Some options for your consideration: (1) IMDb's Five Things to Watch on the week of 8/10/2025; (2) What's new on Netflix in August 2025; (3) What's new on Amazon Prime Video in August 2025; (4) What's new on Hulu in August 2025; (5) What's new on DIsney+ in August 2025; (6) What's new on HBO Max in August 2025; and (7) IMDb's 2025 Summer Watch Guide.
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