Jurassic World Rebirth doesn’t reinvent the dino wheel, but it roars back with enough energy, spectacle, and emotional grit to make longtime fans care again. Directed by Gareth Edwards and backed by the return of original screenwriter David Koepp, this new installment plants its teeth in familiar territory—yes, there are still ill-fated scientists, greedy pharma execs, endangered children, and a T. rex chase scene—but manages to keep the franchise alive with a compelling cast and cinematic confidence.
Scarlett Johansson stars as Zora Bennett, a no-nonsense ex-special forces operative hired to lead a covert DNA extraction mission on a tropical island overrun by hybrid dinosaurs. Jonathan Bailey plays Dr. Henry Loomis, a wide-eyed paleontologist reluctantly dragged into the chaos. The setup is pure Jurassic, but it’s the dynamic between these two opposites—one hardened by combat, the other softened by wonder—that injects fresh oxygen into a formula showing signs of extinction.
The plot centers on a shady pharma giant’s race to harvest dino DNA from creatures believed to hold cures for modern diseases. Zora and Henry join a team sailing into danger, led by Mahershala Ali as a stoic boat captain with his own painful past. When a separate family yacht is attacked by a mosasaurus (because of course it is), the rescue effort derails the mission, setting up a survival trek through the dense island jungle—complete with corporate betrayal, collapsed trust, and creatures with bad attitudes and worse timing.
Koepp doesn’t pretend to break new narrative ground. Instead, he leans hard into the legacy of Jurassic Park, weaving in nostalgic visuals, eerie underground tunnels, and temple-top action sequences that echo Spielberg’s fingerprints. There’s a raptor-style kitchen standoff, callbacks to the T. rex’s river escape, and even a tropical twist on the Jaws open-water suspense. Edwards shoots on 35mm in the Thai jungle, grounding the effects-heavy story with lush, tactile realism.
Johansson and Bailey, both at the top of their game, share more than just action chemistry. Their scenes reveal a surprising emotional core—especially when Henry encounters a valley of grazing titanosaurs, awe-struck and childlike in his reverence. Bailey sells it with disarming sincerity, and Desplat’s sweeping orchestral score (layered with hints of John Williams’ original theme) brings the magic back, if only briefly.
There are clunky moments too—predictable crew deaths, groan-worthy one-liners, and a genetically altered dino named the “D. Rex” (yes, really). But they’re forgiven thanks to moments of genuine charm, including a sweet subplot involving a silent child and her emotional support aquilops—Spielbergian corniness that somehow still works.
While Jurassic World Rebirth won’t top the original, it does what few franchise reboots manage: it makes you care again. The world-building is familiar but efficient, the action is thrilling, and the stars—especially Johansson—seem genuinely invested. It’s part survival flick, part legacy revival, and part cautionary tale about scientific overreach, all wrapped in a big-budget adventure that reminds us why these movies were fun in the first place.
