Jurassic World Rebirth features some great CGI dinosaurs, but that is about it. The human story is messy, slow, and boring, making this a dino-bore.
Jurassic World Rebirth is the latest entry in the iconic dinosaur franchise, and quite honestly? I was looking forward to it. As someone who holds the original Jurassic Park trilogy in extremely high regard but found the subsequent Jurassic World trilogy to be fine at best, I approached Rebirth with a mix of cautious optimism and genuine excitement. We were promised a refresh, a restart of the franchise, and with a cast featuring Scarlett Johansson (known for her roles in Black Widow and Marriage Story) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers), I was absolutely on board.
Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed as I left the theater. There are certainly some moments that shine, and a few positive notes worth acknowledging, but these are far outweighed by the negative ones.
The Good: Visually Stunning Dinosaurs & Horror Elements
Let’s start with the undeniably good: the dinosaurs. Visually, they are magnificent. The CGI work is truly amazing. While the shots of them eating humans is not always perfect, the creatures themselves look real. Jurassic World Rebirth features an island of experiments gone awry, so not all the dinosaurs look normal.
Even within this strength, there’s a peculiar weak link: the D-Rex at the end. I couldn’t help but wonder if the ‘D’ stood for derpy, because honestly, this dinosaur was not even remotely scary. It almost felt comical, giving up so easily at the end. I feel you, D-Rex, I really do. I was left bewildered by this creature, which, despite its size, failed to evoke any sense of terror or menace. Perhaps by that point, the film had lost me, but the D-Rex certainly didn’t deliver what I wanted from a formidable final antagonist.
One area where Rebirth genuinely impressed me was its lean into horror elements, reminiscent of the first Jurassic Park. I truly enjoyed this intense part of the film. There were effective stalking moments and well-placed jump scares that kept me mildly entertained. The high stakes are palpable; characters do die, although I have to admit, I never cared much when they did.
The Bad: Flat Narrative & Unlikable Characters
The narrative itself felt, to put it mildly, just fine. I grasped what the filmmakers were aiming for, but the execution felt hollow. The main characters, the researchers played by Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, don’t seem particularly motivated by their mission to retrieve DNA for a life-saving drug.
While they’re being handsomely paid by a corporation with dubious intentions regarding accessibility (a point Jonathan Bailey’s character raises a few times), his concern never feels truly passionate or earnest. This lack of conviction, I believe, stems from a weak script.
From the first 20-30 minutes, during the setup and journey to the island, I struggled to believe in any of these characters. Some of the dialogue is so utterly corny that it’s hard to discern if the film is attempting self-aware humor or genuine seriousness.
When characters engage in supposedly serious conversations about lost loved ones, the dialogue actively prevents you from feeling any empathy. It felt artificial, unbelievable, and completely failed to draw me into their emotional struggles.
More Bad: Unnecessary Subplots
Adding to the narrative clutter is the inclusion of a family that crosses paths with the researchers on their way to the island. Honestly, this family felt entirely unnecessary. You could literally pick this family out of the equation and the story would remain the same. Nothing would change. They didn’t drive the narrative forward, nor did they have any significant moments that impacted the overall story.
My favorite character, the boyfriend Xavier, who was hilariously ridiculous and genuinely cracked me up, was part of this unit. He was probably the only truly likable character, but the problem was that we didn’t get to know anyone else well enough to care. It’s not that all characters were unlikable, but even Zora (Johansson) and Henry (Bailey) felt underdeveloped. Their motivations were unclear, and they often seemed to be merely going through the motions. This left me feeling disconnected. I didn’t care about them and found myself just looking forward to the next dinosaur chase scene.
The family subplot also introduces Dolores, the cute baby dinosaur, who clearly serves as a toy-selling mascot. This decision to include these characters muddles the plot and takes valuable screen time away from the characters we should be learning to care about. There’s a minor key aspect involving the family meant to reveal another character’s motivations, but these motivations were obvious from the start, and there were countless other ways to reveal them.
An Abrupt Ending and Overall Disappointment
The action sequences were fun the high stakes were effective because people actually do die. You feel the genuine danger. However, the ending simply… happened. It felt abrupt and inconclusive, as if the film just ran out of steam. I suspect it’s setting up another trilogy, but as a standalone conclusion, it was unsatisfying. Even the D-Rex seemed to give up, mirroring my own feeling of “Okay, I’m done with this. Moving along.”
Ultimately, the human characters are poorly written, making it difficult to invest in their journeys. While the dinosaurs are cool, and there are some enjoyable jump scares and even one particularly majestic scene in a field, the overall impression is one of mild indifference. I went into Jurassic World Rebirth with perhaps too high expectations, genuinely hoping for a turning point for the franchise I love. To walk away feeling devastated, having really wanted to love it but ultimately not even liking it.
NEXT: Ironheart Review: Don’t Sleep On This Series
About Jurassic World Rebirth
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Jurassic World Rebirth comes to theaters July 2.
Jurassic World Rebirth features some great CGI dinosaurs, but that is about it. The human story is messy, slow, and boring, making this a dino-bore.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.