Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 32 years since John Hammond “spared no expense” on ice cream and Chaos Theory Doctor Malcolm pleaded that the colorful jeep “must go faster”. That 1993 film by Steven Spielberg awed us and changed the course of cinema. Now director Gareth Edwards (ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, 2016; GODZILLA, 2014) brings us the seventh film in the ‘Jurassic’ franchise. Having adapted Michael Crichton’s books for the first two in the series, renowned screenwriter David Koepp (who has also contributed to Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, and Spider-Man franchises, among others) returns for “Rebirth”.
Opening with a flashback to fifteen years prior, we see the InGen lab where experimental cross-breeding has resulted in dino-mutations, and we are only about four minutes in when we get the first dino snack (an unfortunate lab worker). Returning to modern day times (five years after the end of JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION), we find a citizenry somehow bored with the dinosaurs that have been released into the wild – most of which have died or are dying due to environmental issues caused by us despicable humans. The exception is a remote island near the equator where the climate most resembles prehistoric times, and the beasts are free to roam … as it’s now a “No people allowed” sanctuary. It’s also a former InGen lab site.
This all sets the stage for greedy Big Pharma executive, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) to plan an excursion with the goal of collecting DNA from the three largest dino species from land, sea, and air. Oh, and minor detail – the DNA has to be collected from live specimens. The DNA can supposedly be used for major medical breakthroughs. Krebs hires Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), a mercenary for “situational security and reaction”, and Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey, WICKED, 2024) a paleontologist trained by the infamous Dr Grant. Zora assembles the rest of the team, including friend and boat captain Duncan Kincaid (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali), and the rest of his crew.
Separately, a family sailing the same waters is introduced. Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and his two daughters, college-aged Teresa (Luna Blaise) and clever 11-year-old Isabella (Audrina Miranda), along with Teresa’s lazy and spacey boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono). This secondary group provides us with ‘normal’ folks to fear for as their boat is dino-attacked, leaving them stranded in the sea, awaiting recovery by the pharma boat. This creates a strange mixture of folks and, most importantly, allows for the mandatory kid-in-peril. Another dino-attack on the boat separates the family from the team and begins the process of scratching characters from the story.
The adventures are quite different for the two groups, and the island scenery is consistently awe-inspiring. But we are all here for dinosaurs, and on that front, the film never disappoints. Very few gaps occur between sightings or attacks, and the dinosaurs dazzle. A slumbering by the river T-Rex provides one of the best chase/attack scenes from any of the Jurassic movies (with a tip of the raft to the Crichton novel). Of course, we know who the villain will be, and we know how things go for villains in these movies. The story includes an altruistic approach from Loomis, who flashes some survival instincts despite a career spent in an air-conditioned museum, rather than a dino-filled jungle.
We are left to ponder what the titular “Rebirth” refers to. The film doesn’t offer anything new, outside of the mutants … including the much-anticipated D-Rex (sporting the head of a Beluga whale?). Your individual level of critique will determine whether you buy Scarlett Johansson as the ultimate tough warrior, although John Mathieson’s stunning cinematography and composer Alexandre Desplat’s score (generously sprinkled with John Williams’ iconic JP score) are complementary to an overall entertaining and crowd-pleasing big-budget summer blockbuster, with many nods to the previous films in the franchise. Race cars and dinosaurs in the same summer … spared no expense.
Opens in theaters on July 2, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Like many of you, I’m not usually a fan of sequels. Too often they feel like a money grab or an unapologetically opportunistic way to capitalize on previous success without much creativity or artistry required. Of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes sequels advance the story or offer additional development on an interesting character. So where does this one fit? It’s been almost a quarter-century since GLADIATOR (2000) received 12 Oscar nominations, winning 5, including Best Picture. The original is a film I revere. Director Ridley Scott is back at the helm, and at age 86, he proves he’s still a master of scope and scale and visceral action sequences.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 