Jurassic World Rebirth is the latest movie in the Jurassic Park franchise, but a movie that should have been aborted. There’s no reason for this movie. It brings nothing new to the franchise… just the same old thrills and scares from dinosaurs trying to kill people. It’s just the latest monster movie masquerading as a summer blockbuster. Trust me…you’ve seen this movie before! When will Universal studios quit trying to recreate the original Jurassic Park movie that was unique and magical? Every other Jurassic Park movie has been trying to recreate the original and hasn’t come close. I mean, not even nostalgia for the original can save this movie. I don’t think it’s a terrible movie, but Its definitely not a good movie either. It feels more like a Jurassic Park version of a B-horror film where we know exactly what’s going to happen, but we watch it anyway because we like that style of filmmaking. And while it is certainly entertaining on the big screen and of course the Jurassic Park theme music makes this movie better than it is, I’m afraid that Jurassic World Rebirth is just a cheap carbon copy of every other Jurassic Park movie. Or as I like to call it, been there and done that! The fact is we don’t need any more Jurassic Park movies because we get the same thing over and over and watching the original is still better.
Here’s what I like about the movie. Yes it is a fun monster movie with a great cast. Scarlett Johansson is a good action star. We already know this because she’s essentially Black Widow hunting dinosaurs. Mahershala Ali plays a good mercenary and boat Captain. Rupert Friend plays a great villain. The family that gets stranded along with the mercenaries are cute and entertaining, but none of this makes the movie any better. The main plot is somewhat unique wherein the characters are going to an island with genetically crossbred dinosaurs… it’s not enough just to clone dinosaurs, but scientists have to crossbreed to make them more dangerous dinosaurs to entertain the public. But going to the island where all this happened feels more like the movie King Kong: Skull Island. Again, we’ve seen this before. And I’m pretty sure they regurgitated some plot lines from Jurassic Park 3 where they go to an island they’re not supposed to go under nefarious reasons and then end up getting stranded. Like I said there’s just nothing new or original about this movie. I almost feel like they took all the plot lines from previous Jurassic Park movies, blended them together to somehow make a movie that seemed new. But there are a few things going for it. The film looks great especially on the big screen and the dinosaurs looked very lifelike compared to what they look like in the first movie. There are plenty of intense moments in the film where we wonder if the characters are going to survive and there are some pretty gruesome death scenes. The scare factor is certainly in this movie. So if the Force Awakens is almost a carbon copy of the Star Wars movie, A New Hope then this movie almost feels like a copy of the original Jurassic Park movie with the same plot line and the same emotional connections to the innocent characters who get stranded and you hope they’re going to survive, especially the kids. The original movie had a lot of heart and the best scenes were the with the main character rescuing the kids. The filmmakers try to recreate that sense of emotion and it works for the most part. It is one of the better parts of the movie.
But if I’m really being honest…this movie is very average. There’s nothing remarkable about it. But I don’t completely hate it and if you are a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise and love seeing these movies on the big screen then you should go see it. It’s a movie meant to be seen on the big screen. It is a fun ride that will give you the same feeling as if you’re watching some of the other Jurassic Park movies, but just don’t expect anything new. I enjoyed the movie because it is a fun monster movie with dinosaurs, but I just can’t say it’s a great movie because I’ve seen the story before and unfortunately there hasn’t been a Jurassic Park movie that’s ever been able to capture the feeling I had watching the original at the old North Park One Theater in Dallas Texas with over 500 seats and that awesome THX sound. It’s just hard to recreate the same magic that you had with an original film that turned out to be great. It’s like making Jaws 2 and trying to compare it to Jaws. It will just never be as good. However, the cast is good and will entertain you just enough to feel like you didn’t waste your time watching this movie. But is it worth a full price movie ticket… not at all. If you want to see it then do a matinee or just wait till the movie hits streaming. I think the only Jurassic Park movie I’ve ever watched over and over was the original. I may have seen some of the others more than once, but this movie is just a good one timer. Sadly, there’s not enough scares, original dinosaurs, or unique plot lines to make this movie great. If you ask me it’s time we move beyond dinosaurs. They make a great joke in the film that the appetite for dinosaurs is waning with the public… well that’s just a metaphor for this franchise! We don’t need a rebirth with Jurassic Park films… It’s okay to let this franchise die and just enjoy the awesomeness of the original film.
