MOVIE REVIEW | Jurassic Park: Rebirth – Three years after Jurassic World Dominion, the dinosaurs are back — and so is the spectacle. I attended the premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth at Innaloo Event Cinemas on Tuesday night, and while there’s no denying the film delivers big-screen visuals and explosive action, the overall experience left me feeling like I’d seen it all before — several times, in fact.
Let’s start with the positives: Jurassic World Rebirth is beautifully shot. Gareth Edwards does what he does best, giving us sweeping vistas, tension-filled sequences, and impeccable CGI that continues the franchise’s legacy of visual excellence. The dinosaurs are as terrifying and awe-inspiring as ever, and there are a few strong moments of suspense and spectacle. The tropical island setting — a callback to the original Jurassic Park facility — provides a nostalgic yet hostile environment that looks incredible on the big screen.
Scarlett Johansson is front and center as Zora Bennett, a covert ops leader with a mission that feels straight out of a sci-fi thriller. She’s joined by Mahershala Ali, who brings calm intensity as her trusted ally, and Jonathan Bailey, whose turn as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis adds some much-needed earnestness. The cast overall is solid, including Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Luna Blaise. But unfortunately, the characters are written so thinly that even the best performances can’t quite elevate them.
And here lies the main issue — the story.
It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just so predictable. Every plot twist, every character arc, every survival moment felt like it was lifted straight from the franchise’s Greatest Hits. There’s the classic good guys vs. bad guys dynamic, the token corporate villain, the innocent civilians caught in the chaos, and of course, a child who bonds with a cute dinosaur. You could practically predict who was going to die and who was going to make it out from the first 15 minutes.
The tension feels forced at times, especially when characters manage to escape death in ways that defy all logic. Dinosaurs that should easily be able to spot and crush their prey are foiled by the most convenient obstacles — one even gets its head stuck between two rocks just long enough for the heroes to slip away. It’s moments like these that break immersion and leave you thinking, “Really?” And yes, I get it — we’re watching a film where humans live among dinosaurs, but even within that fantasy, there’s room for smarter, tighter storytelling.
That’s the biggest missed opportunity with Rebirth.
This was a chance to truly evolve the franchise — to take bold risks or explore new themes. Instead, it leans heavily into familiar territory, reusing tropes rather than reinventing them. And while the visuals are spectacular, they can’t make up for the lack of emotional investment. Aside from the children, I honestly didn’t feel particularly attached to any of the characters. Whether they survived or not didn’t make much of an impact — and that’s a problem in a film where survival is the core premise.
All that said, Jurassic World Rebirth is still a decent night at the movies if you’re there for the action and spectacle. It’s big, loud, and visually stunning — exactly what fans might expect. But if you’re hoping for a fresh take or deeper storytelling, you may walk away wanting more.
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Rating
Aaron: 6.5 / 10 “A beautiful but predictable return to Jurassic territory. Enjoyable, but not quite the rebirth this franchise needed.”
Zak: 6 / 10 “Spectacular visuals but I was able to write the script as it went along.”
Cinema Experience:
Another fantastic night at the always-reliable Event Cinemas Innaloo. The VMAX theatre delivered crisp sound and a stunning visual experience, making it the perfect setting for a big-screen blockbuster. Seating was super comfortable, and the atmosphere was buzzing. Shout out to Tegan for once again bringing energy and fun to the night.
Great touches included beer from the film (clever product placement), free popcorn, drinks, and water — all adding to the premium feel. Plenty of photo ops made it a great night out for fans. Well done to the team at Event Cinemas!
Link to Universal HERE
TV Central Movie Reviews HERE
MOVIE REVIEW | Jurassic Park: Rebirth
About the Movie
ABOUT JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia- Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain, Ed Skrein
Director: Gareth Edwards
Screenplay by: David Koepp, based on characters created by Michael Crichton
Producers: Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Denis L. Stewart, Jim Spencer
A new era is born. This July, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth.
Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind.
Also starring acclaimed international stars Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp.
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 across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.
Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.
Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member; Critics Choice and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Bridgerton) plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend (Homeland, Obi-Wan Kenobi) appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer, Murder on the Orient Express) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family.
The cast includes Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF) and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).
Jurassic World Rebirth is directed by BAFTA winner Edwards from a script by Koepp (War of the Worlds), based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The film is produced by Oscar® nominee Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, both longtime Jurassic franchise producers and of last summer’s blockbuster, Twisters. The film is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Denis L. Stewart and Jim Spencer.
