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Jurassic World Rebirth X reviews: Great VFX couldn't save the forgettable story; ‘decent at best’
With no returning characters, a whole new island and a whole new dinosaur, Jurassic World Rebirth is bold, but according to fans, that doesn’t mean it worked
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey have been everywhere this year: on our feeds and in the news, as they embark on a social media-led press tour for their newest movie, Jurassic World Rebirth. While the strategic tour did give fans a viral kiss moment, the movie is finally in theatres, and fans are now shifting focus from press to product. Here's the verdict.
Netizens love to hate the film
Online reactions to Jurassic World Rebirth have been mixed, with many pointing out the film’s visual highs and narrative lows.“#JurassicWorldRebirth didn’t really do it for me. Despite great cinematography and a solid musical score, it can’t overcome being a World movie and not a Park movie. It’s boring, repetitive, and the same old stuff we have seen. And the family subplot is a massive oof. 6/10,” one X user wrote. Another added, “#JurassicWorldRebirth IS A LOT… of the same. Gareth Edwards brings the most STUNNING technical quality to this franchise with a story and characters just as thin as before. While it doesn’t reach the lows of recent installments… it doesn’t do nearly enough to separate itself.”
One more commented, “Jurassic World Rebirth review: a really forgettable Jurassic movie. They throw 2 plots together that don’t really mesh well. The dino action is fine but nothing we haven’t seen already. I appreciate the simplicity of the mission but it could’ve been executed better 5 out of 10.” And another critical voice said,“Man I really wanted to come out of #JurassicWorldRebirth loving it but that was not the case and I hate to say it. The actual good scenes in the movie were already shown in the commercials, terrible pacing bad jokes, original score was misused. Overall decent at best.”
But for longtime fans of the series, it's not all bad news. Several fans embraced the film’s nostalgic feel so if you love the world and just want to go see some dinosaurs run around on a big screen, this movie should be a part of your weekend plans. “#JurassicWorldRebirth was more or less what I expected. While having no real surprises, it was nice to go back to basics. It's essentially a better JP3. And as expected, Edwards delivers thoughtful set pieces. Liked the characters more than I thought I would too,” said one comment. Another enthusiastic review read, “#JurassicWorldRebirth is a cinematic resurrection. With jaw-dropping visuals, pulse-pounding suspense, and a deep respect for Spielberg’s original, it roars back with prehistoric power. Gareth Edwards delivers awe, terror, and wonder in equal measure, reminding us why we fell in love with dinosaurs in the first place. This is the franchise reborn — and it’s alive in every sense of the word.”
About the movie
The seventh instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Rebirth is a reset. With no returning characters and a standalone storyline, the film introduces a brand-new trio: Johansson as covert ops expert Zora Bennett, Bailey as idealistic palaeontologist Henry Loomis, and Mahershala Ali as sea captain Duncan Kincaid. Director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Rogue One) steps in, while David Koepp returns as screenwriter after penning the first two Jurassic Park films.
Set after the events of Jurassic World Dominion (2022), dinosaurs have all but vanished, except for a few surviving species hidden on the Caribbean island of Île Saint Hubert. A biotech company dispatches a team to retrieve DNA samples, but their mission turns chaotic when they encounter not only wild prehistoric predators but also a dangerous new hybrid: the Distortus Rex.
