Yes, this review is nearly a month late – life, as the classic Jurassic Park and World series likes to reminds us, finds a way … to derail the reviewer’s best laid plans π
As a longtime fan of both the films and late author Michael Crichton’s original books, there was simply no way I would miss the black carpet premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth, as a guest of NBC Universal at Nu Metro Canal Walk on Sunday 29 June 2025. From the on-theme mocktails (this was a mid-morning and child-friendly event, after all!) to the epic activations, the pre-movie vibe was historic:
You’re here for the review, of course, so let’s hop onto our Quetzalcoatlus and get to it!
This seventh installment in the franchise, which began with Steven Spielberg’s iconic Jurassic Park in 1993, directly follows that film in terms of plot and deriving from the source novel The Lost World, but in the cinematic timeline is set directly after the Chris Pratt-led end of trilogy caper Jurassic World Dominion.
In Rebirth, the world has grown tired of and scared of the pre-historic creatures’ resurgence in their everyday life. Our pollution-saturated air isn’t viable for the dinosaurs and they are dying out again. Except, of course, right near the Equator and this is where mankind’s insatiable greed raises its ugly head.
Rupert Fiend’s handsome but slimy Martin Krebs, an executive at pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix recruits Alan Grant (Sam Neill) trained paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (the irresponsibly attractive Jonathan Bailey of Bridgerton and Wicked fame) and Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennett, an ex-military covert operative to retrieve samples from the three largest remaining prehistoric specimens ( the aquatic Mosasaurus, terrestrial Titanosaurus, and avian Quetzalcoatlus), which hold the key to a new heart disease treatment. The only catch? The creatures’ home island, Γle Saint-Hubert, has been declared a world-wide no-go zone and the risk for arrest, but worse, death is HIGH AF.
Zora sets about putting together her daredevil team of Mission Impossible-esque group, including Oscar winner Mahershala Ali’s Duncan Kincaid, boat driver LeClerc (Bechir Sylvain), mercenary Nina (Philippine Velge), and security chief Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein of Deadpool and Game of Thrones fame). Armed with plenty of ammunition, some dinosaur-proof syringes and a sense of adventure, our intrepid group are off to hunt!
What follows is a visual feast for the eyes as the dinosaurs are even uglier and scarier than anything you can imagine, the island is breathtakingly gorgeous and yet, somehow, Bailey is all you ever want to stare at for several hours … I mean, LOOK AT HIM:
Sorry, I’ll get back to serious journalism right now! Where was I? Ah, yes, the review:
Ali is fantastic as the hardened ol’merc with a soft spot for children, having been estranged from his little boy for over a year. This comes in handy when the covert ops team end up rescuing Reuben Delgado ( Manuel Garcia-Rulfo of The Lincoln Lawyer fame) , his daughters Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and Teresa (Luna Blaise, best known for the Netflix series Manifest) and the latter ‘s clueless boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono), in the middle of dinosaur-infested international waters. Seeing Ali master what could have just been another standard mercenary in the jungle role makes me ache for what we have lost in his stalled- MCU Blade movie. For shame!
As Marisa, my best friend and movie buddy, noted “this installment’s female characters are not just the damsels-in-distress that the former ones were and that makes for a refreshing change!”. And it’s true: Johansson’s Zora as well as teen Teresa and youngster Isabella take the lead in Rebirth, saving the men around them more often than vice versa and we are HERE for it! Only took us more than 30 years for this step in cinematic evolutionπ
Does it live up to the hype?
From this Superfan? HELL YES! Look, Jurassic World Rebirth is NOT going to solve the world’s problems (although, if I was going to offer a certain rapist president an all-expenses paid island vacation, THIS would be it!) but it will entertain you for nearly 3 hours and that is what a blockbuster movie ought to do.
This movie goes back to the BIG thrills and scares that made Spielberg’s OG film a box office hit and continues to entertain generations of dinosaur lovers 32 years later. Do we need to ponder more deeply about why the world’s leaders have not bombed every single forgotten InGen lab around the world yet? Or why for the love of Alanis Morrisette’s God have humans never learned to not f*** with interspecies breeding because it never ends well? No,guys and girls, this is pure sci-fi silly logic and we’re just here for the popcorn moments.
That and Jonathan Bailey’s slutty spectacles which somehow NEVER fall or break. As a proud spectacle-wearing member of society, I would LOVE to get the contact info of the props master or mistress for this, please!
Rebirth has just the right balance of paying homage to the previous installments (especially for the eagle-eyed fan) with an all-new storyline to appeal to new viewers. Life once again finds a way – and a big bang for an entire new ten year franchise.
Jurassic World Rebirth is currently roaring to life at a cinema near you. View Nu Metro’s website for their epic discount deals.
Writer’s Note: For other serious Jurassic Park/World fans, I highly recommend listening to the What Went Wrong podcast for some cool facts or visiting the Jurassic World:The Experience in London.
