When people are in danger of being devoured by freakish, mutant dinosaurs, “Jurassic World Rebirth” can be a lot of fun. But it takes an awful lot of slogging through the jungle, literally and figuratively, to get there.
This latest installment in the decades-long “Jurassic Park” franchise uneasily tries to tap into the thrills of the earlier movies while also making a statement about the world in which we live today. Capitalism is the real monster here, but please, buy this $30 specialty popcorn bucket that’s shaped like a T-rex head.
Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “The Creator,” the 2014 “Godzilla”) directs this time, so there’s an imposing sense of scale and several legitimately stressful sequences. When the dinosaurs are battling each other and rampaging after humans, that old, familiar rush of excitement returns. Original “Jurassic Park” writer David Koepp also returns with a script that feels both empty and overstuffed. There are way too many characters, and there’s absolutely nothing to them.
A wildly overqualified cast can only do so much with what’s not on the page. Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey dutifully gawk and run and hang precariously from things, as one does in a “Jurassic” movie. A sequence in an abandoned convenience store is particularly well-paced, as is another in a giant, cliffside nest, and these beautiful stars seem game for both the silliness and the physical rigors of making a blockbuster like this. But long conversations between their characters do little to flesh them out during the film’s plodding first half. They mainly just sit around explaining things to each other.
And then there’s a needless subplot involving a family who also find themselves in the dinos’ sights. They could have been eliminated entirely, and every time “Jurassic World Rebirth” cuts back to them, the pacing grinds to a halt.
Johansson stars as seasoned, hardened mercenary Zora Bennett, which seems like unlikely casting, given her poreless skin and the general fact that she looks like Scarlett Johansson. But hey, we’re here for the air-conditioned escapism, so why not? It’s five years after “Jurassic World Dominion” (which actually came out three years ago), and dinosaurs are no longer the threat that they used to be. It’s no big deal to see one being hoisted out of the East River of New York in broad daylight, for example. But an obviously unscrupulous bad guy from Big Pharma (Rupert Friend) hires Zora to lead a team to an island near the equator, where three types of hybrid beasts remain whose DNA could have life-changing medical possibilities. (And, of course, profits.)
Zora seeks out Bailey’s Dr. Henry Loomis, a paleontologist whose museum doesn’t draw the kinds of curious crowds it once did when dinosaurs were the hot, new thing. Basically, this requires Bailey to look cute in glasses, sweaters and khakis as he spews scientific jargon. Again: wildly overqualified. Henry is nervous but excited about the possibility of seeing these magnificent creatures up close, in real life, after studying them so long from afar.
By comparison, Ali’s Duncan Kincaid has a ton of experience in dangerous situations as Zora’s longtime right-hand man. Duncan captains the boat that will take them to the remote location they’re seeking with the help of some extremely forgettable crew members. Ali offers some welcome subtlety as his character provides just enough back story as to why he keeps putting himself in harm’s way. A scene in which he and Johansson good-naturedly give each other a hard time will make you wish you were seeing them in literally any other movie.
But somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean, this team crosses paths with a father (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters (Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda) and the older daughter’s useless boyfriend (David Iacono), whose sailboat has capsized. From a plot perspective, there’s really no need for these characters; they don’t do much to further the story, and any revelations we get from their participation seem pretty obvious and could have been delivered in some other way.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” does feature some beautiful imagery, courtesy of veteran cinematographer John Mathieson (“Gladiator,” “Logan,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”). Golden hour sunshine shimmers on the water, shafts of light streak through a tunnel system, or a flare turns the nighttime sky a smoky red. It can be quite dazzling. Alexandre Desplat’s score moves the action along while sneaking in the gentlest wisps of John Williams’ iconic theme.
And there are some sporadic joys here in the clever sight gags, the sleight of hand, the bait and switch. These moments remind us of the mindless summertime excitement the “Jurassic” movies have long provided, albeit with diminishing returns. But that giant footprint just isn’t as imposing as it used to be.
