In the genre of “what if” science fiction movies, with a whole lot more fiction than science, comes another addition to the “Jurassic Park” collection. The seventh in the franchise, the producers have wisely returned to David Koepp, the master storyteller of the first two “Jurassic Park” films. Delving back into the original Michael Crichton novel, he and Steven Spielberg, the original director of the first two in that franchise and executive producer of the others, found several passages that they loved but hadn’t used, and new dinosaur scenes were born (or I suppose reborn). Perhaps most surprising about “Rebirth” is how well it works despite the inanity of its premise. But then again, bringing dinosaurs back to Earth in the first place was hilariously insane and, ultimately, bone-chillingly frightening.
The franchise has always been able to attract big stars like Chris Pratt and Sam Neill in leading roles, but each successive film after the original was a case of diminishing returns. “Jurassic World: Rebirth” doesn’t come close to the original; after all, originality went out the window after the first. Still, mix together some elements of the “Jurassic World” franchise, along with better writing, better acting and bigger and scarier thrills and chills, stir that pot to a boiling froth and you have an entertaining movie for its target audience of PG-13.
Martin Krebs, a big pharma exec, has approached Zora Bennett, a former special forces op who has turned to the dark side, aka a mercenary, to put together a team and breach the barriers of the equatorial island where the last of the dinosaurs have been sequestered. A boatload of money waits for her at the end of this rainbow. The dinos were unable to thrive in the parks created for them and those that survived were shipped to a friendlier atmospheric environment off the coast of Suriname in South America. She will be working with Dr. Henry Loomis, a paleontologist, expert in all things Mesozoic, whose museum is closing. The dinosaur craze has ended and with it goes his job at the museum. Zora, sizing up the prof, knows she will need some more muscle and engages the services of longtime partner Duncan Kincaid, now retired on a tropical isle. As Zora explains to Krebs, she needs Kincaid, his crew and his boat, or this is a no-go. She slyly extracts another boatload of money from Krebs for this mission. And what is the mission? Why do they need to go to the forbidden and foreboding Ile Saint-Hubert? There are three different species, one terrestrial (Titanosaurus), one aquatic (Mosasaurus) and one avian (Quetzalcoatlus) with DNA that will revolutionize cardiac medicine. These dinosaurs have enormous hearts that allow them to live a century or more, and their DNA is a necessary part of a new medication that Krebs’ company is developing. There is the distinct possibility that this new medication will forestall heart disease by almost two decades.
And it’s off to the equatorial island they go. Encountering their first aquatic beast recalls that famous line in “Jaws.” “I think we’re going to need a bigger boat.”
Koepp and director Gareth Edwards felt a need to ramp up the stakes. And up them they did by adding civilians. Reuben Delgado, a divorced summertime father, has decided to take his daughters Isabella and Teresa and Teresa’s useless boyfriend Xavier on a sailing trip around the world. It becomes fairly apparent early on that Reuben has bitten off more than he can chew trying to navigate both the sea and awkward family relationships. Definitely way off course, life becomes treacherous when they encounter a Mosasaurus, a giant reptile of the sea that lived at the same time that dinosaurs walked the Earth and one of the creatures being sought for its DNA by Krebs’ group. Their boat is upended and the family is able to make it, if barely, to the rocky shoreline ahead. Using their walkie-talkie, they make a mayday connection with Kincaid who, against Krebs’ wishes, detours to save the family. Outlaw band meets wholesome, clueless family and the journey takes off.
There will be blood, there will be chills and thrills and, yes, there will be deaths, but it’s always full steam ahead to get the dino DNA and save humanity. But underlying the adventure and the perilous journey is the question of benefit. Who wins? Who loses? What are the alternatives as our intrepid Zora and the altruistic paleontologist push forward to capture the DNA without being captured themselves? Finally landing on the forbidden island that once held a genetics lab, and it doesn’t take long for Loomis to realize that most of the creatures they are encountering are mutants, creating danger on an even higher plane.
It’s amazing how well Edwards can push our panic buttons as the creatures are manipulated to maximum terrifying effect. I defy you not to jump out of your seat repeatedly. Certainly, you worry for the characters as they continually face mortal danger, especially cute little Isabella Delgado. But manipulation is the name of the game, and it is you, the audience, that the filmmakers are aiming at.
Although the beasts themselves are engrossing and terrifying, what differentiates this film from its “Jurassic World” predecessors is the acting, and it’s wonderful. The chemistry between Scarlett Johansson (Zora) and Jonathan Bailey (Loomis) is palpable but almost chaste. Each is attracted to the other sexually and intellectually, but it’s not distracting from the course at hand. It doesn’t hurt that they are both incredibly beautiful. They effectively sell their persona—the petite Johansson as a kickass mercenary and Bailey as a super brain. Mahershala Ali (Kincaid), with his two Academy Awards, is on hand to lend acting depth and fatherly protection, while Rupert Friend (Krebs) plays the villain quite well. The Delgado family led by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Reuben, the father, is less effective but the filmmakers felt the need to add vulnerable civilians into the mix. Personally, I felt they slowed down the action, but then that’s akin to clubbing a baby seal when you don’t get worked up about an 11-year-old on the threshold of being gobbled by a mutant dinosaur or bonding with an animatronic baby Aquilops she names Dolores.
The production design by James Clyne, the locations in Thailand and Malta, the cinematography by John Mathieson and the VFX departments should share top billing with the animatronics designers because the movie is as much about the people fighting nature as it is about the creatures they’re fighting.
The premise may be ridiculous, but the movie works. It needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible with an audience to get the full fear factor. You’ll jump, you’ll scream, you’ll hold your breath, but most of all, you’ll be entertained.
The film is now playing at AMC, Laemmle and Cinemark theaters throughout Los Angeles.
Neely Swanson spent most of her professional career in the television industry, almost all of it working for David E. Kelley. In her last full-time position as Executive Vice President of Development, she reviewed writer submissions and targeted content for adaptation. As she has often said, she did book reports for a living. For several years she was a freelance writer for “Written By,” the magazine of the WGA West, and was adjunct faculty at USC in the writing division of the School of Cinematic Arts. Neely has been writing film and television reviews for the “Easy Reader” for more than 10 years. Her past reviews can be read on Rotten Tomatoes where she is a tomatometer-approved critic.
