Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Scarlett Johannson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise, Audrina Miranda, David Iacono
It took me a moment or two to recall the name of the previous Jurassic World installment (it's called Jurassic World: Dominion for the record), but that's when I realized none of the Jurassic World series has been memorable. They all bleed into each other, with the common theme that dinosaurs that have been resurrected after millions of years of being extinct are hunted by people for their own purposes. There is no wonder or mystique about them. They are either creatures to be weaponized, hunted, or evaded. I'm sure by the time the next Jurassic World movie is released, I will have forgotten this one.
A quick recap of this one: It has been thirty years since dinosaurs were reintroduced to the world in Jurassic Park. The world is no longer fascinated with them. The public's attitude is "been there, done that" and in the beginning of the movie, a museum exhibit is being closed due to lack of public interest. A Big Pharma executive (Friend) concocts a mission for mercenaries to travel to the island on the equator where dinosaurs can still roam and draw their blood to use for a revolutionary drug. He enlists Zora Bennett (Johannson) and her crew to travel there for this dangerous journey. Zora comes at a high price and has performed many an assignment of this type.
The movie also introduces a family sailing in the ocean which is attacked by a dinosaur (not sure which one) and are rescued by Zora's boat. They are now part of the action, mostly because it wouldn't be a Jurassic Park/World movie without children or teenagers being in danger. If you look at the cast, these are actors with clout and credentials (Ali is a two-time Oscar winner). Are they slumming? Not exactly, because Jurassic World: Rebirth is a high-budget spectacle and I'm sure they were paid handsomely, but this is a movie that didn't need a cast like this to make money. Not that I would blame them for accepting the work or the salary involved.
Jurassic World: Rebirth is a ho-hum affair. The actors do their best to make it a deeper film and add dimensions to stock characters, but just like the public feels about dinosaurs in this movie, we can't help but say, "Been there, done that,"
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