Aaron Ploof
Jurassic Park had a brilliant screenplay. Not only did the film have interesting characters, but it also had something of interest to say. Actually, as a whole, the film solidified itself as a classic. Back in 1993, when the T-Rex first stomped into our theatres, the movie wowed us with its visuals, uplifted us with its majestic John Williams score, and had us on the edge of our seats with its frantic and fast-paced action scenes. No one forgets the climax of the film, the T-Rex bellowing out a roar, a banner falling reading, “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.” Indeed, it seemed as if dinosaur fever had taken hold of the world, and dinos truly did have dominion.
A Little Jurassic World History
Then, The Lost World was released. It upped the ante by bringing the mighty T-Rex mainland, but unlike the original installment, it didn’t have much thematically to say. Once again, corporate greed and playing God were the pitfalls that were warned against. Family and relationship themes were brought up again, too, but to middling effect. They didn’t warm our hearts like Dr. Alan Grant’s bond with Lex and Tim. This was a fine follow-up, but it didn’t match the impact of the original.
Jurassic Park 3 came out. It also paled in comparison to what came before. Then, years later, there was the initial Jurassic World trilogy, which I can’t remember much of, if that says anything.
Now we have Jurassic World: Rebirth. The title implies a new beginning, a resurgence. One might hope this would be in quality, because the original screenwriter of the first two installments, David Koepp has returned to pen the screenplay. Sadly, this is not the case. I’m here to report that Jurassic World: Rebirth is every bit derivative of the original as I was afraid it might be.
The Mission at Hand
The film starts fine enough. After an intense, and honestly engaging and horrific prologue, we’re introduced to mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlet Johansson), who’s hired by pharmaceutical representative Martin Krebbs (Rupert Friend) to create a team in order to gather the genetic material of the three largest prehistoric dinos on earth. If collected, the dino’s blood promises a new treatment for heart disease. This is video game-based plot if there ever was one.
These dinosaurs live in a specifically quarantined area of the world, separate from the rest of society. See, since the events of the Jurassic World trilogy, dinosaurs have begun to die off due to the inhospitable nature of the climate. But this shouldn’t be a problem for Bennett, as she doesn’t have an issue with breaking the law. Zora recruits an old friend, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to lead the pack. They also bring along paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Wicked’s Jonathon Bailey).
The team leaves for Ile Saint Hubert, the location from the prologue of the film. Only on this island, where genetically mutated dinosaurs were created, can they find their genetic material.
Yet on their way there, a completely separate storyline occurs. Father Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters, Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda) and lazy ass boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono), are sailing around the island. Why are they spending time sailing in such incredibly dangerous waters? It’s never explained, other than that they’re stupid, as one other character states. The same dino that Zora’s crew is looking for wrecks their boat, so they join up.
Eventually, the group finds their way to the island and is separated, and that’s where the film’s problems truly begin.
Separation Breeds Boredom
Two separate storylines feel like two separate films, and there’s no way to escape this. The fact that the two films don’t tie together thematically adds to this feeling.
The characters from both storylines are further developed with the broadest of strokes. Johansson’s Zora is presented as a somewhat ethical mercenary with a slightly dubious moral code, in mourning of a fallen comrade, who is given a chance at redemption. Krebbs is the villain. Loomis is the do-gooder. The other characters don’t fare much better. Reuben has no respect for his daughter Teresa’s boyfriend, but somewhat gains some? It’s unclear, since the arc goes nowhere. Reuben loves his daughters, and his daughters love him. The youngest, Isabella, adopts a baby pet dino, which will surely die from climate change if brought home.
Not Matching Up
The film seems to aim for character drama, ala the original Jurassic Park, but despite adequate performances, their archetypal natures never matched the originality of characters like Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcom, or Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond. This leads to the film’s other issue. With characters so weakly developed, I have problems caring about the action. There are a few well done, original action scenes, including one taken directly from the original novel, in which characters have to escape from a T-Rex in a raft.
Other scenes, however, mimic the original too closely. There’s a callback to the raptor in the kitchen scene (complete with claw tapping), and a close imitation of the Brontosaurus reveal scene. There’s even a sequence that attempts to replicate Jurassic Park’s closing shot. All fail to impress.
The themes of the film are also a retread of what has come before. A greedy company, aiming to make a profit of what should be left alone. A family undergoing drama. All of these ideas have been explored before, and to better effect, in previous films.
Finally, the plot is extremely predictable. There are no twists, no turns, and everything you expect to play out follows suit. The body count is extremely low. Kids are, of course, not on the chopping block, so any suspense that would be present when they are in danger is null. The movie proceeds at the pace of a brain-dead stegosaurus. It’s flat as flat can be.
Originality Sorely Needed
With themes, ideas, and actual sequences that too closely resemble not only the original Jurassic Park, but also its sequels, Jurassic World: Rebirth is a film that fails to live up to its original namesake. Even performances from strong actors fail to uplift the material, since the characters they play fail to gain interest. The movie checks all the marks and is written to fit a list. Ironically, this is corporate greed at its finest.
No matter how many mutations, alterations, or iterations the creators of this series make to it, one thing is abundantly clear. Original ideas in this series are sorely needed. Otherwise, the Jurassic World movies deserve to go extinct. Life is assuredly not finding a way.
Score: 5/10
Jurassic World: Rebirth is now playing nationwide in theatres.
