Jurassic World: Rebirth

Five years after Jurassic World Dominion, the dinosaurs have retreated from much of the modern world and survive primarily in remote equatorial regions. That’s exactly where Jurassic World Rebirth sends a small expedition tasked with obtaining genetic material from three massive prehistoric species. Gareth Edwards doesn’t turn this into yet another dinosaur theme park, but rather a damp, dangerous expedition adventure in which it’s clear from the start: humans are the intruders here.

Scarlett Johansson stars as Zora Bennett, a specialist in high-risk missions who takes on the assignment alongside her longtime partner Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). Joining them is paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), whose scientific enthusiasm far outweighs his interest in the mission’s financial motives. The mission is funded by a pharmaceutical company, represented by Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend). The animals’ DNA could be of enormous importance for a drug—and be worth a corresponding amount of money. What sounds like a clearly defined mission on paper becomes more complicated when the group encounters Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and his shipwrecked family. Suddenly, it’s no longer just samples, schedules, and a lucrative contract on the agenda, but human lives.

This is familiar Jurassic territory, but Edwards shifts the balance. The dinosaurs are less like attractions and more like part of an environment in which humans have no say. This works particularly well when the film doesn’t try to keep pulling an even bigger monster out of the digital toolbox, but simply puts its characters in situations from which they need to escape as quickly as possible. A sound in the thicket is enough. A movement in the water. A brief glance in the wrong direction. Then they run.

The cast of characters also benefits from this focus. Zora thinks pragmatically, Duncan knows the cost of such missions, Loomis views the animals with scientific fascination, and Krebs sees above all the value of what they’re supposed to procure. Thus, the central conflict already lies within the group itself. Is this mission truly justified because its outcome could help millions of people? Or is a medical argument being used to once again cross the very line whose disregard made this film series possible in the first place? Rebirth doesn’t turn this into a philosophical lecture. The question simply hangs over the expedition—and becomes more uncomfortable the more dangerous it gets.

Johansson plays Zora with a refreshingly no-nonsense style. She doesn’t need to be a new version of Alan Grant or Owen Grady, but works well as a professional character who soberly assesses dangers and must make quick decisions. Mahershala Ali, as Duncan, brings more calm and personal warmth to the mix, while Jonathan Bailey gives his paleontologist just the right blend of expertise, curiosity, and a touch of megalomania. Rupert Friend, on the other hand, needs only a few scenes as Krebs to make it clear that scientific progress and economic interests aren’t necessarily one and the same here. The cast thus prevents—at least in part—the human characters from being reduced to mere fodder among the dinosaurs.

Technically, Jurassic World: Rebirth is clearly more to Gareth Edwards’ liking than the over-the-top global spectacle of some of its predecessors. His camera loves playing with scale: tiny people, vast landscapes, and even larger animals. Instead of immediately overwhelming every encounter with frantic editing and maximum noise, he lets spaces breathe and threats build before they’re fully visible. The sound design does a significant portion of the work here. Cracking. Breathing. Water. Silence. Movement. Then flight. These moments serve as a reminder that Jurassic Park was originally not just spectacle, but also suspense. Rebirth doesn’t achieve the precision of the original and can never fully break free from the now-familiar franchise mechanics. But Edwards understands something crucial: a dinosaur doesn’t become more threatening simply by being bigger and louder. Sometimes it’s enough simply not to know where it is.

As a result, Rebirth actually feels more like a fresh start within the existing series than the next obligatory installment. Not radically new, not free from blockbuster clichés, and certainly not subtle—but more focused, more visceral, and more suspenseful than a film that’s already the seventh installment in a series spanning more than three decades should really be. And once the expedition has found its rhythm, Edwards works with a delightfully simple formula: Put people in. Take away safety. Bring the dinosaurs closer. Run.