4K Review: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

Gareth Edwards takes over the reins for Jurassic World Rebirth which brings Scarlett Johansson into the franchise.

The Movie

Once again written by David Koepp, Rebirth adopts the conceit that there was a D&R (research and development) island near the original Jurassic World island where scientists were playing god and cooking up mutated dinos to keep audience interest*.

*Ironically this feels like Koepp telling on himself considering the climax of the film is comprised of made up dinosaurs like “mutadons” (raptors that have pelican pouches and can fly) and a “Distortus Rex” (which looks like a T-Rex mixed with the monster from Cloverfield)

Enter shady businessman Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend, laying the villain role on a bit thick). He recruits a team of mercenaries, lead by Johansson’s Zora and assisted by Ali’s Duncan Kincaid, as well as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey), to get in, grab three key samples, and abscond to the tune of millions.

It’s all a moot excuse to get everyone onto a boat and kick off a new adventure, though it’s only half the story since there’s a family – because a Jurassic film has to have kids – that gets embroiled in the heist, as well.

Truth is, the plot is immaterial apart from the memorable dino set pieces, a few Red Shirt deaths and the insatiable hope that David Iacono‘s terrible boyfriend character Xavier will get eaten (spoilers: he doesn’t and that’s a shame).

With that said, let’s run down the aforementioned set pieces:

1. Opening Lab Disaster: The film kicks off with a decent, but not spectacular opening. This is *fine* principally because it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Edwards knows how to shoot giant creatures coming out of the fog/mist (see: 2014’s Godzilla) so this tease of the Distortus Rex mostly works.
2. Mariposa Capsize: Aside from introducing the Delgado family – patriarch Ruben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), College-bound daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise) and youngest Isabella (adorable Audrina Miranda) – this water-based sequence also introduces the Mosasaurus, which will figure much more prominently in the…
3. Essex Attack: Arguably the better of Rebirth‘s two water sequences, this one stands out because someone (ie: Ed Skrein‘s Bobby Atwater) actually bites it. It’s also more sustained and involves different a better variety of action than simply flipping a boat. Bonus points to Nina (Philippine Velge) for surviving this whole sequence only to get gobbled by a Spinosaurus on the beach.
4. Titanosaurus Field: This could be considered less of a set piece, but it is undeniably the film’s single best emotional moment. It’s obviously trying hard to replicate the wonder of Dr. Grant and Dr. Sadler’s arrival in the original Jurassic Park, but Bailey sells Loomis’ tearful reaction so well, this quieter moment immediately stands out as one of the film’s highlights.
5. Inca Temple: Never mind the practical questions of how anyone gets around a dense, overgrown jungle so quickly (nevermind to the top of this cliff), but Nora and Loomis’ efforts to collect the Quetzalcoatlus DNA is fun. It’s not the best set piece by far, but the cliffhanger antics are solid. If anything, this portion of the film needed a few beats to breathe (though Bechir Sylvain‘s LeClerc getting gulped at the last second is memorable).
6. T-Rex River Attack: This is arguably the highlight of the film. Not only do the characters feel like they are in genuine peril, this sequence dates back all the way back to Michael Crichton’s original book. Kudos to Koepp for including it and to Edwards for executing it in such an exciting fashion.
7. Mini-Mart: While Rebirth isn’t as dependent on homages as, say, Jurassic World, this sequence is so indebted to Park‘s kitchen sequence that it is robbed of nearly all of its effectiveness. Seeing the Delgrados move around a convenience should be exciting, but it’s hard not to spend this sequence comparing it to Lex, Tim and the raptors.
8. Distortus Rex: The climax is technically doing what it needs to, but it’s winds up feeling overly familiar and a little underwhelming. I can get behind the helicopter being snatched out of mid-air and the tunnel stuff , but Duncan arbitrarily sacrificing himself only for the film to walk it back? Feels like weak sauce (To be clear: not because Ali’s character should have died; Koepp’s script should have never put him in that position).

Rebirth does contain several stand-out set pieces that could be considered among the franchise’s best. The issue is that as the film progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Koepp’s structure has divided the film into two storylines that never quite mesh. When everyone meets up in the finale, it has become evident how unimportant any of the individual narratives are (Zora’s recent loss on a job; the debate about sale of dino DNA or making it freely available, and anything to do with the Delgrado family). Characters don’t matter, so there’s no emotional arc or catharsis aside from the weak gesture about Zora shifting away from capitalistic individualism.

Overall: Rebirth‘s dino action is good. But characters that we actually care about (as opposed to actors that we like)? Meh, this is just another Jurassic sequel.

Special Features

This 4K disc is stacked with bonus content (more than one hour, all of which is available with captioning because Universal finally heard my prayer!)

The on-set interviews confirm that Scarlett is so obviously pumped about finally being in a Jurassic film, while Bailey and Ali are appropriately philosophical about the film’s themes, and Edwards is self-effacing about contributing to such a historical franchise (also: his lament about the decision to shoot on the water is pretty funny).

The main reason to purchase the disc are the six featurettes which break down the film’s many set pieces. These include fun tidbits like how isolated Thailand’s Koh Kradan island is (2.5 hours from airport to port, then travel between two islands via ferry & boat); the factoid that fully 35 minutes of this film takes place on water; and that the T-Rex river sequence was shot in three different locations (a lagoon in Thailand, water tanks in Malta, and the former Olympic village in London).

While short, the “Meet Dolores” featurette highlights the puppeteers who operate Isabella’s pet dinosaur and showcases the cast interacting with the creature’s three different models (two animatronics and one stuffed). Several cast members also highlight how convincing the creature design is and you can understand why when you see it move in between takes!

There are a few other special features, though they are less memorable:

• The alternate opening is so brief and hardly different that it’s practically not worth watching, while the two deleted scenes are merely extensions of existing moments in the film.
• “Munched: Becoming Dino Food” allows each Red Shirt actor to opportunity to laugh about their character’s demise, but is basically just a rehash of their scene in the film.
• The gag reel is particularly disappointing due to its brevity. With that said, seeing Bailey repeatedly lose his slutty little glasses during the action is lovely.

There are also two audio commentaries for those who want hear Edwards, production designer James Clyne, visual effects supervisor David Vickery and first assistant director Jack Ravenscroft talk over the film.

• Movie: 3.5/5
• Disc: 4/5

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Jurassic World Rebirth is now available on 4K, Blu Ray and VOD from Universal Home Pictures Entertainment