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Jurassic World Rebirth: A Missed Opportunity in Paradise
- Sakshi D
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 30
After the chaos of Dominion, Jurassic World Rebirth feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s not perfect (far from it), but there’s something comforting about a straightforward survival story on a dinosaur-filled island.
That said, I walked out feeling like this could have been so much more.
TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿/5
What is Jurassic World Rebirth About?
Scarlett Johansson plays Zora, a tough-as-nails mercenary who leads a team to some tropical island to steal dinosaur blood. Why? To cure heart disease, apparently. Don’t think too hard about it—the movie sure doesn’t.
Along the way, they bump into a family whose boat trip went very, very wrong. Now everyone’s stuck together, trying not to become dino snacks while completing their mission.
It’s basically “let’s go back to a simple survival story” after the hot mess that was Dominion.
Good idea in theory. Terrible execution in practice.
The Good Stuff
I’ll give credit where it’s due—this movie looks gorgeous. Gareth Edwards knows how to make monsters feel massive and terrifying. When the Mosasaurus shows up, you actually feel like you’re staring at a real sea monster.
The island shots are Instagram-worthy (no, I don’t wish I were there).
But here’s the thing about pretty pictures: they don’t save bad movies. They just make you wish you were watching a nature documentary instead.
The People Problem
Scarlett Johansson tries her best, but Zora is basically every “tough girl with a secret heart” character you’ve ever seen. She’s mean, then nice, then mean again, depending on what the script needs.
The rest of the team? They’re fine, I guess. Jonathan Bailey’s the science guy who questions everything. Mahershala Ali owns a boat because someone always has to own the boat.
But here’s my biggest gripe—we’re supposed to care about these people on a dangerous mission, but the movie barely introduces them before throwing them into chaos. It’s like meeting someone at a party and immediately being asked to help them move.
Where Are All The Dinosaurs?
This is the part that really gets me. You call your movie JURASSIC WORLD and then give us maybe five different dinosaur species? Come on! I came here to see prehistoric chaos, not a nature walk.
I get that they’re supposed to be extinct. Really, I get it. But why make the movie at all if you don’t have anything to show?
The T-Rex—THE T-REX—shows up for like ten minutes and does absolutely nothing memorable. Remember when the T-Rex in the original movie was a character? This one’s basically expensive window dressing.
As a side note, here is what people on Reddit thought about this dino.
And don’t get me started on the big bad monster at the end. It’s supposed to be this terrifying hybrid thing (aka Distortus Rex), but it feels like the movie ran out of budget and creativity at the same time.
The Action
When dinosaurs actually show up, some scenes work. The water sequences are cool, and there’s this one moment with a river chase that had potential. But for every decent action beat, there’s a setup so stupid it makes your brain hurt.
Characters make the dumbest decisions just to move the plot forward. Not “oh no, I’m scared” dumb decisions—“did a committee write this?” dumb decisions.
The Final Verdict
My friend summed it up perfectly after we walked out: “It was generic.” That’s it. That’s the whole problem.
This movie had everything going for it—great cast, talented director, a chance to fix the franchise’s mistakes. It just missed the mark.
The worst part? You can see the better movie hiding underneath all the mediocrity. There are moments—brief ones—where you remember why you love this franchise. Then the movie remembers it has a quota of explosions to hit.
Should You Watch It? Nah...
Only if you’re absolutely desperate for dinosaur content and don’t mind feeling disappointed afterward. Otherwise, just rewatch the original trilogy and remember when these movies knew how to make us believe in magic.
What did you think? Did this movie work for you, or are you as bummed as I am? Drop your thoughts below. I need to know I’m not the only one who expected better.
