For the first time in my life I was not excited to watch a new Jurassic Park movie. While I enjoyed the Jurassic World Trilogy, I was not sure there were stories I’d like to see told from that era. Every bit of information about Jurassic World rebirth sounded horrible, the rushed release date and problems. The first trailer only confirmed my fears, a mutant monsters in Jurassic Park that seemed straight out of a b-movie direct to video sequel. But then it hit me, that’s a story I would’ve enjoyed in a Jurassic Park video game or comic book. Suspension of disbelief is different, and this movie is if they had done a big budget movie out of a cheesy Jurassic comic…and that’s somethign I could enjoy…
This movie was very different from what I expected and I have to say that I liked it. It’s not without its faults and shortcomings but it might be one of the better Jurassic Park sequels. In a way it’s more of the Jurassic Park 2 I wanted to see as a kid and from The Lost World / Fallen Kingdom movies. It also doesn’t feel like a movie but more of a spin-off or side story, but that’s actually its strength. Like Jurassic Park /// before it. It’s a simple story but it’s mainly there to get you through the adventure and it’s a side story that I wanted to see after Jurassic World.
Let’s talk about retcons, I didn’t mind the explanation they gave as to why the dinosaurs are no longer living everywhere on earth. We’ve seen this happen in real life with populations not native to an ecosystem explode in numbers only to collapse shortly after. I don’t like how they give this explanation in the prologue, feels unecessary since they explain it three more times during the actual movie which does a much better job at it. First to Zora, then as a video, and later on the boat. I actually prefer this less populated dinosaur world. They also re-state dinosaurs are no longer that interesting to people like in the first Jurassic World movie, which is weird but hey not the first time they do it.
The other big flaw is the mutants, although it’s explained they’re hybrids. This new island does not make too much sense either in continuity but whatever, at least the mutants being failed hybrids is much better. They have no real importance to the plot and feel like something the studio forced on them. The flying raptor mutadon is ok but could’ve easily been any dinosaur or just raptors. The D-Rex would’ve been better had it been any other T-Rex like dinosaur, but the stupid kaiju proportions and behavior really took me out of the movie, how did it even escape and survive? Ugh, whatever. should’ve been kept more of a in a lab reival moment instead of the big dinosaur to escape from at the end.
Now that I have that out of my system, the dinosaur scenes are probably some of the best the franchise has ever had, they’re great. I also liked most of the characters, even if you knew who was going to die and Dolores was handled well enough. This also had some of the best CG, not as many callbacks. Despite the rushed and red flags the movie had, it delivered in giving the dinosaurs their rightful place.
And with that I am not confident on what the franchise could do after this movie. If it does more side stories like this I’d be open for it, or even a prequel, I’m just afraid of what they can do with it. For example I woudn’t mind them expanding on the hybrid idea a la Chaos Effect. I do think Rebirth is a fresh of breath air after the Jurassic World Trilogy which I do like but it was getting too wild for me.