Jurassic Park raptured our hearts and adventurous spirits 32 years ago in 1993. Our rose colored glasses of hope that dinosaurs could successfully exist among us were quickly removed by the revelation of consequences exposed in the first film. That lesson was relearned in the sequels. Life may find a way, but is it worth testing its fierceness and how far it will go?
With the reboot of Jurassic Park in 2015, titled Jurassic World, we saw our fears from the original film play out for a fourth time with a fresh new cast. With a little more diversity overall, newer science, updated technology, and all the wisdom from the first attempt at Jurassic Park, one would imagine things would go a lot more smoothly. Still, mankind is as stubborn as life’s desire to find a way. The consequences and lessons initially learned hadn’t changed since the nineties, and with the following two sequels the theme stayed the same with an exciting splash of genetic alterations. When Jurassic World: Rebirth was announced I couldn’t help but wonder how many more times can we make the same mistakes?
As a lover of the books that inspired the films, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, I was more than delighted to see the world still being explored on the big screen. I was also equally doubtful that there was much left to explore. Jurassic World: Rebirth drops us in the aftermath of a world full of free, cloned, experimental, and genetically altered dinosaurs exposed to a completely new environment unlike the Jurassic climate their DNA is accustomed to. An abandoned lab lies on a deserted island, travel banned by the government. This is the destination of our all new cast lead by Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend, Johnathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali. While our lead cast is cookie-cutter-diverse, with one female, one black, one LGBTQ+, and a straight white actor, our supporting cast redeems the generic inclusive efforts by being incredibly diverse. The full cast ranges in nationality, skin tone, gender and sexual orientation, both on screen and off, making this the most diverse Jurassic film yet! While it’s inspiring to see people that look like you on screen, it’s hard not to wonder how soon they’ll get killed off in stories with such high stakes. I am happy to say viewers can be at ease for once and relax. Setting out to a forbidden island of forgotten research and genetically engineered dinosaurs, it doesn’t take long before the action ensues! Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) embark on a mission to get samples that will make an exceptional profit and could change the world forever. With unreliable characters and traumatic backstories that give everyone a reason to press on, it quickly becomes clear who we can trust and who we cannot.
The cliches of the “slutty” or “black” one dying first is abandoned without hesitation in this story. The feral and ravenous dinosaurs don’t favor anyone in this film, everyone is at risk and fair game. Inclusive stories are only really fair when there are equally inclusive chances of bad luck. Zora’s crew rescues a family whose boat capsized at sea. Just as soon as their journeys intertwine, they become separated and arrive at their destination needing to be rescued rather than admired as brave explorers.
Packed with back to back action, Jurassic World: Rebirth takes us on an adventurous tour of a few classic dinosaurs and quite a few new species of dinosaurs as well. Set on the tropical lle Saint-Hubert, or Site C, where a research facility where dinosaurs were bred for the park, we follow the two groups on their separate journeys to the only helicopter pad on the island, in hopes to be rescued before it’s too late. Not a moment of rest is offered for the viewer when watching this film. Just when you catch your breath or get your heart to stop racing, the story takes you by surprise again. The character arcs, story climax, and unexpected end will have you rooting for the characters that quickly steal your heart throughout their journey. Without a second thought of restoring fantasies of the past, a new scientific breakthrough is the pursuit this time around. A fun time for dinosaur lovers or Jurassic Park fans, Jurassic World: Rebirth is worth the watch and a satisfying thrill.
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