Jurassic World Rebirth delivers roaring thrills and dino-sized action, proving the franchise still has bite 32 years after Jurassic Park.

You never forget your first live-action dinosaur on the big screen—the awe-inspiring moment the brachiosaurus appears for the first time. For me, that came in June 1993. It set me on the path to filmmaking, though the road wasn’t always smooth. It hit at just the right moment, much like it did for actress Scarlett Johansson, who made it her mission to join the Jurassic family. I’m glad it finally worked out—she crushes her performance in Jurassic World Rebirth.

In the Jurassic universe, times have changed in the five years since Jurassic World Dominion. Jurassic World Rebirth makes it clear very early that people don’t have the same interest in dinosaurs that they used to have. But also, Earth’s climate hasn’t really proven suitable for their survival, even with Biosyn Valley. The dinosaurs that have survived are living in tropical climates near the equator.

This may not have been my first Jurassic experience, but I enjoyed every minute of Jurassic World Rebirth. None of these films can repeat what Steven Spielberg did with Jurassic Park, but what they can do is come close. That’s exactly what director Gareth Edwards does here. What I appreciate the film–and this is also a credit to David Koepp’s script–is how it feels like it could have been released in the 1990s. Much like Jurassic Park, they shot with Panavision cameras and anamorphic lenses, using 35mm film. The difference, of course, is all the advances in technology and visual effects.

There are a number of elements working in its favor and I can’t wait to experience it for a second time. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity to watch the two Jurassic trilogies before last week’s AMC Screen Unseen screening of Jurassic World Rebirth. I’ll be making sure to do just that ahead of round two. That’s how much fun I had—it’s a credit to everyone involved, starting with Edwards, screenwriter David Koepp, producers Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, and of course, executive producer Steven Spielberg. Without Spielberg approaching Koepp, this film wouldn’t be opening in summer 2025.

I’ll have more about the film itself below the photo. If you’re reading this before seeing the film, what you need to know is that there’s not an end credits scene. That being said, it’s still worth sitting through the credits to show appreciation for everyone who worked on Jurassic World Rebirth and listening to Alexandre Desplat’s score. Desplat is a newcomer to the Jurassic universe, joining John Williams, Michael Giacchino, and Jurassic Park III‘s Don Davis. Desplat beautifully incorporates the classic Williams theme into the film. Put it this way: it’s a theme that will never not make me nostalgic.

Jurassic Word Rebirth starts with a cold open that sets the tone by going back in time to 17 years earlier. It’s basically the film’s way of introducing us to this island and another accident typical of InGen’s history. When the film makes sure we notice the candy wrapper more than the scientists, you know something’s about to go wrong.

David Koepp’s Jurassic Word Rebirth script finds ways to change things up and keep it fresh while delivering enough nostalgia for longtime friends. With Isla Nublar no longer being an option and Isla Sorna’s dinosaurs having been evacuated years before, we get to spend time on a new island previously used by Ingen for Research and Development, Ile Saint-Hubert in the Atlantic Ocean. The reason being is because ParkerGenix representative Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) wants to use blood from the three most colossal creatures–Quetzalcoatlus (avian), Mosasaurus (aquatic), and Titanosaurus (terrestrial)–to try and find a cure for heart disease.

Krebs recruits covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead the mission. Joining Bennett on the team is paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), who once studied under the great Dr. Alan Grant. With Loomis’s museum work coming to an end, he’s out of the job and needs the work. Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) is the most trusted member of Bennett’s team. But before they can even get to the island and start their work, they go into search and rescue mode: Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and his family were shipwrecked after a run-in with the mosasaurus.

In a way that’s reminiscent of previous Jurassic films, Jurassic World Rebirth splits its time focusing on the two pairs of groups, until they eventually reunite. And when they do, it’s no surprise that more chaos just happens to be on the horizon. You really feel for the Delgado family because they weren’t prepared for this. Sure, they sail the Atlantic Ocean frequently, but they almost certainly didn’t expect to be rescued by a team of people on a top-secret mission miles off the coast of South America. But anyway, their storyline really helps to humanize the film.

I like that things are back to an environment similar to Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Once we get away from New York City, it’s a case of humans entering the dinosaur environment and that’s where these films work so well. You can’t make Jurassic World Rebirth and not have fan service (Crichton Middle School!) so it’s not much of a surprise that they recycle some elements from the earlier films. If you’ve read Crichton’s book, you know that there are scenes outright missing from the original film. One such scene featured Dr. Grant, Tim, and Lex on an inflatable raft in the jungle. This time around, it’s the Delgado family being chased by the T. rex.

I appreciate that Koepp came up with his own commandments while writing Jurassic World Rebirth. In addition to finding room for humor, these films should always be aiming to have its science be plausible. If I can’t buy into the film’s science, then it’s not working. Koepp makes sure to stick to canon, which is why the film features InGen working on mutant dinosaurs. Why they think that people would want to see a Distortus Rex at Jurassic World is beyond me though.

Behind the scenes, Jurassic World Rebirth worked rather quickly with three months of pre-production instead of the usual. The summer 2025 release date also meant having to shorten the film’s post-production schedule from 44 weeks to 32. The post-production schedule can make a very big difference, especially on a blockbuster tentpole of this scale as it mixes both CGI and animatronic dinosaurs. Both Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley were at the helm as producers, while Gareth Edwards signed onto direct. Edwards wasn’t planning on another studio film after making The Creator but here we are.

I don’t know if Jurassic World Rebirth is going to be the first film in a new trilogy. If it is, I’m excited to see where the story goes next. But if this marks the end of the franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth is a satisfying conclusion—a thrilling blend of survival thriller, heist movie, creature feature, and heartfelt tribute to the Spielberg classics that started it all. If isn’t the end, I say bring on whatever story comes next in the franchise!

DIRECTOR: Gareth Edwards
SCREENWRITER: David Koepp
CAST: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Ed Skrein, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain

Universal Pictures will release Jurassic World Rebirth in theaters on July 2, 2025. Grade: 5/5

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