Jurassic World: Rebirth (12A)|Close-Up Film Review
Dir: Gareth Edwards, 2025, US, 134m
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey
Review by Matthew Morlai Kamara
That T-Rex roar hit my chest like thunder, and life was never quite the same afterwards. Now, all these years later, sitting down for Jurassic World: Rebirth felt like tapping back into that wonder and it didn’t disappoint.
Set five years after the events of Dominion, the world has found a way to manage the dinosaur threat by isolating them to secure, tropical regions. But as always with this franchise, the past has teeth. A mission is launched to extract DNA from three colossal prehistoric species—one land, one sea, one air—not for spectacle, but to save lives through genetic medicine.
Scarlett Johansson leads the charge as Zora Bennett, a no-nonsense covert operative with a haunted past. Alongside her are Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), the wide-eyed paleontologist with a heart of gold, and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), who brings gravitas and grit as the team leader. Their destination? The eerie, half-forgotten InGen facility on Ile Saint-Hubert. But what begins as science soon unravels into survival. A shipwrecked family throws the plan into chaos, and the deeper the team digs, the darker the island’s secret becomes.
Director Gareth Edwards brings an old-school sense of tension and pacing that feels more Jurassic Park than Jurassic World. This isn’t just about jump-scares—it’s about what happens when humans think they’ve mastered nature… only to be humbled. While the film occasionally leans into familiar franchise beats and drags slightly in the middle, it’s a tightly constructed thrill ride with just enough emotional weight. The visuals dazzle, but it’s the moral questions and brilliant cast that keep you invested.
Is it as good as the original? No. But is it a worthy successor? Absolutely. Jurassic World: Rebirth earns its place in the pantheon.
