Kicking off the “big three” of blockbuster films this month (“Jurassic World Rebirth,” “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”), “Jurassic World Rebirth” doesn’t make for a strong start as it’s just the same familiar beats we’ve all seen before. 

I’ve been turned off from the Jurassic franchise ever since “Jurassic World” (2015) but decided to give the franchise the benefit of the doubt with the latest installment being rather separate from everything prior, allowing for a truly individualistic story to be told. 

The film follows the rich pharmaceutical agent Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) enlisting Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to infiltrate the island where genetic testing for the original Jurassic Park was done. 

I wish I could say these actors are entertaining to watch together, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Not a single one of them has chemistry with another and all of their scenes are plagued by questionable writing that often has them repeat something already said or explicitly tell the audience what’s happening. 

It’s not even like the film is trying to hold the audience’s hand, it’s more so like the film was trying to explain to the kids in my theater what was happening as if they couldn’t gather that from just paying attention. 

The film’s first half-hour starts off pretty slow, but the plot picks up once the crew starts their task of retrieving blood samples from the three largest living dinosaurs across the sea, land and air to create a revolutionary drug that could increase humanity’s lifespan. 

Seems simple enough, right? Well, not so fast. 

This island features a mix of mutated and regular dinosaurs that attack the main crew often as per usual with this franchise. 

I was never a huge fan of the mutated dinosaurs, so balancing the two here really helps the film feel more in line with the Jurassic Park trilogy as the fear instilled by the more recognizable dinosaurs is front and center once again. 

The same could’ve happened with the mutated dinosaurs, but the trailers sold away all of that from the very beginning. 

One mutated dinosaur is designated the D-Rex and only really appears briefly in the opening scene and throughout the third act.  

Knowing it was coming thanks to the trailer ruined that part of the film. If the trailers omitted the scenes with the D-Rex, there would’ve been a lot more horror to go along with it. 

Horror is something this franchise has been lacking for a long time, and I really wish this was the film that capitalized on it. 

For example, there is a subplot involving a family stranded on the island that adapts a raft sequence from Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” novel that the original film was based on.  

This scene is rather tense and engaging but all the horror aspects of it feel ripped away to keep things PG-13. 

Despite this, there are some positives to “Jurassic World Rebirth” that I hadn’t felt from the franchise in a long time. 

The cinematography is really strong as intense scenes are typically shot wider to allow for the scale of the dinosaurs and the environments to be a part of the tension. 

On the flip side, there are plenty of calming wide shots that feature Alexandre Desplat utilizing the iconic motifs created by John Williams to freeze the audience in awe while creating new works that fit a variety of emotions whether it be wonder or sadness. 

The design of the film is also incredible and has been a strong suit of the franchise from the very start.  

If you’ve seen anything from this franchise before, you can guess what everything looks like pretty well, but the mutated dinosaurs are truly stunning. 

Despite the short appearances, the D-Rex having a design inspired by the Rancor from Star Wars made it a standout among the rest. 

Aside from the occasional mutant dinosaurs, “Jurassic World Rebirth” isn’t anything that different from what the franchise has already shown us. 

The plot continues to follow a group going to a dinosaur-infested island and trying to escape the acting and writing aren’t strong whatsoever, but the cinematography and design still capture like always. 

Failing to do anything unique with this film results in it feeling like the same old, same old. 

Rating: 2/5