Jurassic World: Rebirth is officially out today, July 2, 2025. It serves as the next installment in the lengthy series of films about dinosaurs. The new film was directed by Gareth Edwards and is a reboot of the storyline, five years after the events of Jurassic World: Dominion. With a new cast and a new expedition, the new film sets to reinvigorate the magic of the original Jurassic Park, which became a worldwide phenomenon.
The film stars Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett, a highly skilled covert agent whom leads her team to a quarantined island, tasked with retrieving dinosaur DNA. Among her teammates are characters played by Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, and Rupert Friend. The mission quickly takes a turn for the worst as they contend with prehistoric dangers with humans far from being the top of the food chain.
In one memorable scene, all hell breaks loose when a T. rex attacks during a chase down the river – a scene that comes directly from Michael Crichton's original novel and never appeared in any of the previous films. Fans of the franchise have been waiting for a scene like that to grace our screens. Those who watched it early said it captures the drama and spectacle fans were looking for.
The film also features new dinosaurs, including a new species Distortus rex that is created for this film. It's described as having six limbs and a crazy disruptor that can ambush an unsuspecting animal in utter silence. The filmmakers decided to use a combination of real locations, practical effects, and animatronics so that the dinosaurs looked and felt more real than heavily computerized models.
Alexandre Desplat created the music for the film, including some notes from John Williams’ theme from Jurassic Park with Desplat’s dramatic sensibilities. The score has received praise along with practical effects and fast-paced action sequences that the film is full of.
While the visuals and the action the film delivers have received feelings of applause, the reviews for Jurassic World: Rebirth are more mixed overall. Critics have observed that the movie looks good, and has some exhilarating moments for the audience, the plot, at least, felt familiar and the characters left much to be desired and were not realized.
Some periodicals have been extremely complimentary of the film, stating that it reboots the franchise in an enjoyable way and reflects the adventure element of the previous films of the franchise. They focused on how enjoyable Scarlett Johannson is in the film, the suspenseful dinosaur encounters return for audiences, and that the production design was very detailed and done well.
Others, such as Vanity Fair and the Houston Chronicle were less than complimentary stating that the movie is "safe", and lacked emotional connection to audience viewers. They stress that while the film is action oriented, it should be all even more surprisingly different and considerably more fun.
Public reactions are also polarized. Early fan audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes have been mostly positive, the film holding an average of 4.5/5 stars. Some audience members laud the practical effects and action sequences, while others felt that the filmmakers relied more on style than substance.
Jurassic World: Rebirth Brings Back Dino Thrills
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’: Critics Split Between Roar & Meh
Despite winning over long-time fans, Jurassic World: Rebirth will likely pack theaters because of the extended franchise legacy and summer release. It's too early to determine if this reboot will usher in a new age of Jurassic films or if this will be a one-off return.
