Jurassic World Rebirth Review: Scarlett Johansson Leads the Charge, And Here’s Why It Works

Jurassic World Rebirth is set many years after humans and dinosaurs have been forced to co-exist. Dinosaurs no longer pique public interest and are mostly ageing, dying or causing traffic jams.

Then comes along a shady corporation with its intent of using dino DNA in medical science. They rope in a team, led by Scarlett Johansson’s Zora, to explore areas near the equator where it’s illegal for humans to travel. No journey to an area with thriving dinosaurs is expected to be smooth, and the group is battered in an attempt to survive the island and collect the required samples.

There’s not much strikingly new or different about this edition, except that it finally had a whiff of the nostalgia of the OG movies. It is marked by genuine performances rooted in empathy and care, which makes one root for the characters. It has thrills, larger-than-life action sequences, but also very human, tender moments.

Read: Jurassic World Rebirth Twitter Review: Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey Impress, 'Story Falls Flat' Say Fans

With a female lead for the first time, the movie packs a punch, something that had been lacking in the last two editions. We explore how.

Scarlett Johansson, The Standalone First Female Lead

Without Chris Pratt, the actor who helmed the last three movies, the movie rests on the more-than-capable shoulders of Scarlett Johansson. She is the first standalone female lead that the franchise has ever seen.

She’s easy to empathise with and genuinely funny. Unlike a lot of the actresses in the previous movies, she’s easygoing and adds a dash of breeziness to the flow of the movie. There are jokes and punchlines, as well as tears, fight sequences and tense moments, that show her range as an actor.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scarlett Johansson (@scarlettjohanssonworld)

She’s not overtly sexualised, or treated as merely a romantic interest in any way, something movies of this genre are prone to doing. In fact, this may be the first film in the entire series, which has no romance at all, despite the palpable chemistry between Zora and Dr. Henry Loomis, played by Jonathan Bailey.

It’s refreshing to see a female lead not rooted in tension and fear, but leading from the front. She never waits for a man to come rescue her or offer protection, but instead helps everyone around her remain safe.

Jurassic World Rebirth: What The Film Gets Right

Unlike the last mega production, which reunited stars from both the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World series in one movie, only to make it confusing and complicated, this one sticks to a formula that has proven to work. It packs in thrill, edge-of-seat action sequences and shows dinosaurs in their scary, overwhelming and natural form. It’s genuinely gripping moments remind one of the nostalgia of why these films worked in the first place – dinosaurs are thrilling and scary on the big screen.

It doesn’t show dinosaurs in the real world, which feels odd and unfamiliar, but in their natural habitat. It doesn’t show them running across crowded streets, but thriving in oceans and jungles, which creates a sense of ‘it could be real’, rather than feeling too disconnected. It shows them lurking in shadows, creeping up to unsuspecting characters, and emerging from unexpected landscapes.

Read: Deepika Padukone’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Comes at a Price: Here’s How Much It Costs

The primary reason people enjoy the Jurassic series is the dinosaurs. This one recognises and honours that, giving us several different dinosaurs – some huge, some friendly, some scary, some tiny and one that could even be made a pet!

The movie is breezy at times, and unexpectedly tense at others. There’s genuine tenderness and excitement in some moments, and fear in others. It’s this delicate balance that makes this movie stand out. It also has a moral dilemma at the centre of it. Despite some portions being a bit of a drag and some plot points feeling very predictable, the film touches a chord.

The charm of the series is undeniable, and it explains why the film has had a terrific box office opening and has topped $100 million globally within a few days of it’s release.