“Jurassic World: Rebirth” is simply a fantastic movie. Not only is it original in its story, but the visual effects are superb. The tension of the action is often non-stop. Sometimes gruesome in its violence, it also has some nice human-interest angles which are not overdone at the expense of the thrills.

Seventeen years ago, InGen set up a secret lab on the island of Ile Saint-Hubert near French Guiana. The company was creating hybrid dinosaurs. In some cases, they had success and in others failure. One day a system shorts out that causes the dinosaurs to be uncaged. One mutant T-Rex eats someone. The island is abandoned for further research.

In the present, it is bad news for the dinosaurs. Since their introduction and integration into the real world, climate change is killing most of them. They are able to survive in a tropical zone around the equator. Humans are forbidden to travel there.

Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) is looking for Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson). In the background in New York City, another dinosaur is on its last legs. Zora suddenly appears in his car. Martin wants a person to go on a secret expedition to Ile-Saint-Hubert who will not ask questions. After quoting a high-figure salary to her, she agrees.

They go to a museum which is closing up its dinosaur exhibits. No one cares about the dinosaurs anymore. They meet a consultant, Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), for Krebs’ pharmaceutical company.

Martin reveals that he is seeking to get 3 blood samples from the biggest of 3 dinosaur species, Titanosaurus (land), Mosasaurus (sea) and Quetzelcoatlus (air). He believes that a heart drug can be developed that will extend human life by possibly 20 years. Dr. Loomis did not realize that he is being recruited for the expedition to the island, but readily agrees to go.

They need a boat to go to the island. Zora seeks out her old colleague Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali). They create an elaborate story to get him on board. He agrees to lead the team to the island.

In a side story, somewhere on the water is La Mariposa, a boat captained by Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). He is accompanied by his older daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise) and his very young daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda). Also on board is Teresa’s deadbeat boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono).

They are heading across the Atlantic when their ship gets bumped. Suddenly they see a Mosasaurus heading their way. It capsizes their craft. They all manage to get onto the overturned vessel. A mayday message is sent at regular intervals.

On the open sea now, Kincaid’s team is able to get a sample from the Mosasaurus. Hearing the mayday, Kincaid ignores Krebs to go rescue the Delgados. As they approach the target island multiple Spinosaurus, who help the Mosasaurus hunt, encroach on the ship. When the aquatic dinosaurs are attacked by an overzealous crew member, all hell breaks loose. The ship is forced to try to outrun a Mosasaurus.

In the process of this flight to safe harbor, all of the Delgados end up going overboard. Kincaid’s boat crash-lands onto the shore. Who will survive on Ile Saint-Hubert?

I had low expectations going into this film. I honestly thought after the last movie in the franchise, there was nowhere else to go. This picture not only exceeded my expectations, but went to another level in the Jurassic Park/World series.

Part of the reason for this success is no doubt the visual effects. Director Gareth Edwards has background in working with CGI, so this made him a perfect choice to helm the film. The dinosaurs are realistic, scary, and at times awe-inspiring in their majesty. When they try to get the blood sample from the eggs of the Quetzalcoatlus in its cliff aerie, the scenes are vertiginous and breath-taking. The mutant T-Rex is a masterpiece of genetically-created fright.

Other elements of the movie also add to its superb pacing and tension. The chase sequence in the boat that crashes onto the island is riveting. The scene with the Delgados in an inflatable raft escaping a T-Rex has great underwater shots.

I will say that I thought that the picture took a while to get going. It wasn’t until a jump start when the Mosasaurus rams La Mariposa that it really starts to pick up the pace. But from then on, the game is on in terms of action and thrills.

There are some nice human-interest stories as well. Zora and Duncan reminisce about their past associations as covert agents with a touch of sadness. Loomis wishes that the prospective heart drug could be open-sourced instead of proprietary. Xavier, originally portrayed as kind of a beach bum, bonds with the Delgados, especially Reuben, as they take turns keeping watch on the island.

One thing that I did like about the script was the freedom it had from the past installments in the franchise. Carrying along the same characters, with their various issues, film after film does not allow for the ability to innovate and invigorate a new plot-line. The characters here are new and fresh, as are their backstories.

I also liked the arc of this franchise. When the dinosaurs got loose, I honestly thought that the franchise would go into a post-apocalyptic scenario for humans. But instead the story has become melancholy with the demise of the creatures. This was not a direction I envisioned.

Of course you expect superlative acting from actors like Johannson and Ali. They both hit on all cylinders here. Their ability to add subtext with their facial expressions and reactions is remarkable.

But I also enjoyed the performance of Garcia-Rulfo. He is not the perfect parent, but his flaws make him vulnerable in a believable way. His desire to protect his family comes through clearly.

The locations in Thailand are something else. The landscape is so verdant and mystical. It truly seemed like a tropical-island paradise.

The movie is rated PG-13, but some of the scenes of humans being consumed were incredibly gruesome. They reminded me of the pre-code “King Kong”. But I so appreciated the filmmakers’ not fudging on the reality that they were creating.

This picture is so well-made and exciting that I could see it getting one of the 10 Best Picture nods at the Academy Awards.

Five out five stars

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain, Ed Skrein
Director: Gareth Edwards
Screenplay by: David Koepp, based on characters created by Michael Crichton

Website: https://www.jurassicworld.com/