Jurassic World Rebirth is out this week. We’ve been eagerly awaiting this one, as sitting in the director’s chair is one of Shortlist’s top names in modern blockbuster movie-making, Gareth Edwards.
Who has put a big Hollywood budget up on screen more convincingly than the director of Godzilla (2014), Rogue One and The Creator?
So, is Jurassic World Rebirth any good? The answer isn’t a simple one.
Reviews range from 5-star love-ins to one and two-star reviews that long for the day the extended Jurassic Park universe will be laid to rest. And that has led to a questionable 53% Rotten Tomatoes score.
However, even some of the less positive reviews tend to give props to Gareth Edwards’s exciting action scenes. This one may boil down to: how much have the recent, pretty poor, Jurassic World movies soured you on the mere idea of another film in the series?
If you’re not tired to your bones, it sounds like there’s plenty to enjoy. Here are some of the notable critics’ takes, starting with the most positive and rolling straight downhill from there.
The Telegraph’s 5/5 review is positively euphoric, representing basically the best-case scenario we envisioned when we heard Gareth Edwards would take on directing duties for this one.
“It takes a deep, personal love of the medium for a director to deliver such crunchy impact, thrills, spills and euphoric highs while treading anew in footsteps as craterous (and muddy) as they come,” the review reads.
The Guardian liked Jurassic World Rebirth too. It gave the film 4/5 and called it a “return to form” after the pretty dismal Jurassic World: Dominion. However, it also suggests maybe it’s time to let this series finally die, rather than being reborn for a whole new run.
“This one would be great to go out on,” says Peter Bradshaw.
In a similar vein, Time Out says the film contains “the best dinosaur action since Spielberg,” but references the “dino-fatigue” many of us have. It’s a 3-star write-up that suggests the film, while well-made, doesn’t come with any real surprises.
Bloody Disgusting’s 2.5/5 review is also telling of how little goodwill this series has with the critics these days.
Jurassic World Rebirth is called a “a safe but fun enough theme park ride,” where the only real notable strength is the quality of the action sequences.
It’s “just a series of impressive action sequences that showcase the dinosaurs and the great digital effects bringing them to life,” according to the site. Not much cinematic heart, then.
Little White Lies really wasn’t a fan of Jurassic World Rebirth, saying it’s “utterly devoid of interest or originality” in a 2/5 write-up.
“Even working at full pelt, there’s just too much that’s wrong and silly and derivative about this tired, tired run-out,” the review reads. Ouch.
Jurassic World Rebirth is currently on track to make $260 million over its opening weekend, or $100 million from its all-important domestic debut. That’s less than 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion, which opened with $145 million in its home market. But should mean the film makes a good return on its budget.
