The ‘Jurassic World’ franchise might have just hit the point of no return. What was once a thrilling cinematic event, a benchmark for blockbuster spectacle, at least in the ‘90s, has now become a faded shell, recycled and reassembled by studio machinery without a trace of soul.
The latest entry, “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” has now had its embargo lifted, and the reviews aren’t good, landing a dismal 55 on Metacritic and 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus? Lifeless characters, a paper-thin plot, and a film that plays like a highlight reel of better movies before it.
Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”) was brought on to helm what Universal touted as a “bold new direction” for the dino-saga. If you remember, they tried to rush this one into production the moment it was announced, even replacing the formerly attached David Leitch with Edwards. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used David Koepp’s first draft on this one.
Koepp delivered his script for‘Rebirth’ in December 2023. By March 2024, Edwards was hired to replace Leitch. Production kicked off just three months later, on June 13, 2024, and wrapped up last October. For a VFX-heavy blockbuster scheduled for July 2025, such a rapid turnaround is virtually unprecedented.
The film’s premise, something about a new genetically modified dinosaur called the Distortus Rex being unleashed in a sealed lab by mercenaries who forget to bring guns, is the kind of logic-defying nonsense that once felt fun in 1997, but now just seems tired.
Indeed, much of ‘Rebirth’ feels ritualized. Fan-service comes first, logic second. Dinosaurs emerge in dramatic lighting. characters appear, spouting exposition, and disappearing again. Meanwhile, the human element, once the moral core of Jurassic Park, is all but extinct.
The real issue, though, isn’t that ‘Rebirth’ is the worst Jurassic film (it’s not). It’s that it’s just another one. That’s what’s killing the franchise: sameness. Critics didn’t turn on this movie because it tried something bold and failed. They turned on it because it didn’t try at all.
“Jurassic World: Rebirth” stands as another warning sign: legacy franchises can’t survive on spectacle alone. You still need characters to care about. You still need a story that’s worth investing in.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.