Shadows on the Wall | Jurassic World: Rebirth

Jurassic World: Rebirth

dir Gareth Edwards
scr David Koepp
prd Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Ed Skrein, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Niamh Finlay, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain
release US/UK 2.Jul.25
25/UK Universal 2h14

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Strong characters and superbly staged set-pieces elevate this seventh episode in the franchise, as Gareth Evans adds nail-biting suspense and tantalising visuals to an Indiana Jones-style narrative. Of course, all of the details remain firmly within this universe, so there aren't too many surprises. But as a spiralling adventure movie, this one has more thrills than most. And it keeps the corny touches relatively under control.

Years have passed, and dinosaurs now mainly live on remote islands around the Equator. So corporate goon Martin (Friend) hires mercenary operative Zora (Johansson) to escort ace scientist Henry (Bailey) to one of these islands to collect dino-blood samples that can potentially cure heart disease. Of course this isn't as easy as expected, especially because this particular island is populated by experimental mutant beasts. They also cross paths with amateur sailor Reuben (Garcia-Rulfo), his two daughters (Blaise and Miranda) and eye-candy boyfriend Xavier (Iacono). The questions are who will escape from this island and how.

Outrageous prehistoric monster attacks take place in the sea, on mountain cliffs, in rivers, jungles and underground tunnels as this intrepid team collects samples and tries to reach an extraction point. Each sequence is expertly designed to create maximum peril, while the nasty creatures remain cleverly just out of full view. This puts us into the action, dazzling us with a flurry of inventive touches. Less convincing are the odd moment when a human suddenly becomes digital.

Without needing romance, Johansson and Bailey develop terrific on-screen chemistry, inverting the usual meathead and brainiac roles in enjoyable ways while playfully diving into action beats. Ali is also terrific as the boat captain; his sparky energy lights up the screen. Friend has fun as the shifty company man who is clearly going to do something awful. And among this lost family on their own adventure, Miranda shines as a feisty young girl who finds a cat-sized dinosaur and names it Dolores.

While it's fairly easy to predict who is unlikely to survive this expedition, this is a rollicking adventure with more intensity than most thrillers. And the franchise's usual themes about the dangers of greed are strongly pointed, this time focussing on money-hungry Big Pharma. But it's refreshing that trite back-stories are almost completely absent here, allowing the superb cast to engage the audience with their sheer charisma. And they have so much of that on display that the dinosaurs almost stay in the background.

themes, language, violence 17.Jun.25

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