Jurassic World Rebirth

“The diversity in Jurassic World Rebirth feels like more than just box-ticking.”

Title: Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Director: Gareth Edwards 👨🏼🇬🇧
Writers: Screenplay by David Koepp 👨🏼🇺🇸 based on characters created by Michael Crichton 👨🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Gavin 👨🏼🇬🇧🌈♿

—MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD—

Technical: 4/5

It’s no easy feat living up to the original Jurassic Park (1993). A classic adventure movie, it perfectly blended heart and action with the then-revolutionary special effects. The Lost World (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001) were decent, but the recent Jurassic World trilogy fell short of expectations. Even though each World film earned over a billion dollars, they didn’t fare well critically, and audience scores haven’t reached the heights of Spielberg’s original.

Jurassic World Rebirth, directed by Gareth Edwards (The Creator, Rogue One), aims to bring back the wonder—and horror—of Jurassic Park. It helps that the original screenwriter, David Koepp, is back on writing duties. The story sees an extraction team head for a forbidden island to collect DNA samples from three species of dinosaurs. Their paths cross with a civilian family, who are attacked by aquatic dinosaurs whilst out on a sailing trip.

Here, the story is serviceable. There are clear themes and character arcs, but they’re surface-level and resolved in a flash. What matters most in a Jurassic film is the dinosaur action, and Edwards and crew deliver. Audiences are treated to some of the best set pieces in the entire franchise, with nerve-shredding tension, a constant air of danger and horror, and direction that showcases the scale of these prehistoric creatures. Rebirth is also gorgeous to look at, with world-class VFX, 35mm film cinematography, and production design that make the island feel all too real. Does this top Jurassic Park? No. But it’s easily the best in the World series, and one of the best Jurassic films to date.

Gender: 3.5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE

Jurassic World Rebirth doesn’t offer a deep examination of female experiences, but it does have women in pivotal roles. One of the main characters is Zora (Scarlett Johansson), a skilled covert operations expert who leads the team on their dangerous expedition. She harkens back to roughish characters from the 1980s—a Han Solo type who takes on the job purely for the money, has a mischievous charm, but ultimately becomes more selfless. A role typically reserved for men, it’s great to see the gender swap in a tentpole summer blockbuster. Zora also saves lives and fights terrifying dinosaurs; she isn’t just physically capable, but intelligent, too. That said, because Rebirth doesn’t give anyone much character growth, Zora’s arc feels rushed.

The civilian family, the Delgados, includes older sister Teresa (Luna Blaise) and younger sibling Isabella (Audrina Miranda). They each have their moment in the spotlight, making them much more than screaming fodder in the action sequences. Isabella hates all dinosaurs, purely out of fear. After an encounter with the creatures—and seeing armed operatives get gruesomely dispatched—she emotionally shuts down. But then she meets the ridiculously adorable baby Aquilops, forms a bond, and learns to co-exist with dinosaurs.

Less positive is Teresa’s storyline, which connects her to her boyfriend, Xavier (David Iacono), and her father, Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). The thread initially involves all three characters, but then sidelines Teresa. And unlike Isabella, Teresa has no internal conflict. She is used as a vehicle to explore the connection between male characters.

Race: 3.75/5

Modern blockbusters often have diverse casts—including Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) and the John Wick movies—and Rebirth is one of them. Standing beside Zora is Duncan, played by African American actor Mahershala Ali. Like Zora, Duncan isn’t just useful in action, but also has emotional intelligence. He supports his friend Zora, but he isn’t here to serve her narrative. Duncan has his own arc, reflecting on his past as a mercenary, which has fractured his relationship with his young son. Thanks to Ali’s reliable performance, Duncan oozes charisma but also turns up the intensity when the larger, more frightening dinosaurs get involved. One sequence could have seen Duncan lean into the cliché of a person of colour sacrificing themselves for white characters, but thankfully, Rebirth avoids that by having Duncan instead put his life on the line for a Latino family. It also makes sense for his character to prioritise family over work.

The Delgado family is made up of Latino actors, including Mexican Garcia-Rulfo, biracial white and Mexican American Blaise, and Iacono of Italian and Puerto Rican descent. The family centres three of the film’s most notable set pieces, and even though the Delgados primarily focus on simple survival, one conversation between Reuben and Xavier touches on the experience of being racially profiled.

Rounding out the cast of notable non-white characters is LeClerc, played by Haitian American actor Bechir Sylvain. A member of Zora’s team, LeClerc has a lovely bond with another Black man, Duncan. LeClerc also primarily speaks in Haitian French. The extraction team communicates casually in both French and English, demonstrating that they’re a bilingual crew. It’s a small but effective detail that makes the diversity in the film feel like more than just box-ticking.

Bonus for LGBTQ: +0.25

Whilst Rebirth does not have any LGBTQ+ narratives on screen, having Jonathan Bailey in the lead role of a major franchise movie is a step forward for the industry. Bailey has been open about being gay and used Rebirth’s press tour to promote and support LGBTQ causes, making Rebirth more than just popcorn entertainment.

Mediaversity Grade: B 3.83/5

Jurassic World Rebirth is a stellar entry to the franchise and the best it’s been in years. The dinosaur action may take the spotlight, but it’s the women and people of colour who drive the narrative, helping to turn the movie into a global smash hit.

Like Jurassic World Rebirth? Try these other dino and monster blockbusters.

Grade: BLiJuly 17, 2025