For Survival

So I already basically said all this on Twitter but I’m just gonna reiterate it here.

First the cons: idk what the fuss was about with changing the composer. The “new” scores (not counting the classic Jurassic one) were subpar at best. As the Jurassic World Turns still holds the most emotional score in the entire franchise. Not to mention, all the other scores utilized in the JW trilogy felt unique and beautiful. Nothing stood out in this one.

I didn’t really find myself getting emotional or hyped during the movie- maybe one or two times but it wasn’t anything in comparison to the OG Jurassic World (or JP).

The movie also had a very slow start, too much exposition and generic character introductions.

When you see Claire and Owen being introduced, it’s classic. There’s a big statement behind those intros. Here, they all felt like an after thought.

The plot was just okay- kind of reminded me of the premise for Deep Blue Sea. Some of the character deaths were very predictable, and the ending, while mostly great, felt like it was missing something. The other Jurassic movies had more satisfying endings. This one looked cool, but it was just missing that big ol climax. Like how the t-Rex saved the day in JP or JW, how Blue dropped down with the Indoraptor etc

Dolores was very cute, but at this rate just felt gimmicky. It’s like they’re trying to make new merch like they did with the JW raptors or even Bumpy from Camp Cretaceous, but it didn’t have that same effect imo.

Not much character growth except for the boyfriend, but nothing that really stood out. Claire’s growth in the first JW film alone was legendary and very poignant. It was iconic.

Some of the CGI was surprisingly bad, like it took me out of the movie a few times.

For the positives: some of the cinematography, use of color and light were beautiful. Lots of green and red that reminded me of the Jurassic Park films. The suspense building was phenomenal and they were able to pull off the thrilling/horror effects well.

Zora was pretty cool- I think Scarlett did an amazing job with what she was given and it didn’t feel like they were trying to make her some invincible character. Henry was pretty funny and likable, they had decent chemistry but nothing that stood out to me. Some of it felt forced, like they felt like they needed another romance but didn’t want to overdo it. I will always be a huge clawen fan so maybe I’m biased and some Dino fan dude bros didn’t like that aspect, but it was one my favorite things in the JW movies.

And I’m not saying I needed a repeat (lol you can’t replicate perfection) but the Zora and Henry scenes felt half-assed. It was like they wanted something but weren’t sure how much to commit. It felt like it was all over the place. Either do it or don’t.

I had mixed feelings about the family in the film- they provided some good moments, but at times it felt like they were lacking something. It just felt two dimensional at times. The characters didn’t really stand out- they were just clumped together.

Overall, I’m happy it exceeded my expectations bc the trailer did nothing for me. I was glad they didn’t tarnish nor make fun of the OG Jurassic World movies/characters.

It felt tasteful- unlike the actual promotion of the movie. Seems like they were in a rush to create a new Jurassic movie, possibly trilogy- so soon after the last one. The name Rebirth alone felt insulting like they were trying to erase the last couple of movies, they haven’t posted about them in ages. The way they talked about going back to the OG themes and getting a new composer (who did not have the emotional scores like Michael Giacchino at ALL).

Just felt like they were just cheap to gain profit off of the Jurassic “World” legacy instead of being its own thing- because it felt very isolated from the rest of the franchise. It almost felt insulting in that sense, given how much money Jurassic World (2015-2022) earned + all the books (evolution of Claire + Maisie ones), the Lego cartoon shows, Camp Cretaceous, Chaos Theory, the Velocicoaster, all the merch etc.

I’d give Jurassic World Rebirth a solid C+ or B. As a standalone movie, it was pretty good, a lot better than expected. But it lacks that magic from the other Jurassic movies. It feels more like a B-side than part of the franchise. I’d watch again but I’m in no rush.

I will never forget watching Jurassic World in theaters for the first time; the climax, all the iconic scenes leading up to it, the character growth, and the theater erupting in applause and cheers when Claire led the t-Rex out. I remember leaving the theater filled with emotion and chills. I NEEDED to watch it again asap. I created this very blog and the clawen fics almost immediately. I didn’t feel any of that after finishing Rebirth.

I was actually really surprised there were negative comments about the movie- but then again I thought the same thing happened with Fallen Kingdom. I genuinely loved it and would rank it above FK although it's very close. I'm just such a sucker for the Jurassic movies that there's not one I don't like.

I went into it with 0 expectations or spoilers so my only wishes for the movie were 1. Claire doesn't die (I doubted she or any major character would bc Jurassic has never done that before but I was paranoid lol) 2. Claire and Owen would still be together and not another breakup/complicated thing. I worried for a second when Franklin mentioned them being 'weird' but someone pointed out to me how it made sense bc with Claire and Owen being in hiding all those years protecting Maisie, they wouldn't have seen him and Zia a lot or at all so they're not seeing the daily dose of affectionate/in a healthy stable relationship clawen.

Which points me to something else- I read some people saying they didn't like how Claire wasn't really working or seeing her career driven but imo that wouldn't have made sense in this movie. In the first JW she was working at the park, then she was handling the DPG. Now she's got to take care of Maisie so it wouldn't have made sense for her to be risking her and doing something concrete. She was helping the dinosaurs so she still very much had a purpose outside of Maisie and I didn't see any problem with it. The film also ended before we could see what she would do next but 1. There's only so much they could fit into this already jam packed movie and 2. I liked that a lot was left for interpretation.

Claire had SUCH a beautiful progression in these 3 movies. Her arc was the most prominent and it made me tear up. I also love that clawen were finally in a healthy relationship without any unnecessary drama. They communicated, they were partners. All those beautiful moments!! I hoped we would get another kiss like in the other movies but I wasn't expecting one- and then we got that long kiss moment, all those hugs! The worrying, the reunions. Sigh. That perfect plane scene with his "i love you".

I loved their reunion with Maisie as well, that hug + that other hug later with Claire and Maisie warmed my heart. If I had to get picky with anything in this movie was that I wish it had been longer lol had a Dominion part 2 but that's not that easy and they already had issues with COVID back then so I was impressed with all we got.

I wished Maisie called them "mom" and "dad" but I can also understand why they didn't. It could have been perceived as corny or too easy. Her calling them her parents was a lot already- which I loved. Even an apology scene with her and Claire would have been nice but it's not something that overly bothered me. And yeah it would have been nice to get more Blue, but again there was already so much happening in the movie.

I loved seeing Owen saving Claire for once in this movie. It didn't make her look weak, it was just realistic I mean they're surrounded by dinosaurs. They're all saving each other at some point and it was nice to have that. And I mean Claire was still really badass in this movie. That opening sequence and the jungle scene? oof.