Fixing the Franchise’s Scary Dinosaurs Problem

Jurassic World Rebirth may not have been a great film, but it did fix one thing that the Chris Pratt-led Jurassic World franchise had failed at up to that point. Despite the monetary success of the Jurassic World installments of the Jurassic Park franchise, the movies have been less than great, to put it lightly.

In the rankings of the Jurassic films, the World movies trend toward the bottom. Jurassic World Rebirth, which is a standalone sequel set after the events of the Chris Pratt trilogy, doesn’t do a whole lot to resuscitate the franchise, but it does offer something that’s been critically missing since Jurassic Park III.

Jurassic World Rebirth Finally Treats Dinosaurs Like Animals Again

There are a lot of issues with the Jurassic World films, but a chief one I have always had trouble with as a fan of the franchise is the move away from the natural horror of the first three films. The Jurassic Park movies treat the dinosaurs like animals; it’s a zoological preserve after all.

The Jurassic World films turn the dinosaurs into slasher villains, or almost even anthropomorphic friends at some points. The terror of the Jurassic movies is that people can suddenly realize they are not the top of the food chain when confronted with prehistoric animals. The villainous dinosaurs in the first three World films are almost evil geniuses.

It’s not surprising or frightening when they get the drop on the heroes. The dinosaurs in Jurassic World Rebirth, even the genetically engineered Distortus rex, feel like animals, and that’s scary. It’s frightening when a dinosaur appears and decides it’s lunchtime. It makes the characters feel insignificant.

When the Indoraptor, Indominus rex, or Giganotosaurus appears to be stalking the protagonists specifically, and worse yet, not even eating anyone, then the dinosaurs could be swapped out with a guy with a big knife, and not much would be different. Jurassic World Rebirth brings back the natural horror of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jurassic World Rebirth Doesn’t Do Enough To Save The Franchise

The treatment of the dinosaurs in Jurassic World Rebirth is a nice return to form for the franchise, with characters realizing too late how out of their depth they are when confronted by uncontrollable and instinctual animals. However, it’s not enough to save the franchise, or even elevate the film.

With a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, Rebirth was never going to bring the franchise back from the brink. The film relies too heavily on homages to Spielberg’s movies, which is perhaps why it gets the dinosaurs right, but it hews too closely to the formula and doesn’t try anything new.

After the World movies, Jurassic World Rebirth needed to be exceptional, but it wasn’t. It was a step in the right direction, but the film took too few chances. At least the dinosaurs are scary again, and maybe that’s enough for another Jurassic film to get the green light.

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