Rebirth? Hmmm, is it though?

Last year’s re-restart of the Jurassic franchise certainly provides a new bunch of lambs to the slaughter, a new director and a new stab at box office glory (which it succeeded in acquiring to the tune of over 800 million dollars!) but that’s about where it ceases being re anything.

Starring Black Widow herself, Scarlett Johansson as mercenary Zora Bennett, this one has its lead retained to go on a mission to extract samples from dinosaurs on a quarantined island for a pharmaceutical company who is paying big bucks. She enlists the aid of a former army buddy (Mahershala Ali), a requisite corporate nasty (Rupert Friend), and cross paths with a family in peril (too many to list) only for things to turn to shit before they even land on the island.

David Koepp, the writer of the original Jurassic Park, returns to pen this one and while dressing it with some new characters, cannot elevate it above the ever-present tropes that limit the series after so many entries. How many times can we revisit the notion of walking into a lion’s den expecting things not to go bad? These have always been family-friendly monster movies at heart, so you can easily take the rosters of characters and pick who lives and dies before the carnage starts. It robs the audience of suspense or dramatic stakes. Oh, there’s kids in this one? Well, they will survive. It’s the death of drama. So too is the formulaic notion that ‘experts’ would consistently place themselves in the same high-risk situation with a now seven film history of that this shit never ending in success. But this one didn’t annoy me as much as Dominion. In that one there was a chance to show in dystopian level consequences the cost of man’s hubris. But, of course, going that dark negates family box office receipts. At least Rebirth is guilty of just unoriginality, not a missed opportunity.

Actors are all top-notch. There are too many characters. Johansson’s character thankfully has an arch, albeit it cliched and signposted. Effects are superb, the designs of mutant dinosaurs are grotesque and different from what’s comes before (but they makers mistake this as something new.) I’m just whining at this point. If this a bad movie? No, Gareth Edwards delivers a Jurassic Park movie. It does what it always does, solidly, efficiently, and repeatedly. If these formula adventures are your jam and the box office receipts keep telling Universal this your comfort food, then I’m happy for you.

Me? I want something surprising and Rebirth just isn’t.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Edition

Home Video Distributor: Universal
Available on Blu-ray - September 9, 2025
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH; French; Spanish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; Dolby TrueHD 7.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1; French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

VIDEO

This Native 2160p scan from the camera negatives shows off some punchy blacks and lush colours. Whether deep ocean blues, river torrents, or sweeping vistas, nearly every scene leaps off the screen with great effect.

The bigger your screen, the better! Has Dolby VISION/HDR10 compatibility that comes to life in those aforementioned vistas and red blanketed scenes where flares are in shot. Golden transfer.

AUDIO

So too, as with most modern releases these days, we are thankfully given a 7.1 Dolby ATMOS mix that is nuanced, deliberate with its application to environmental effects and robust delivery in action scenes. Stellar work.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Director Gareth Edwards, Production Designer James Clyne, and First Assistant Director Jack Ravenscroft

Special Features:

Pretty generous collection of features that can be watched with the push of a play all button. A little samey, but some interesting insight and plenty of behind-the-scenes stuff to pour over for those interested. I got a US Region A copy to review, and it comes with a slipcover that matches the cover art on the case.

• Alternate Opening
• Deleted Scenes
• Jurassic World Rebirth: Hatching a New Era
• Gag Reel
• Meet Dolores
• Munched: Becoming Dino Food
• A Day at Skywalker Sound
• Hunting For Easter Eggs
• Director Gareth Edwards, Editor Jabez Olssen, and Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery

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	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade