The release of director Gareth Edwards’s Jurassic World Rebirth during the summer of 2025, brings the total number of films that make up the somewhat cohesive Jurassic Park franchise under its new designation Jurassic World to seven. Each film applies a new layer upon the previous one while cementing that capitalism will venture near any risk in order to make a buck, regardless of the possible consequences. This is a key element of the new tale, Jurassic World Rebirth, helmed by Edwards (The Creator) and written by original film screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park; Spider-Man), which sees a ragtag group of mercs and a paleontologist venture into the world of dinosaurs in a bid to obtain the resources necessary to create life-changing medicine. The reason is about as noble as it gets, except for the blatant way even the film says, “yeah, we’re definitely doing it for the money” — which is oddly how the film feels on the whole. However, if you’re one who wants to return to Île Saint-Hubert and see the latest dinosaur monstrosity capitalism as wrought, not only can you do so via the home release edition, but you can explore the making of the film with more than 90 minutes of bonus materials.
If you’re interested in a spoiler-free look at Jurassic World Rebirth, head over to EoM contributor Gabe Lapalombella’s theatrical release review.
After decades of dinosaurs roaming among us, interest in them has not only waned, their ability to survive has reduced thanks to increased carbon levels in the atmosphere due to human-induced climate change. Many of the creatures are forced to migrate to areas in the tropics where conditions like oxygen levels are more hospitable. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company ParkerGenix (owner of InGen IP) believes themselves to be on the brink of a massive medical discovery that requires samples from three specific living creatures, thereby necessitating a trip to the island of Île Saint-Hubert, which was abandoned in 2008 after a massive incident, leaving the dinosaurs there behind. To make this happen, ParkerGenix executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) hires covert ops/retrieval expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead a team of her choosing — including old friends Dunkin Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and Bobby Atwater (Ed Skrein) — along with paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) into the jungles of Île Saint-Hubert to get the samples. But between bringing on a family after their boat capsizes and changes in animal behavior, this trip into the world of dinosaurs may prove both fatal and unfruitful.
The following home release review is based on a 4K UHD Blu-ray retail copy provided by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
The whole Jurassic franchise began with a simple premise — what if dinosaurs returned and then all hell broke loose. The resulting lesson of “don’t screw with nature” has not only been overlooked by the millionaires and billionaires who’ve seen it in the real world, but by the ones inside the stories, as well. Like the Weyland-Yutani Corporation of the Alien franchise which constantly is presented as the true evil of the series, ParkerGenix attempts to do all that the narrative requires simply to make billions of dollars. Gratefully, the script takes no pains to hide this fact, to position the members of Zora’s team as doing this solely for the money, and that Henry is primarily agreeing to lead the team so that he himself can experience dinosaurs in the wild. The inclusion of Henry as a former student of Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) furthers Henry’s White Hat status, adding even more credibility to his frequent comments to Zora about giving the samples to a company who would make the medicine for public good and not profit more believable. Likewise, Krebs isn’t presented as bloodthirsty, possibly due to Friend’s (Companion; The Phoenician Scheme) charming performance, but straightforward, making his turns toward misanthropy as danger looms and the preciousness of the samples taking priority entirely obvious and expected. These pieces set the stage for a fairly as-expected experience that is more-or-less common for the science fiction series.
While one can certainly applaud Koepp for creating a rollercoaster ride like Rebirth, the problem with a rollercoaster is — with the exception of theme and types of turns — they’re all about the same. So, in terms of the question “does Rebirth feel like a Jurassic World movie?,” audiences get out of this exactly what they should as there are several dinosaur attack sequences, several “how did they survive that!” scares, several humorous twists of expectations, and quite a few moments of disquiet as the dinosaurs prove once more that they shouldn’t be trifled with. The problem is that the whole of the film is entirely too predictable beginning with the cast that’s split between who we know will survive, who we hope survives, and who we know will not. Apologies to Skrein’s (Deadpool) Bobby, Philippine Velge’s (Summer of 85) Nina, and Bechir Sylvain’s (Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus) LeClerc representing the expendables, but you three were never going to last long and we all knew it. The only ones with any true survivability were the Delgado Family because Rebirth isn’t the type of movie to kill off a family that’s trying to rebuild itself (one of many throwbacks to the original film of the franchise). That just leaves the top four names of the film as question marks, but, again, you can’t kill off Zora or Henry, while Krebs has to be in order for the film to maintain its moral center regarding human greed and impropriety. Thankfully, the threat to Duncan is a misdirect, that also serves his narrative arc from financial motivation to a personal one. Early in the film we learn that he and his ex-wife lost a child to a dinosaur attack on the ocean; backstory which creates the motivation to try to protect the Delgado family throughout the adventure. Of course, this threat to Duncan is the only moment in the entire film wherein someone might feel actual disarming by the film, an actual risk or threat, because Ali is fantastic on screen. It’s the kind of altruism which doesn’t often survive these types of animal attack tales, and, as the only character whose fate was in question, it’s fantastic and a relief that Duncan does.
For the sake of argument, let’s say you enjoy this film. Fantastic, love that for you. Maybe you want to learn more about the making of the film and/or get a sense of what it was like making it. In addition to two different commentary tracks (one with Edwards, production designer James Clyne (The Creator), and first assistant director Jack Ravenscroft (Wicked), and one with Edwards, editor Jabez Olssen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and visual effects supervisor David Vickery (Avatar: The Way of Water)), the usual gag reel, and deleted scenes, there’s also a brief alternate opening, a four-minute featurette centering baby Dolores, a five-minute featurette about getting killed by dinos, and a 10-minute tour of Skywalker Sound with Isabella Delgado actor Audrina Miranda. Want more in-depth info on the shooting of the film and specific scenes? Look no further than the six-part series “Jurassic World Rebirth: Hatching a New Era.” Not only is this the first time that the film utilizes something that implies a starting over (the film is more often about the dinosaurs dying off and humanity’s disinterest in them and not a rekindling of anything that Rebirth as a name implies), but you get a look into the approach to shooting on location in Thailand, the bonding of the actors, the approach to various stunt sequences, and dinosaur design. These bonus features demonstrate just how far Edwards went to rekindle the magic of Jurassic World, which makes it all the more strange that The Creator (2023) had far more believable and seamless CG work than this production, resulting in an experience that’s hard to buy into.
From a technical perspective, the video and audio elements are strong. The bitrate on the 4K UHD disc hovers in the mid-70s of Mbps, occasionally moving into the 80s, with occasional dips into the 50s. Considering the high-level of CG work in the film and the lengthy bonus features, one would presume that the presentation itself would take a hit. Smartly, Universal Pictures uses a BD-100 disc, meaning that it’s a triple-layer format able to hold 100 GB of data (the largest compacity disc currently available). There are plenty of instances wherein using a lesser disc type or by placing all the bonus features on the same disc as the feature (as is the case here), that the compression of data is impacted, creating a significantly reduced bitrate wherein a purchaser may as well get the Blu-ray for less money and receive the same/similar viewing experience (even with the BD-50 being used). While the blending of CG can be debated, the on-disc presentation here cannot. Likewise, the audio, offered with Dolby Atmos and up to 7.1 sound, is well-balanced and immersive. It could only be tested here up to 5.1 and without Atmos, but the scene in which the boat is attacked after rescuing the Delgado family strongly showcases the way in which the sound moves around the viewing space as poor Bobby tries to fend off the Spinosaurus circling the maritime vehicle, moving from one side to another with his weapon before getting dragged off, his cries of anguish growing more distant and quiet as the creature submerges him again and again, which is either humorous or heartbreaking, depending on how you take the scene.
Overall, Jurassic World Rebirth is everything you’d want from what the Jurassic Park franchise has become, which is more often than not an escalation of animal attack/survival/slasher stories via wild dinosaur concepts. This is as simple as meat and potatoes, as predictable as a rollercoaster, which is all that a summer release really needs to be in order for the audience to have a good time. Seven movies in, however, it would be nice if the recipe would get updated a bit, so that humanity’s hubris wouldn’t so consistently feed the meat grinder. Then again, as we look around at the current state of affairs in which climate change denial is back on the upswing, science denial is leading the way in the U.S., and capitalism rules the day, perhaps it’s not so much that the Jurassic Park series needs a revamp as it is that it’s a little too close to home to feel like escapism.
Jurassic World Rebirth Special Features:
- Alternate Opening (1:37)
- Tw (2) Deleted Scenes (4:21)
- Raptors – Featuring Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda
- Mutadon Attack – Featuring Scarlett Johansson, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, David Iacono, Rupert Friend, Luna Blaise and Audrina Miranda
- Six (6) Featurettes – Jurassic World Rebirth: Hatching a New Era (56:41)
- Gag Reel (1:53)
- Meet Dolores – Meet the animatronic Aquilops with an extraordinarily lifelike personality. (3:57)
- Munched: Becoming Dino Food – Get a victim’s firsthand view inside the frightening jaws of deadly dinosaurs that munch, chomp, and chew their way into creating unforgettable death sequences. (5:35)
- A Day at Skywalker Sound – Actress Audrina Miranda guides a personal tour of Skywalker Sound in California to meet the audio editors, foley artists, and mixers who design the movie’s wide array of sounds. (10:25)
- Hunting For Easter Eggs – Find out where to look for cleverly hidden Easter eggs that pay homage to everything from the first Jurassic Park film to other Steven Spielberg classics. (6:25)
- Feature commentary with director Gareth Edwards, production designer James Clyne, and first assistant director Jack Ravenscroft (2:13:39)
- Feature commentary with director Gareth Edwards, editor Jabez Olssen, and visual effects supervisor David Vickery (2:13:39)
Available on digital August 5th, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD September 9th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Jurassic World Rebirth website.
To purchase, head to the official Universal Pictures Jurassic World Rebirth webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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