Jurassic World Rebirth

More than 30 years ago, Steven Spielberg directed the action adventure Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton’s novel about genetic modification, paleontology and the dangers of man meddling with nature. Jurassic Park, the movie, in which velociraptors first darted across our screens and into our nightmares, premiered in 1993, and was a blockbuster. Crichton wrote another novel and Spielberg directed its adaptation. The Lost World: Jurassic Park released in 1997. Neither did Crichton write any more Jurassic Park novels, nor did Spielberg direct further sequels though though he remained on as executive producer for the franchise’s subsequent films—five of them, including the latest instalment: Jurassic World Rebirth.

Genetically altered freaks. Engineered entertainment. Responding to audiences. These are some of the phrases used to describe mutated dinosaurs and the programme that ‘created’ them in Jurassic World: Rebirth. But these phrases apply better to the long-running film franchise itself — so genetically altered from its original DNA, so engineered to entertain younger audiences, that they’ve become big dumb monster movies rather than the poignant sci-fi adventures that Steven Spielberg introduced to the world. The best part of Rebirth — the seventh of the long-running series and the first following the doomed Jurassic World trilogy — is the pre-film teaser of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. Wait, who am I kidding? The teaser didn’t even play before my matinee show in Mumbai. But even the anticipation of the teaser is the best part of this prehistoric movie.

When Steven Spielberg directed Jurassic Park (1993), inspired by Michael Crichton’s novel, it marked a significant turning point in cinema. Never before had such visual effects been used combined with a thrilling story told in a masterly manner. Although technology has advanced over the years, the depiction of dinosaurs remains largely unchanged, and the storytelling has not seen any remarkable enhancements.