The Jurassic Park series is famous for its groundbreaking dinosaur portrayals and being one of the most financially successful film franchises ever made. Despite Jurassic World: Awakening having the poorest first-day earnings among all the Jurassic World movies, it still boasted a massive opening day in 2025, making it one of the biggest debuts for any movie that year. However, the film’s reception has been underwhelming at best, with critics criticizing its screenplay and audiences giving it a mediocre “B” CinemaScore. While the film showcases impressive directorial work by Gareth Edwards and stunning visual effects, Jurassic World: Awakening may have made the most egregious error among recent Jurassic Park films – it seems to be a blatant money-grabbing attempt.
Instead of subtle storytelling or characters that drive the plot, this movie seems to prioritize financial gain over anything else, with scenes that appear to be designed primarily for product endorsements or merchandising opportunities, as if dinosaurs were just props to boost toy sales.
The Product Placement in Jurassic World: Rebirth is Egregious
In my humble opinion as a film critic, Jurassic World: Rebirth unfortunately finds itself in the company of films like 2017’s Power Rangers when it comes to shameless product placement. While many movies can cleverly disguise their commercial tie-ins, this movie leaves no doubt with scenes that border on the absurd, such as a Snickers wrapper mysteriously causing a shutdown at a state-of-the-art dinosaur research facility in the opening sequence. This lazy integration of product placement not only breaks the immersion for viewers but also introduces an implausible plot point that strains credibility in a modern blockbuster.
In another instance of poor product integration, a nerve-wracking scene at a gas station recalls the iconic kitchen scene in the original Jurassic Park movie, where a dinosaur stealthily circles the protagonists within a confined space. Regrettably, what should have been an edge-of-your-seat moment is marred by excessive product placement. The camera sweeps past numerous Lay’s chip bags or lingers on a large Dr Pepper sign with its catchphrase, making it disappointing to see such a cherished series resort to such casual filmmaking.
The film appears to prioritize merchandising over storytelling, particularly by featuring a dinosaur character like the baby Aquilops (similar to Audrina Miranda’s character, Isabella). This creature doesn’t contribute much to the main narrative; instead, it serves to emphasize the adorable and cuddly nature of dinosaurs. It seems likely that this is a marketing strategy for toy sales, as a Lego set of Aquilops was launched in conjunction with the movie release. While it’s exciting to see varied representations of dinosaurs on screen, they should not be exploited solely for commercial purposes related to toys.
Jurassic World: Rebirth Does Nothing New With the Franchise
Although the robbery-like aspects in Jurassic World: Rebirth offer some humor to the series, the movie largely functions as a worn-out way to maintain the franchise. The film doesn’t aim to introduce anything fresh; instead, it replicates scenes from superior films within the franchise. From resurrecting John Williams’ iconic score to recurring themes of man versus nature, ironically, the movie fails to deliver the originality it claims, making it less distinctive within the series.
The characters in this movie seem to lack depth and complexity, despite the dedication of Scarlett Johansson and Johnathan Bailey. Unfortunately, their roles lack the intrigue and subtlety needed to leave a lasting impression. Johansson’s character, Zora, has more background than the others, but it feels too similar to her Black Widow persona. Mahershala Ali is given a substantial family backstory, but his character does not undergo any development that would make it particularly satisfying.
The movie centers heavily on genetically altered dinosaurs, presenting an innovative twist to the franchise. However, the concept of mutated dinosaurs is not entirely novel – it was previously explored in the original Jurassic World. Despite the impressive and terrifying design of the D-rex, the notion of mutated dinosaurs has been used before. The initial Jurassic World had a compelling reason for their existence, suggesting that people would tire of seeing regular dinosaurs. Unfortunately, Jurassic World: Rebirth seems to replicate this concept almost exactly, giving the impression of originality, but in reality, it merely repeats what has already been done.
From a creative standpoint, Jurassic World: Rebirth might appear to have improved its quality compared to previous installments in the series. However, it’s the movie that seems to suggest the studio may be running low on original concepts. The film appears to have been made primarily due to Universal not having a major summer release for 2025, and this lack of motivation is palpable throughout its duration. Gareth Edwards does his utmost to enrich the content, but overall, the movie feels lacking in depth and impact. It may not be the poorest film of the year, but it’s the one that seems most eager for your hard-earned cash.
Jurassic World: Rebirth is now playing in theaters.
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2025-07-07 22:10