Dinosaurs and I go way back. Like many kids growing up in the age of Jurassic Park, I dreamed of being a paleontologist. The awe of seeing a Tyrannosaurus rex thunder across the screen or a Velociraptor open a door was formative for me—and it’s part of what makes Jurassic World: Rebirth such a letdown.

As someone who genuinely roots for this franchise, watching Rebirth fall short is like digging up a fossil only to find it’s plastic. So what happened? Why is the magic gone? And is there any way to get it back?

A Brief History of a Jurassic Legacy

Jurassic Park (1993) remains a landmark in cinema. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it wasn’t just a movie about dinosaurs—it was a meditation on science, ethics, and chaos theory. Its sequels (The Lost World, Jurassic Park III) had mixed receptions, but the franchise roared back with 2015’s Jurassic World, sparking a new trilogy.

Yet with each new entry, the soul of the original seemed to erode. Flash forward to 2025’s Jurassic World: Rebirth, and we’re presented with a movie that feels like it’s running on fossil fuel fumes.

Jurassic World: Rebirth — A Dino Disappointment

Movie pundit John Campea recently attended an AMC Screen Unseen event featuring Rebirth, and his take sums it up perfectly: exciting moments scattered across a hollow narrative. Campea praises a few standout sequences—like the aquatic dinosaur attack and T-Rex river chase—but laments that those scenes total maybe 15 minutes in a 2-hour runtime.

“This movie was literally painful to watch whenever one of these great, admittedly wonderful big highlight action sequences were happening. It was devoid of all the things that made the original Jurassic Park good.” — John Campea on YouTube

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From lackluster characters and predictable villain arcs to a plot riddled with logical gaps, the film struggles to deliver the emotional and intellectual gravitas of its predecessors. Characters openly discuss losing loved ones or missing funerals with all the emotional weight of a weather forecast. Campy and cartoonish without being self-aware, Rebirth often feels like a script that was never finished.

Critics Speak Out

Campea isn’t alone. Major movie sites like Collider, Screen Rant, and Variety echo similar sentiments:

• Collider: “An ambitious misfire. Rebirth tries to evoke nostalgia without offering anything new.”

• Screen Rant: “The franchise seems to have forgotten what made it special—characters who mattered.”

• Variety: “You can’t engineer awe. Rebirth is formulaic to a fault.”

Rotten Tomatoes has the film hovering under 50%, and while box office numbers are decent, fan reviews suggest the audience is growing weary.

Why the Magic is Missing

In the original film, the dinosaurs were a metaphor as much as a spectacle. Characters like Dr. Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm were flawed, brilliant, and unforgettable. The film had heart and intellect.

In Rebirth, we get... Dolores. A small, baby-like dinosaur introduced for cuteness, never to serve any real narrative purpose. Emotional moments are superficial. Stakes feel artificially constructed. And the sense of wonder—of standing on the edge of something impossible—has evaporated.

A Personal Paleontologist’s Regret

As someone who once begged for dinosaur encyclopedias for Christmas and built toy fossils in the backyard, it’s hard not to feel a pang of disappointment. Jurassic World: Rebirth could have rekindled that flame. It could have honored the rich lore of Jurassic Park. Instead, it played like a franchise cash-in, devoid of the storytelling finesse that made the original an all-time classic.

But I’m not giving up hope.

What Jurassic Could Be Again

There’s still room for redemption. Dinosaurs will always be cool. What’s needed is a return to story-first filmmaking. Rich characters. Ethical dilemmas. Wonder. If a future installment can embrace the kind of intelligent narrative that made the original resonate, it may yet find its way.

And yes, I’ll probably still show up for the next one. I just hope it brings the awe back.

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Final Thought

Jurassic World: Rebirth may not have been the film we hoped for—but maybe it’s the reminder we needed: you can’t engineer nostalgia. It has to be earned.