Animal Aksakal: Will "Jurassic World: Rebirth" save Scarlett Johansson
The action movie series "Jurassic World" about dinosaurs has seven films already. All of them are easily recognizable by their large-scale budgets and Hollywood stars of the first magnitude. Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali are starring in the new film. In the United States alone, the film earned more than $30 million in its first day at the box office and, according to box office forecasts, may enter the shortlist of the main blockbusters of the summer. Izvestia was among the first to watch the film about the conflict between humans and dinosaurs. Jurassic World will be shown in Russian cinemas only from July 12 as part of the pre-screening service.
What will the new "Jurassic" tell you about?
"Jurassic World: Rebirth" is a new episode of the long-lived franchise (it is already more than 30 years old). Since the release of the first film, Jurassic Park in 1993, the dinosaur universe has expanded to seven paintings, each of which, like a living organism, has adapted to the changes of time. One of the most commercially successful films was Jurassic World in 2015, which grossed $1.67 billion worldwide and took tenth place in the ranking of the highest-grossing films. This result was made possible by the work of Colin Trevorrow, who retained the key elements of the classics, but updated the visual solutions and enhanced the dynamics of the narrative. The film reminded the audience that dinosaurs are not just artifacts of the past, but symbols of the force of nature, capable of causing both alarm and admiration.
An image from the movie "Jurassic World: Rebirth"
The new part, which was subtitled "Rebirth," continued this line and hooked the first viewers thanks to the depth of the characters and the skillful balance between action and emotion. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it entered the top three highest-rated films in the franchise (meta-score 51%), receiving high marks for respect for the roots and the work of director Gareth Edwards. The high fees of 2015 confirmed that viewers are ready to invest in dinosaur stories if the project combines familiar elements with new ideas, and Vozrozhdenie follows this path, carefully conveying the magic of the original with an emphasis on modern technology and a rich plot.
In a new story, a group of researchers travels to remote equatorial regions to extract the DNA of three giant prehistoric creatures. Their goal is to make a breakthrough in medicine that can change the future of humanity. Fortunately for the team, Special Agent Zora Bennett is sent with them.
The film provokes emotions
Director Gareth Edwards went on an experiment: this is the first film without the veterans of the series or the heroes of the previous parts, written almost from scratch. The main star of the film is Scarlett Johansson, who enhances the overall impression with her acting. Her character is not a banal action movie heroine, but a woman with pronounced features: bravery, vulnerability, maternal love. Johansson worked out the role down to the smallest detail: she trained with weapons, studied the habits of dinosaurs so that the movements looked natural. This is noticeable on the screen: the tremor of the voice when faced with danger, the instantaneous switches from calm to panic — everything works for the story.
An image from the movie "Jurassic World: Rebirth"
Moreover, her game is not only technically accurate, but also emotionally involved. In a dialogue scene with a paleontologist warning about mutations, Johansson's reaction conveys not just fear, but also deep concern for the fate of loved ones. The viewer feels that Zora is a living person, sees that even in the dinosaur world, love, fear and hope remain the most human emotions. It's important to note that Johansson's presence doesn't overload the film. She doesn't "decorate" the plot, but becomes a part of it, like Jonathan Bailey as Henry Loomis (whose wise look evokes nostalgia) or the Delgado family (whose quarrels and hugs make the story more natural).
Spinosaurs, mosasaurs — Edwards pulls out increasingly rare prehistoric inhabitants from his sleeve, which could be heard about in "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Prehistoric Planet", but not in the previous films of the franchise. The crowning achievement was a new mutant, Distortus Rex, which was clearly inspired by Godzilla and designed to dilute the Tirexes (tyrannosaurs) that had tired the mass audience.
An image from the movie "Jurassic World: Rebirth"
At the same time, Steven Spielberg, as an executive producer, tries to sit on two chairs, making it scary in places (by the end, the film turns almost into a horror when a mutant hunts a group of surviving teenagers in a supermarket), and at times it's funny and even touching. That's why a cute dinosaur resembling the monster from Lilo and Stitch gets nailed to the group of main characters. You see him and you understand — this one will definitely survive all the hardships and, perhaps, even become an official toy in the "Rebirth" merch series.
As a result, the new part recalls how and why the viewer first fell in love with dinosaurs. And this is the main feature of "Jurassic World": each new film continues the legend, maintaining its relevance in the era of streaming. Even three decades after the "dinodebut" on the screens, the magic of this full-length series does not fade. It's not for nothing that the production budget alone took over $180 million — scaly giants in IMAX format are really impressive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 71% audience approval, which is above average for summer action movies. Analytical companies in the United States predict that by the end of the premiere week (from July 2 to July 6), the film will earn $ 140 million. On the first day, the fees amounted to $30 million. All this proves that artistic value and box office success can go hand in hand. The film will be shown in Russian cinemas from July 12 for pre-screening.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
