or, “Awe in Pretending to See Fake Dinosaurs”:
A spoiler-free mini movie review.
1 out of 5
“It is dangerous to assume, because you might make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’.”
Sometimes, a great performance can elevate an under or over-written character in a film (Hilary Swank in “Ordinary Angels”). Other times, a well-written role – or interpretive slate – is botched by a performer’s over/under-acting, or good suggestions potentially vetoed (Michelle Dockery in “Flight Risk”). And, once in a while, the wrong actor gives a misguided turn as a bland character.
Playing Black Widow may have connoted Scarlett Johansson as the perfect choice for “Jurassic World Rebirth’s” Lara Croft-esque heroine, but she’s ultimately miscast.
[cont’d]
Rebirth’s – or “Jurassic Park 7”; “Jurassic World 4”, whatever – protagonist Zora is a hardened mercenary, spending a decade in the jungle; losing a partner on her last mission; and considering ‘one last job’ to get herself ‘out of the life’. She’s military-trained, and doesn’t financially question corporate work.
Sounds easy for Johansson to pull off. But under her method, Zora is nervous & can’t sit still; she wears bright white sneakers with a dark suit; she jokes around in a goofy, undetached way; and her feature-length cavalierness undermines her endgame altruism. Johansson seems confused about who Zora is, and I was confused about who Johansson was trying to be.
I still have no opinion of her capabilities elsewhere: she was in the Marvel domain so long that I immediately associate her with Natasha Romanoff. An interview with The Times suggests it wasn’t easy transitioning from leather onesie to more comfortable (presumably) & rewarding work. I’m sure it wasn’t: just ask Kate Beckinsale.
I also cannot ask Johansson her opinion of her performance, nor can I look at the script: I’m just an overweight man with a keyboard. It’s possible with her industry sway that she wanted more levity in her portrayal. It’s possible these moments were already in the book before production. It’s also possible that she fought against the odd moments and was shot down. But most studio screenplay pages are largely designed as developable or provisional, and who is going to say “no” to Ms. Johansson, in any case?
Aside from one camera shot – of palpable awe in pretending to see some fake dinosaurs – Johansson’s acting in Jurassic World Rebirth plays in direct, noticeable conflict to what the dialogue reveals about her character. A poor creative choice from filmmakers who I assumed knew better.
//wd 7.12.2025
Poster sourced from impawards.com. What do you think? Did you laugh at the ‘stoner guy’ like the audience in my screening did (including their kids), and then proceed to not react to anything else? Didn’t the D-Rex look an awful lot like a reject creature design from “Doom 3”? Did you also think the film’s five-second Brontosaurus sight gag would have made a better movie had they stretched the idea to a feature? Do you think Michelle Dockery could have been an intriguing alternate choice for Zora? Leave us a comment below!
theory of a daskeman 