Did Jurassic World Rebirth just fix Chris Pratt's biggest franchise mistake

Jurassic World Rebirth finally treats dinosaurs as animals again, fixing a key flaw from the Chris Pratt-led trilogy

Jurassic World Rebirth may not have saved the franchise, but it has successfully fixed one significant issue that plagued the three Chris Pratt-led Jurassic World films, according to critics.

The latest installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, directed by Gareth Edwards and written by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, finally treats dinosaurs like animals again—a sharp departure from the previous trilogy's approach.

The original Jurassic Park movies treated dinosaurs as forces of nature. They were neither malicious nor heroic—they simply existed, and the terror came from humans realizing they were no longer at the top of the food chain. The Jurassic World trilogy, however, transformed prehistoric creatures into something entirely different.

In the Pratt-led films, dinosaurs became either slasher-villain monsters or anthropomorphic companions. The Indominus rex and Indoraptor stalked protagonists specifically, displaying what felt like calculated evil. At the other extreme, dinosaurs like Blue the raptor were portrayed as loyal friends who could be reasoned with. Both approaches diminished the natural horror that made the franchise iconic.

"Jurassic World Rebirth brings back the natural horror of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," one critic noted. Even the genetically engineered Distortus rex (D-Rex) behaves according to instinct rather than malice. The creatures feel wild and unpredictable—they attack because they're hungry or threatened, not because they're evil geniuses.

This shift makes characters feel genuinely insignificant when confronted by these ancient predators. The terror comes from facing uncontrollable and instinctual animals.

However, critics remain divided on whether this improvement is enough. The film holds a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with some reviewers noting it relies too heavily on homages to Spielberg's original without trying anything new. As one critic put it, "Rebirth was a step in the right direction, but the film took too few chances."

At least the dinosaurs are scary again. Whether that's enough to secure the franchise's future remains to be seen.