Is Jurassic World Rebirth in on the Joke?

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The film titled “Jurassic World Rebirth” features Scarlett Johansson’s character accepting a job she’s not passionate about, solely for its lucrative compensation. Is it humorous to the movie that this is amusing?

In my perspective as a screenwriting enthusiast, I wholeheartedly agree that giving heroes personal stakes is crucial in Hollywood storytelling. Unfortunately, the latest installment of “Jurassic World,” titled “Rebirth,” seems to have overlooked this essential aspect. As my colleague Alison Willmore pointed out in her review, it appears that very few characters in this movie exhibit any genuine fascination for dinosaurs.

The protagonist, Zora Bennett, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, doesn’t seem any different. Her motivation to venture onto an isolated island inhabited by genetically modified dinosaurs isn’t a deep-seated love for these prehistoric creatures but rather financial gain. There’s a brief mention of how Zora and her team aim to extract blood from the largest land, sea, and air dinosaurs to create a miraculous drug capable of curing heart disease – a disease that claimed her mother’s life. However, at its core, it boils down to money.

Zora hesitates for barely a moment before the prospect of a $10 million paycheck swiftly alters her decision. Money, they say, can make people do extraordinary things, such as descending a 300-foot cliff face while engaging in a fierce battle with a Quetzalcoatlus – as the script so vividly describes, “a flying carnivore the size of an F-16.

Watching “Jurassic World Rebirth,” one can’t help but feel that the main reason a renowned actress like Scarlett Johansson might star in the seventh Jurassic film, despite her two Oscar nominations and a husband working at SNL, could be the substantial financial incentive. This assumption is not dispelled by the acting effort Johansson brings to the role, which, comparable to everyone else in the cast, peaks at “casual weekend” intensity. While they’re not exactly delivering their lines half-heartedly, Johansson’s portrayal of a world-weary mercenary is somewhat less committed compared to her character in “Marriage Story,” even her David Bowie Halloween costume. (It seems the old Staten Island Ferry might be a bigger financial drain than initially thought.)

Is it possible that the scene about the salary negotiations in ‘Rebirth’ is a subtle jest regarding Scarlett Johansson’s own earnings, or simply a clever plot point? Regardless, one can’t help but wonder who stands to make more from this production: Zora Bennett or Scarlett Johansson, reportedly earning $20 million for her role. It takes audacity to discuss a character’s income in a film often perceived as a lucrative opportunity, but I find it refreshing. In a movie destined to earn a billion dollars regardless of its quality, such openness about remuneration can be seen as a commendable display of unselfconsciousness. And who knows, maybe $10 million is the standard wage for a project manager on a project of this scale. After all, this summer has been quite eventful in terms of salary disclosure in movies, with ‘Rebirth’ and ‘Materialists’. Let’s keep the trend going. I wonder what the Fantastic Four pay for their rent?

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2025-07-02 16:53