Jonathan Bailey praised for ‘serving megawatt charisma’ in first Jurassic World Rebirth reviews

The first reviews for Jurassic World Rebirth have landed like an asteroid, and it’s leading man Jonathan Bailey who is being praised as the film’s “magic ingredient”.

Wicked star Jonathan Bailey joins Jojo Rabbit actress Scarlett Johansson in the sci-fi adventure thriller, which is the seventh instalment in the Jurassic Park franchise.

Jurassic World Rebirth is set in the present day, some five years after the last film in the franchise, 2022’s critically panned Jurassic World Dominion.

Set in the fictional region of Île Saint Hubert in the Caribbean, Jurassic World Rebirth sees a shady big pharma corporation discover that the blood of dinosaurs can be turned into a rare and profitable elixir.

The company recruits bookish paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey), alongside strong-headed covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Johansson) and her team leader Duncan Kincaid (Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali), to embark on a treacherous mission to source the blood from the almost-extinct reptilian beasts.

The trio attempt to source a blood sample from three types of dinosaur – land, air and sea – and if the trailer is anything to go by, there are some perilous results.

Now, Jurassic World Rebirth reviews are out in the world, and they are distinctly mixed.

Writing in The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw praised the film for being “brighter, breezier, funnier, incomparably better acted and better written” than recent instalments in the Jurassic Park world. 

While Bailey’s performance is “very different” from his one as flirtatious bachelor Fiyero in 2024 blockbuster Wicked, the gay star “comes close to pinching [Jurassic World Rebirth] with his adorable high-mindedness”.

In his four star review, Bradshaw also praised the “terrific romcom chemistry” between Bailey and Johansson’s characters.

A glowing five star review in The Telegraph equally pointed out the connection between Bailey and Johansson, and praised Jurassic World Rebirth as “easily the best-looking, best-sounding film since the first”, 1993’s Jurassic Park.

“Johansson, Bailey and Ali are almost impossible to dislike, serving megawatt charisma that’s well worth however many millions they were paid. Flirtatiously getting to know each other in the best, breeziest way, they ensure our emotional investment in their survival,” wrote Tim Robey in the publication.

Robery also dubbed it the “blockbuster of the summer”.

Another four star review in The Independent suggested that Bailey is one of the “magic ingredients” thanks to his habitual charm.

“[He] also crucially nails the ‘man who dedicated his life to dinosaurs sees a dinosaur for the first time’ sequence. Former dinosaur kids may shed a tear or two,” the newspaper’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote.

Yet other reviewers are less convinced by the latest movie, with IGN stating that the film “plays it frustratingly safe” and suggested that the franchise would now be “better off extinct”.

In a similarly negative, two star review, the BBC’s Caryn James stated that there are “so few thrills” in Jurassic World Rebirth tat it “may be the weakest of the Jurassic franchise”.

Yet James commended Bailey for fitting “smoothly” into his role as Dr Henry Loomis.

The Los Angeles Times’ writer Amy Nicholson also savaged the latest in the Jurassic franchise, declaring that the creators behind the films are “officially out of ideas”.

Despite her blistering review, Nicholson also lathered Bailey with praise, describing him as a “fine actor”.

“… His Loomis would be the soul of the movie if he wasn’t battling for screen time. He’s the only character who seems to like dinosaurs — everyone else sees them as dollar signs or boogeymen,” she continued.

Jurassic World Rebirth is in cinemas on 2 July.

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