Big beasts have lost their bite

SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND JONATHAN BAILEY ARE ON THE TRAIL OF DINOSAURS

- REVIEWS BY DAMON SMITH

IN the original Jurassic Park, InGen's deluded CEO John Hammond assures palaeobotanist Ellie Satler that he has learnt the myriad mistakes of his malfunctioning theme park.

"Creation is an act of sheer will. Next time, it'll be flawless," he growls defiantly.

Jurassic World Rebirth marks the sixth "next time" and like so many of the sequels, falls short of the jaw-dropping spectacle and wonder of the 1993 adventure that started it all, shattered box office records and deservedly won three Academy Awards.

Homages to Steven Spielberg's Raiders Of The Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws abut visual nods to Jurassic Park: a car mirror declaring reflected objects are closer than they appear, snorted hot breath from a rampaging raptor/pterosaur hybrid on cool glass, and a frantic drive down to the docks to smuggle samples off an island.