“Genetic power is the most awesome force the planet’s ever seen but you wield it like a kid that’s found his dad’s gun…I’ll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you’re using here: it didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You know, you read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves so you don’t take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox and now you’re selling it!”
Dr. Ian Malcolm
It’s kind of funny how this famous quote from the original Jurassic Park perfectly summarizes what this famous film franchise has become over the years. With each new installment, a new director tries to bring in their own style and leave their mark on the film series, only to fail time and again at this colossal task. Why hasn’t any screenwriter managed to develop characters as believable as author David Koepp did in the first film? Is it due to the lack of literary source material? What is the reason that not a single action set piece ever had the creativity or perfect pacing of the original film? Is Steven Spielberg really in a league of his own? And why do all subsequent films keep needle-dropping John Williams’ iconic musical themes in key scenes, in the hope of evoking the same emotions as back in the summer of 1993?
Each sequel relies on the power of nostalgia and what has been before, instead of creating something of its own. They are standing on the shoulders of giants.
I know, times have changed and movies these days have significantly higher budgets than they did in the early 90s. Of course, with blockbusters like these, the studios try to avoid any financial risk whatsoever. And the fact that they continue to make hundreds of millions of dollars, only further proves that this business model is working perfectly. Still, I’d love for someone to finally take this movie franchise into new frontiers.
Where’s the adult eco-thriller that takes its audience seriously for once and actually asks some genuinely thought-provoking questions? Or where’s the r-rated animal horror film that would fit this source material so perfectly? Yes, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom we had an installment that, at least in the second half, chummed up the horror genre a bit, and I really do have a soft spot for that film with its creative camera work and tense atmosphere during the finale. But ultimately it was also just an over-the-top, high-gloss B-movie, just like all the other sequels. This series could really benefit from a visionary who brings in new ideas.
Gareth Edwards’ latest entry unfortunately is just old wine in new skins. Same old, same old. Despite the many Spielbergian homages, the movie remains dull from beginning to end. We get the umpteenth corporate hack with a good face and bad intentions, some absolutely generic throwaway characters who bite the dust early on and a cast of lead actors who are basically all just playing themselves. Seriously, what exactly is the difference between Scarlett Johansson’s Zora Bennet and her Marvel character Black Widow? Both seem to be trained top agents without any weaknesses, but with the usual hero moves and an honorable moral compass.
I could keep nitpicking until the never-never day, but I won’t because it wouldn’t be fair. First of all, Edwards reportedly only had eighteen months to shoot and finish the movie, which is nothing considering the amount of effects shots. And secondly, you can see his love for the source material in every second of the film. At every moment, Gareth Edwards is walking in Spielberg’s trail and he does so as sincerely as a devoted fan with a $180,000,000 budget can. And despite (or perhaps because of?) this, Jurassic World Rebirth is little more than another tired rehash of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, inferior to the original in every aspect (yes, even the effects).
Unfortunately, the same has to be said about Alexandre Desplat’s film music, which is a textbook paradigm of today’s film music landscape. Desplat’s music is serviceable. In the few moments when the film allows the music to step forward a little, Desplat scores with heartfelt melodies. However, these moments are few and far between and are lost on a score album, which is once again way too long. However, I can’t blame him. He worked with what little he had, and the story was admittedly not the most inspiring. The standout track Boat Chase is pleasing and fun, but could just as easily appear in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie. The score simply lacks a certain gravitas and I very much doubt that the few new themes will play a role in the inevitable sequels to come.
It’s almost appropriate that a lacklustre score like this has been provided with an utterly poorly designed artwork from Back Lot Music (#1). Everything feels rushed, whether it’s the lifeless run-of-the-mill poster motif, or the vanilla Photoshop effect applied to a quite arbitrarily added visual frame. And what are those random symbols in the bottom right-hand corner? I don’t get it, but I don’t have to grasp everything. It is what it is and so, despite all these circumstances, I used it as a template for a handful of custom covers. At least the Photoshop effects were relatively easy to recreate (#2 to #8). Obviously little extra effort was put into the other marketing material, or how else to explain ye olde teal-orange stunt they chose for their rendition of the iconic Jurassic badge? (#9). For the sake of variety, I turned a few fan posters that I found during my research into custom covers (#10 to #13).
The only promotional material worth mentioning is a set of global tour posters created by themovieposterguy, who did a really great job! The charm of these posters is a welcome change from the usual, flawless poster designs from the Photoshop army. I created textless versions of these posters and utilized a tried and tested design template from my previous cover set for Jurassic World: Dominion. Hope you like it and take it to good use.
Now, what does the future hold for the Jurassic World series? It’s not so much a question whether “if”, but rather “when” another sequel will be made. Because contrary to the premise of Jurassic World Rebirth, the world hasn’t lost any of its fascination for dinosaurs, as its predecessor’s worldwide box office takings of $1.004 billion impressively prove.
Much more exciting is the question of where the series might go next? Well, thanks to my vast alliances in the industry, anchored equally in deep friendships and mutual respect, I am as happy as I am proud to be the first to bring you a one-off exclusive about – according to my trusty source – the upcoming 8th installment of the series, ominously titled Jurassic World: Recursion.
“In the wild expanses of Patagonia, a sprawling sanctuary houses dozens of dinosaur species in relative peace. Designed to mimic natural ecosystems with minimal human interference, it’s a miracle of rewilding… until the miracle starts to rot. Unexplained deaths begin cropping up among herbivores — not due to predators, but internal decay. A silent extinction creeps in. Two scientists — Dr. Maren Solano, a paleo-epidemiologist returning from academic exile, and Tomás Ilán, a local ecologist with deep cultural ties to the land — uncover a microscopic organism within the biome. It’s ancient, older than any known parasite, awakened unknowingly through the genetically engineered de-extinction of dinosaurs 35 years ago. And it’s jumping species! This is no outbreak — this is a microbial threat rooted in prehistory — one that could rewrite our understanding of the Chicxulub extinction event.”
Chet G. Peetee
HQCovers 
Well said! And i could leave this comment with a simple “i hate it”. All of it. But i won’t, because your covers look great as ever. I would love to add them to my music library (one from your second batch that feature just the logo), but i can’t. As much as i loathe the Jurassic World franchise, i hate Desplat’s music even more. The guy hasn’t written a single line of music i actually like – but that’s just me.
Oh, and those random symbols in the bottom right-hand corner? They look like Weyland Yutani to me. Baffling. But fitting this utter train wreck of graphic design…
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what the fuck is your problem mate
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Superb job as always. One of these days I’d love to see you take a crack at making covers for Elliot Goldenthal’s Heat score.
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I find it both frustrating and amusing that you erroneously credit David Koepp as being the author of the first film. While he did co-write the screenplay, he did so alongside original novel author Michael Crichton. But more importantly, you attribute some lost magic to him specifically, when THIS FILM is the first in the series Koepp has written alone, and the first he’s been involved with since The Lost World. C’mon, man.
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Your works are great as always.
Also, on a side note, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a vinyl version of soundtrack cover available, but it’s being „disrupted“ by a vinyl. Do you think you can recreate this soundtrack cover or at least remove vinyl that is in the way?:
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