Scarlett Johansson brings near-extinct Jurassic Park franchise roaring back to life • FRANCE 24

Scarlett Johansson brings near-extinct Jurassic Park franchise roaring back to life • FRANCE 24

[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Don’t think I’m very good at my job anymore. We promised them love, but the math doesn’t add up. Hello and welcome to this week’s film show on Arts 24, and today we’re asking, is the Jurassic franchise roaring back to life? Jurassic World Rebirth is directed by Godzilla filmmaker Gareth Edwards and stars Scarlett Johansson. It’s a monster movie in more than one way. I’m joined by our film critic Emma Jones. It’s been more than 30 years since Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park. Does the film prove that the franchise isn’t yet extinct?
Well, certainly that last film Dominion, you know, that felt Jurassic in itself. It was pretty tired and Formula 8 and deservedly probably panned by critics. It did though make well over a billion dollars at the box office still. That is clearly not a failing franchise but possibly did need a bit of a creative rethink. So I think the key word here is rebirth really. There’s been a clear out of everything from the last three Jurassic World films and instead we’ve got British director Gareth Edwards, actor Scarlett Johansson, and Mahersula Ali as mercenaries. Then you’ve got Jonathan Bailey playing a scientist and they’re hired by Robert Friend’s creepy entrepreneur character to go and collect dinosaur DNA which apparently can revolutionize human healthcare.
Wow, of course it could. Well, let’s take a look at what to expect from Jurassic World Rebirth. Don’t see that every day or ever. Let’s go. If we get this DNA, millions of lives are saved. Maybe we should uh make this quick, huh? Time to move. We put ourselves in a place where we don’t belong. Survival is a long shot.
That’s kind of our specialty.
Now, Eve, it is supposed to be a whole new world. But actually, they go straight back to the place where the original Jurassic Park started. And this is the only place left in the world where there’s a large population of dinosaurs and they’re supposed to be left alone. Big strengths of the movie. Um, the original Jurassic Park author Michael Quickton had a hand in some of the writing as did Indiana Jones screenwriter David Co. Um, other strengths of the film, well, if you know Gareth Edwards work, you know, from 2010’s Monster, Godzilla, Rogue One, he’s never yet misstepped an action film and he doesn’t hear either. You know, there are big action set pieces from the word go. I’d say the other good choice has been Scarlett Johansson. She’s a solid lead presence and she really takes charge of the screen playing an ex-military commander.
And much um is being made, Emma, about the um chemistry between Scarlett Johansson and her co-star Jonathan Bailey. They’re great friends. They made global headlines at the world premiere of the film where she greeted him with a cheeky kiss.
Yes. But right in front of her husband. So that’s okay.
Okay. And at the world premiere, Scarlett Johansson was also talking about the film going back to the original themes that made Jurassic Park a hit. Honestly, the film I think stands on its own. Um, you know, it really is uh Gareth’s vision for this Jurassic while Gareth as a huge fan of Spielberg and the original Jurassic Park. And you’ll see a lot of, you know, I I’d say he pays homage to Spielberg in different parts of the film that I think fans will really like.
Finally, then Emma, who gets eaten by the dinosaur?
Well, that is the fun of the film to discover. Believe me, it really is a a fun film to discover, but I’ve always thought that if you’re not a child or a main character, it’s kind of inevitable that a T-Rex is going to loom over you at some point. I’d say the one weakness of the film I found is they’re still talking about genetically modified dinosaurs who’ve mutated into monstrosities. I thought these creatures were far less impressive than the real, so to speak, dinosaurs made by CJ CGI. However, if they are seeking a rebirth of a $6 billion franchise, then I think they’ve got it.
Oh, wow. Okay. Well, watch this space. And onto a film now that’s part of a trilogy. Although it’s certainly not a blockbuster. This is Dreams and it’s by Norwegian author turned filmmaker Dag Joanne Hogarood. And this movie won the top prize, the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival last year. Emma, tell us more. So, Dreams is the final part of the trilogy known as a whole as love, sex, dreams. But these films can be seen in any order or you can just pick one to go and see. They’re also known as the Oslo trilogy because they’re set within that city. So their purpose is to explore um contemporary relationships um that are also unconventional and although all the films look and feel different, they are all part of the same conversation. So, Dreams is a story of a teenager, um, Johanna, and this is a fabulous international debut by 20-year-old actress Ella Overby, and she falls head over heels in love with her school teacher, Johanna. Okay. Well, let’s take a look. [Music] [Music] So, Falling for Your Teacher could easily be um a sensational subject matter for a film, but it seems to be done in an understated Nordic fashion here. It really does with just enough drama to carry the plot. And the script does perfectly capture the hormonal rush of first love. Yet, Johanna’s feelings are expressed with mature clarity when she does decide to write them down. So, no teenage journaling that you might really read with red cheeks a few years later, not not speaking personally at all. Her mother and grandmother are very liberal artists. So once they’ve got over their shock and they’re reassured that nothing terrible has happened, they want to publish her work in pros. Um this the topic is treated with a lot of erotic delicacy. But I think with all these films, I found there’s a lot more conversation in these movies than actual love, sex, or dreams. However, this coming of age story is the one I really like best. It’s a good watch.
Okay. Well, the film’s um Love and Sex will also be released in France later this month. And we’re going moving on now to another film that showed out of competition at Berlin, and that’s the thriller Islands by German director Jan Ole Gera. Now, Sam Riley plays Tom, an unhappy tennis coach. He thinks he’s found an escape when he meets a seemingly idyllic family who come to holiday at his hotel.
I’d like to book some tennis lessons for my son. I’m Tom.
Dave. Hi. You met my wife? Yeah.
We really need this holiday and we want everything to be perfect.
You could take us show us your island.
Can you do my back? [Music] Come. Come. Is he okay?
Dave’s gone.
I can find him. I’ll come with you. Don’t tell me the truth. What’s your relationship with uh
teaching his son Tennis? Well, please leave the alien. So, this looks like a stylish modern film noir. How did you find it?
Yes, there’s there’s definite Hitchcockian echoes, but you know what thriller does not have those these days? But this is a really refreshingly original story, I thought. So, Sam Riley finally gets a role that uh seems to live up to the 2007 Joy Division um biopic control which first made him a star. Fantastic part there of Ian Curtis. His character here of Tom did not make a professional tennis player and he’s allowed himself to drink and drift through several tourist seasons in Fentura the Canary Island where indeed the film was shot in 2023 and that does give the film its mysterious backdrop. Uh Stacy Martin’s character an she’s both loving mother potential fem fatal her husband Dave played excellently by Jack Farthing is a classic likable Brit Brit. Tom thinks that he’s seen an somewhere before and he can’t get rid of that thought. Holiday is about fantasy as we all know and these lines start to blur. So, I thought this was a really impressive film from the director, Gusta, and he keeps up the tension right to the end. Um, all these characters, they’re truly lost people and it would be difficult to say which is is the loneliest of them all. Okay. Well, it sounds like a good summer watch, that’s for sure. And finally then this week, Money Talks when it comes to matrimony in the film Materialists by Selene Song. This is the Canadian director’s follow-up to the Oscar nominated film Past Lives. Dakota Johnson stars as a wedding planner, Lucy, who needs to decide who her own match might be. I absolutely love this film as it asks a lot of soulsearching questions about love in 2025, doesn’t it? M yeah this is an intriguing idea for a romcom that feels a bit of a throwback to Jane Austin’s values on marriage and they seem very contemporary and materialist which is dare I say it said in the set in the mess of the modern dating digital market so it’s got to be a single man in possession of a good fortune that’s Jane Austin’s idea and it seems Lucy are heroins too they’ve also got to be very tall don’t forget important
this material girl she she runs um a New York matchmaking agency. And while past lives is all about the illusion of first love, um materialist is all about the hard reality of finding a partner. And it seems it’s particularly hard when you might be bringing financial assets to the altar. So Lucy herself, she has to choose between Pedro Pascal’s ultra wealthy bachelor character, Harry, and Chris Evans’s lovable but broke actor, John.
I won’t ask who you would choose, Emma. Um, Selen Song spent six months as a matchmaker herself in New York while writing. So, dating and matching is something she knows a lot about. I interviewed her in Paris as she was here for the Shanles film festival and she’s pretty worried about dating today. Take a listen.
The marriage market is on our phones, right? Instagram, dating apps. So in a world where uh objectification and commodification of each other and ourselves is faster and easier in a world like that I think that um well how do we actually navigate that to find our own personhood because love cannot exist between two merchandise right but love can exist between two people. Do you think modern love is in trouble? Yeah. I think that love is something that we’re all obsessed with, but I think we’re increasingly getting embarrassed to admit it.
It’s a bit worrying, isn’t it? Love is in trouble. You can watch the full interview on our website at France224.com on arts24’s page. Um, what’s your overall verdict on the film then?
I’d say promises to be a hard edge romcom. However, you know, these characters are quite familiar. Will Materialist deliver a different ending? Have to watch.
Okay, we will. Um, thank you very much for joining us and we’re going to leave you with a look at materialists. Thanks for watching. See you next time. Hey, are you single? I’m a matchmaker. Give me a call if you want to meet somebody.
I deserve someone who fulfills all of my criteria.
Nothing over 20 BMI. I don’t want someone who likes cats. You deliver.
You’re the matchmaker.
You want a drink?
Sure.
Coke and beer.

This week on arts24’s film show, presenter Eve Jackson and film critic Emma Jones dive into four exciting new releases. First up is “Jurassic World: Rebirth”, directed by Gareth Edwards, which reinvigorates the beloved dinosaur franchise with fresh faces like Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali.

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