Zanobard Reviews

Alexandre Desplat’s stunning score for Jurassic World Rebirth returns us to the iconic franchise in utterly gorgeous style, as the composer’s meticulous approach to orchestration shines across some spectacular action setpieces and impeccable renditions of themes both iconically old and entertainingly new.

The soundtrack album for Jurassic World Rebirth clocks in at just over a hundred minutes long, and it begins with “Opening Lab”; moody strings and woodwinds open the track, with deeply foreboding brass and vocals then joining centre stage with the entire orchestral ensemble building dramatically to introduce the first of Alexandre Desplat’s brand new themes for the film, which we’ll call the Rebirth theme for ease. The first minute or so centres around this new theme before the orchestra suddenly fades, giving away to additional strings and vocals soaked in wonder. Tense brassy action however then overtakes for the track’s back half with an imposing two-note vocal motif also emphatically emphasising this shift in tone alongside a louder, rising five-note one (which we’ll call the danger theme given its deafening crescendo finish that closes out the cue). So far, I have to hand it to Desplat; his orchestrations are absolutely gorgeous even in just this first track, and to top it off the music feels very John Williams-y too – it just sounds like a Jurassic score even without a note of the iconic themes being played (…yet anyway). The short “Bridge Of Deal” then sinks into wary strings-based atmosphere and suspense before “Natural History Museum” introduces a much more hopeful new theme right off the bat that I assume is for the human characters of the film, firstly on gentle strings before moving into noble brass tones.

Gentle hints toward Williams’ iconic Jurassic Park theme echo in the back half of the track before a sudden flourishing burst of his adventure theme closes out the cue, and just… wow. It sounds absolutely magnificent, the orchestration is beautiful, and to say I was grinning like an idiot when I first heard it would not be far from the truth at all. Further quiet hints toward the main Park theme then play in “Team Gathered” before “Voyage” reprises the motif for the humans in a boldly adventurous burst on grandiose orchestra. The eerie danger theme also reprises on quiet strings in the back half, with a gentle but wary piano rendition of Williams’ Park theme closing out the track. Upbeat orchestra is then central in “Dart Show” before the music simmers down into quietly pensive piano territory for “Zora And Kincaid”, though the real treat is up next as the first major action sequence of the score arrives. “Mosasaur Attacks Yacht” begins with ominous strings, setting a particularly unnerving mood right off the bat before Desplat’s own actual motif for the titular dinosaur arrives at just past a minute in. It’s big, it’s menacing and properly in your face, swirling and leaping with increasing orchestral intensity as crashing brass and emboldened percussion back it up all the way to the end of this decidedly tense four minute cue.

“Zora And Loomis” briefly slows things back down with thoughtful strings and a lovely peaceful rendition of the Jurassic Park theme before “Mayday” starts to hint back toward the malevolent orchestral atmosphere of the Mososaur; this wary atmosphere occupies most of the track with the motif for the humans also anxiously reprising until another brand new theme, this time a “hybrid” piece of sorts that interacts with the back half of the Jurassic Park theme in a gently serene strings-based manner, fades the track to a quiet close. “Mosasaur Bumps Boat” then reprises the titular monster’s motif in full malevolent form, with the subsequent “Boat Chase” being the best of the action bunch here; a thunderously heroic brassy fanfare opens the piece, with the Mosasaur theme then taking centre stage for much of the cue with a sense of sheer orchestral anxiety and tension set throughout, and plenty of Williams-esque flourishes and exquisite Desplat instrumentation flairs to overall make this a thoroughly entertaining action setpiece. With the fast pace fading towards the end of the track we also get some enjoyably relieved renditions of both the human and hybrid Jurassic Park themes too. “Fins Attack” parts one and two then conclude the action for now, with the former focusing on eerie vocal and brassy atmosphere – alongside a hint or two towards the Rebirth theme – and the latter giving the Mosasaur a tensely imposing sendoff.

Giving the Mosasaur itself a theme I have to say was an excellent idea by Desplat – it really gives the prior action sequence a massive villainous boost with the music playing excellent narrative throughout, making it that much more effective as a result. With the Mosasaur now swimming thematically away, the two-note vocally imposing motif from “Opening Lab” returns in “Cave Swim” with some rather tranquil string ambience playing either side of it. The two minute “Hurry” then pays stylistic homage to Williams’ The Lost World score with tribal percussion backing the moody Rebirth theme before “Walking The Swamp” returns firstly to the motif for the humans in its first minute on unsettling brass, and then the eerie five note danger theme shortly after. “Do The Job” then introduces a curiously waltz-like piano motif, though this doesn’t last for long as the subsequent “Dino Lovers” returns to themes galore; a wondrous woodwind and string-flavoured take on the motif for the humans opens the track, with a happily upbeat idea for Jonathan Bailey’s character Loomis also making its debut (on clarinet and actually played by the actor himself!) right before an achingly gorgeous rendition of the hybrid Jurassic Park theme. The real deal then amazingly reprises in full for “Dino Spectacle”, with some frankly beautiful orchestral work by Desplat that almost rivals Williams’ own renditions of the iconic theme in how spectacularly soaring it sounds.

The eight minute “Crossing The Path/T-Rex” opens with eerie high-pitched strings and woodwinds, setting a rather unsettling tone right off the bat. The imposing two-note motif from “Opening Lab” then makes a sudden deeply vocal appearance, signalling the imminent arrival of both the foreboding Rebirth theme and similarly moody danger theme – given the track title, perhaps it’s actually a motif for the Distortus Rex, the mutated T-Rex antagonist of the film. Action then kicks off at just past the three minute mark, with powerful brassy bursts, wary strings and pounding percussion thundering the theme for the humans past several further playthroughs of both the Rebirth and danger themes. The short “Clifftop” then briefly reprises the hybrid Jurassic Park motif in hopeful form before the music descends back into wary orchestral ambience with “Climbing The Wall” and “Bird Strike”. After a quietly menacing rendition of the Rebirth theme in “Gentle Boat Ride”, “The Old Lab” returns to the motifs and cautious style of opening track “Opening Lab” once again with both the deep vocal danger idea and frantic action segments from the back half of that cue reprising. Anxious strings then open “Tunnel/Helicopter”, with the danger theme only adding to this increasingly tense tone as the orchestra builds in volume and intensity all across the track.

As the album nears its end, “Run To The Gate” bursts into frame with frenetic Williams-esque string flurries and a grand brassy fanfare, though the danger theme is hot on its heels as it crashes through seconds later to malevolently occupy the remainder of the setpiece. The climactic “Bella And The Beast” then rapidly picks up where it leaves off, with a frantic rendition of the theme for the humans powering through at first before the music gives way to a tremendous emotional crescendo. Desplat really soars here as the orchestra builds to incredible power with the danger theme now suddenly heroically front and centre, and the Rebirth and hybrid Jurassic Park themes too return shortly after – the former to orchestrally menace one last time, and the latter to fade the music forlornly away in finish. Final track “Sailing Away” then offers a beautifully serene piano focus on Williams’ Jurassic Park theme, starting quietly before swelling powerfully with the full orchestra grandly at its back to impeccably close out the score.

Overall, Alexandre Desplat’s wonderful score for Jurassic World Rebirth is nothing short of pure musical magic. We’ll talk about the absolute star of the show here first, which is the composer’s genuinely incredible approach to orchestration; the way the instruments are all intricately weaved together in seemingly effortless fashion across this album results in some truly gorgeous-sounding cues that not only keenly evoke John Williams’ sound for the original Jurassic Park but are also pretty damned impeccable in their own right. This wondrous style then carries the score’s themes both old and new, and there are plenty of both. Front and centre are of course John Williams’ iconic pieces for the original film, and Desplat doesn’t shy away with extensive and utterly beautiful performances of the main theme in particular (“Dino Spectacle”, “Sailing Away”), but also pretty central too are the composer’s own new motifs for Rebirth. They are naturally a bit more subtle than Williams’ but they are there, with the standouts being the adventurous piece for the human characters (“Crossing The Path/T-Rex”), the foreboding Rebirth (“Opening Lab”) and danger themes (“Bella And The Beast”) – the latter of which I’m fairly sure is for the threatening Distortus Rex – as well as the impeccably imposing Mosasaur motif that entertaingly plagues much of the excellent action music (“Boat Chase”, “Mosasaur Attacks Yacht”) .

All-in, it’s a startlingly sublime orchestral return by Desplat to the iconic titular franchise, and its achingly beautiful style cements it one of the very best scores of the year so far.

Score: 8.5/10

Standout Cues: Boat Chase/Bella And The Beast/Sailing Away

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