Jurassic World Rebirth 3D Movie Review

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Jurassic World Rebirth

3D Movie Review

By: Adolph Vega

3D

The 3D in Jurassic World: Rebirth isn’t bad — it’s just so disappointing. For a Jurassic movie, you expect dinos bursting out of the screen and immersive, pulse-pounding depth. Instead, we get one lonely pop-out and some basic depth layering.

To be fair, a few moments really work: the waterfall scene has great depth, and tight spaces like the convenience store and underground corridor benefit from the 3D, making them feel realistically claustrophobic. The jungle shots are also nice — they lean into that “you are there” nature documentary vibe.

But beyond that? It’s mostly flat. Ghosting issues creep in, and the final act is a dark, muddy mess where the 3D actually makes things harder to see. The potential is there, but the filmmakers just don’t commit.

Jurassic World: Rebirth has mediocre 3D, but it really should have been excellent 3D.

Final 3D Score: 6/10

Movie

Here we go again. Another Jurassic movie. They found YET ANOTHER island full of dangerous dinosaurs. Another group of mostly pointless characters wandering into dino disaster territory with asinine reasoning.

This time, they throw in a “mutant dinosaur” angle to spice things up. And yeah, I’ll admit it — that could have been interesting. Remix some dinos, give them weird traits, create something truly new. But instead? We get a big boss dino with four arms and a head that looks like a cancerous tumor. Cool idea — but they just didn’t do much with it.

And then there’s the plot. Something about dinosaur blood curing cancer? Or something like that ?! Of course, it has to be the blood from the deadliest, biggest dinosaurs. Didn’t we already get this story in a previous Jurassic movie? We’re force-fed exposition and introduced to a large cast of characters we’re supposed to care about — even though we know most are just here to become dinner for the dinosaurs.

So many people magically survive when it makes absolutely no sense. I won’t spoil specifics, but come on…

And that happy ending? Way too neat and way too cute. I can only suspend my disbelief so far. There’s no way all of that chaos wraps up in such a shiny little bow.

What’s weird is that I actually liked the previous Jurassic World movies. I’ve even defended them. They had spectacle, solid pacing, and a sense of urgency. But this? This one’s different. Not terrible, not unwatchable — just basic.

Let’s also talk about the anti-greed moral, which lands with all the subtlety of a T-Rex roar. It’s rich (pun intended) coming from the seventh film in a multi-billion-dollar franchise built on merchandising. Speaking of merchandising — let’s talk about the product placement. It’s like the dinosaurs were sponsored. Why not just put them in Levi’s and Nikes? It’s not quite that bad, but it’s getting there.

The first hour is a nothing-burger of a slog. The film opens with on-screen text dumping a bunch of lore like a Wikipedia summary of a movie they forgot to film. Oh, and don’t worry — the previous movie (Dominion) ending barely matters. But sure, let’s keep name-dropping legacy characters and events, because nostalgia bait is the cheapest way to fake emotional weight.

Yes, the action ramps up in the second half and becomes fun in a theme-park kind of way, but everything falls too perfectly into place. Need the power back on? Boom, it works. Need someone to survive an impossible situation? They do. Convenient plot magic is the real MVP here.

By the end, I was left with 75 million unanswered questions and a mild headache from rolling my eyes for nearly two hours. I didn’t hate it… but I sure didn’t enjoy it either. I can turn off my brain and enjoy a dumb dinosaur movie — and I’ve proven that in my past positive Jurassic World reviews — but this one? Jurassic World Rebirth tested my patience and got on my nerves. It’s convoluted, frustrating, and just plain stupid, and the first half is boring. The movie opens by saying interest in dinosaurs is waning… and honestly, it’s my interest in this franchise that’s definitely going extinct.

Final Movie Score: 5/10

https://www.jurassicworld.com/home/

© 2025 Universal Pictures. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Disney's Elio 3D Movie Review

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Disney's Elio 3D Movie Review

By Adolph Vega

3D

The 3D in Elio is solid overall, and some moments genuinely wow you, but ultimately it’s hampered by Disney’s reluctancy and ghosting. Many of the space scenes look fantastic in stereoscopic 3d — the layering, the particle effects, the alien architecture — all rich with depth and visual candy. The movie features numerous enjoyable 3D moments, including pop-out scenes and shallow environments that effectively immerse the audience (diorama effect) into the scenes.

That being said Elio is a science fiction movie, but it’s absolutely haunted by 3-D ghosting. Sadly this issue is not just in one or two spots — it’s frequent and frustrating. You’ll go from an impressive scene that looks near-perfect to a blurry double-vision mess that ruins the moment in the next scene. Honestly, Elio has bipolar 3D — and that’s not a reference to the 3D glasses. It swings between fantastic and awful, and frustratingly averages out to be fine overall… when it should’ve been stellar. It’s a shame, because when Elio leans into the 3D format, it really excels. I do not believe this issue with the theatre’s presentation. The 3D trailers before this movie were 100% fine. Regrettably, I believe Disney itself is hindering the 3D potential of its animated films. There’s one scene with a character aiming a gun right at the screen — a perfect pop-out moment — but the gun that’s popping out of the screen is blurred. Why?! It just seems as if Disney deliberately instructed the 3D team to refrain from fully embracing the format. I’m sorry to state this, but if this were a DreamWorks animation film, the 3D probably would’ve been better implemented, and it would probably have received a much more positive review. Perhaps Disney is hesitant to fully commit to stereoscopic animation, perhaps due to concerns about potentially harming children’s eyes. While Disney animated films generally have good 3D visuals, they don’t seem to be fully exploring the potential of 3D. This is particularly disheartening for me, a die-hard 3D enthusiast, as I can envision a version of this movie that would be breathtaking in 3D.

Elio also has many darkly lit scenes, and those are always an issue with 3D. Elio’s 3D is orbiting greatness. Sometimes it’s closer, and sometimes it’s farther away, but it never quite lands where it should be. Elio should have been a 3D showcase, but sadly it’s a disappointment. With a heavy heart, overall I have to give Elio 3D aspect only a slight recommendation.

Final 3D Score: 6/10

Movie

Disney has an uneven record with sci-fi, and Elio unfortunately keeps that streak going.

The story centers on Elio, a lonely boy who dreams of being abducted by aliens — and then actually gets abducted. The aliens mistakenly believe he is the leader of Earth, which (of course) sets off a string cosmic misadventures. It has that rewritten-a-few-too-many-times feel — probably because it was. I accurately predicted a solid 60% of the movie’s plot points. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, and simplistic. I thought the huge conflict in this movie was dumb and poorly conceived. Overall it feels like a short film that got stretched into a feature-length runtime.

This movie provided me with a roller coaster of feelings and tones. There are laughs, but it’s not fully a comedy. One horror-inspired sequence was genuinely hilarious and had me laughing out loud. The movie has heart and even some real emotional swings, but not all of it feels earned. I don’t care enough about these characters to shed a tear, even though the movie is trying to make me (and the audience) cry. Is the movie an adventure movie? Yes. Is it an emotional journey of self-discovery? Yes. Is it silly? Yes. Is it serious? Yes. Elio is the perfect example of a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

I do respect that the space alien designs steer away from the usual “different face ridges or human with blue colored skin” formula. The aliens have truly bizarre, non-humanoid, non-bipedal designs that look not of this world, but they are also so alien that it’s hard to connect with them. As a lifelong sci-fi fan, I wanted to love that aspect more than I actually did.

The film has two standout cameos that fans of sci-fi will absolutely recognize. I won’t spoil them here, but they fit the movie perfectly— a little too perfectly — like the film was elbowing you and saying, “You see what we did there?” Yet, I had a huge grin on my face. There are also clever nods to classic sci-fi films, which were genuinely fun to find. Unlike the cameos, the sci-fi references in the movie are very subtle. If you don’t know the reference, it’s perfectly fine.

Visually, the animation is colorful, but the art style is forgettable — generic, even. It has the same visual design as Disney’s Strange World, and honestly feels like Pixar / Disney is just recycling assets at this point. It’s not uncommon for Disney to revisit its classic animated films, such as the original Snow White and Robin Hood movies. This video showcases that aspect perfectly, and I imagine in the future someone will do a similar video with Strange World and Elio. It’s still disappointing and robs Elio of a fresh distinct look.

Before I conclude this review, I must mention that this movie includes both a mid-credit and post-credit scenes.

  • Mid-credit scene:

    A basic 5-second moment. The scene is a cute continuation of the story, but it’s not particularly special.

  • Post-credit scene:

    A teaser for an upcoming Pixar animated lizard movie. This ‘trailer’ is skippable and pointless. Don’t waste your time waiting for this scene - it’s truly not worth it.

While Elio does contain a few enjoyable moments, it’s not a movie that people are likely to revisit in the future. I love sci-fi, and I couldn’t love this uneven movie. The premise of Elio is cute, but the execution is entirely derivative.

Final Movie Score: 6/10


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Official Website :

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© 2025 Disney and its related entities

How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action) 3D Movie Review

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How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action) 3D Movie Review

Movie Review by Jacob Scarberry

3D

How can I describe the 3D in How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action) with any word other than “breathtaking”? I simply can’t. Even with the film’s dark and saturated cinematography, the 3D still stands above everything that has been released this year so far (as of Friday the 13th, June 2025).

From the opening scenes, the depth is constant and immersive — especially in how deep the sets go. You’ll often see set dressing in the foreground poking right toward the viewer, and the flying scenes are nothing short of amazing. Several moments feature fire and embers blasting directly out of the screen, creating a thrilling and tangible sense of danger. Window breaks with particles, weapons, boats, and more keep the action popping forward.

That said, it’s not perfect 3D — but it’s damn close. There were a few moments where the editing moved a bit too quickly, which made it hard to fully appreciate the 3D craftsmanship. A slower pace in some shots would’ve really let those details shine.

Still, with its natural spatial layering, dimensional details, and constant visual engagement, How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action) a fantastic 3D experience.

Final 3D Score:

9/10 and Editor’s Choice Award

Movie

There are several reasons why I might be the absolute worst person to review How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action):

  • A) I generally dislike and disregard live-action remakes of classic animated films.

  • B) I’m not exactly the target demographic (a man in his late 30s without kids).

  • C) I’ve always thought the original (animated) How to Train Your Dragon was an overrated 6/10 film that somehow got vaulted to immediate 10/10 status by nearly everyone who saw it.

So yeah — I’ve probably lost the trust of everyone reading this. Despite all this How to Train Your Dragon (Live Action) actually worked for me. It also worked for my best friend Corey, and this shocked us both, considering we’re probably two of the most cynical people this side of Statler and Waldorf.

The movie is, quite literally, the original (animated) film, beat for beat. Hiccup (Mason Thames) is the awkward laughingstock of the island of Berk — which is especially rough since he’s the son of the village leader, Stoick (Gerard Butler, reprising his role), a beloved and battle-hardened Viking. During the opening, Hiccup tries to help repel the dragon attacks, hoping to catch and kill the ever-elusive Night Fury, a dragon no one’s ever seen. Miraculously, he succeeds — but only he knows. When it comes time to slay the dragon, he can’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he sets it free. Toothless escapes, injured and unable to fly.

Meanwhile, Stoick prepares to lead a raid to find the Dragon’s Nest, determined to end the attacks once and for all. Gobber (Nick Frost), Hiccup’s blacksmith teacher, convinces Stoick to enroll his son in dragon-fighting training to help him find his place. Enter the supporting teen cast: Fishlegs (Julian Dennison), siblings Ruffnut and Tuffnut (Bronwyn James and Harry Trevaldwyn), the obnoxious Snotlout (Gabriel Howell), and Astrid (Nico Parker), Hiccup’s future love interest — all of whom are very unimpressed with him.

As Hiccup secretly begins bonding with Toothless and starts doing better in training (thanks to what he learns from the dragon), he begins to find his confidence and purpose. But danger looms, and it’ll take the unlikeliest Viking to step up and save the day.

So yeah — this is a near copy-paste remake, down to the same co-writer and co-director Dean DeBlois from the original trilogy. Ironically, Chris Sanders (co-director of the original and Lilo & Stitch) also has a remake in theaters right now. While you can’t expect massive surprises, there’s enough freshness here to keep it engaging — especially if you haven’t seen the original animated film in full since 2010 (like me).

What Worked in this movie :

  • The casting is pretty solid. Mason Thames does a good job as Hiccup, even if he lacks the nebbish charm Jay Baruchel brought to the role.

  • Gerard Butler steals the show — he absolutely nails Stoick, making him both likable and flawed. Honestly, I half expected him to yell “THIS… IS… BERK!!” every other scene, and I wouldn’t have minded.

  • The sets are fantastic. A lot of physical environments were used, and Northern Ireland serves as a beautiful stand-in for Berk.

  • The CGI is strong, even if it lacks the expressive, stylized charm of the animated dragons.

  • The cinematography is nice, but the color palette leans too heavily into earthy tones. It needed more visual pop and magic.

  • John Powell’s score returns, and it’s still gorgeous — full of Celtic tones that easily outshine the usual Disney remake fare.

This is a remake that didn’t need to happen — but surprisingly, it works. It’s fun, well-made, and even managed to win over two jaded cynics. How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is fun, well-made, and honors the original while finding just enough of its own voice. It may not soar to new heights, but strong visuals, solid performances, and top-tier 3D make it a great time at the movies. Buy some snacks, throw on your 3D glasses, and enjoy the ride — you won’t regret it.

Final Movie Score: 8/10


Learn more about how we rate 3D content via the link below:

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