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The Oscar-winning Jurassic Park was a huge advancement for computer animation when it premiered, showcasing unbelievably realistic and frightening dinosaurs as never before seen in film. Although the effects are now noticeably outdated, the story, with a screenplay co-written by the novel’s author Michael Crichton, is a marvel of suspense, action-adventure, and nonstop thrills. While it impressed audiences simply with the amazing dinos, the combination of superb acting, intriguing characters, and well-timed humor promises that regardless of the years, Jurassic Park will still equal solid repeat-viewing entertainment. An instantly famous and often parodied opening scene finds an enraged dinosaur fighting containment in the new environment of Isla Nublar (near Costa Rica). John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) assembles a group of the most recognized scientists and specialists to endorse his remarkable Jurassic Park for his investor’s benefit, a secluded wonderment of extinct monstrosities, brought to life by cloning the DNA of dinosaurs found in fossilized mosquitos. The group includes archaeologists Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and “blood-sucking” lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferraro). They’re joined on the park tour by Hammond’s grandchildren Tim and Lex. Before long, a tropical storm and a double-crossing inside man (Wayne Knight) leads to security malfunctions and escaped dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex that doesn’t follow park schedules. |
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It’s a theme-park-out-of-control tale (one Crichton is familiar with, having previously written Westworld), and one that instills life lessons through the use of terrorizing monsters. “Life will not be contained,” remarks Malcolm. “Life finds a way.” Several quotable speeches later, audiences are reminded that messing with mother nature, taking the role of god, and raping the natural world leads to chaos – Malcolm goes further by explaining Chaos Theory and relates Hammond’s park to a kid who has found his dad’s gun. Not respecting the power and intelligence (in this case prehistoric hulks) or the unpredictable quality of life results in disaster; control may be the illusion, but it’s a whole lot of fun making the mistake. A great blend of CG and enormous animatronic puppets breathes life into some of the most mortifying and believable dinosaurs in movie history. Constant foreshadowing, unequalled suspense, action-packed chase sequences, appropriate drama and even unexpected predicaments (such as electrified fences and reckless cars) add to the awe of dino mayhem. Spielberg trademarks, including a distaste for kids and their inclusion in scary situations, comic relief quips from nearly every character, an antagonist human (aren’t the dinosaurs enough?) and John Williams’ stupendous score make their way into Jurassic Park, forever denoting this as one of the best films from an already spectacular director. - Mike Massie
Click HERE to read the review of The Lost World: Jurassic Park |
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