As a kid, there was no shortage of things I
loved, including superhero’s, the holiday seasons, video games, cartoon
characters, but above all, I was a kid who was madly in love with Dinosaurs.
Unlike dragons or other cool movie monsters, Dinosaurs were once real creatures,
they lived on our very planet, and as a kid I always imagined what it would be
like to see one for real. Well, in 1993, everyone got to see Dinosaurs come to
life in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “Jurassic
Park”. Strait to the point, this has been and will always be one of my all
time favorite movies. This was the movie experience that made Dinosaurs feel
real, and as a kid, I was ecstatic about the idea of a real theme park zoo
dedicated solely to Dinosaurs. As far back as I can remember, this was the very
first PG-13 movie I ever saw, so in a sense it was my first time dipping my big
toe into a grownup world. More importantly, along with the likes of “Star Wars” and “The Wizard of Oz”, “Jurassic
Park” was one of those experiences that helped shape my overall love for
movies. Obviously, this film was a big game changer in the realms of special
effects, and provided no shortage of Dino action, but I hope the entertainment
value doesn’t distract modern audience from everything else that the film has
to offer. Make no mistake, there is magic in “Jurassic Park”, it’s an experience, with brilliant film-making
techniques on display, rich themes, and great characters to boot.
Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, "Jurassic Park" tells the tale of what happens when man plays God and then screws with
nature. Our venture begins with the introduction of two paleontologists named
Alan Grant and his girlfriend Ellie Sattler, who are currently exploring the
possibilities of raising children, which is difficult as the former is none to
fond of kids. Inter their midst is a theme park owner named John Hammond, who’s
impressed with both their knowledge and genuine love of Dinosaurs. Thus, he
invites them on a trip to his mysterious park and hopes that they’d sponsor it.
Upon visiting, it’s soon revealed that Hammond’s park dose in fact feature
real, living, breathing dinosaurs, which scientists have grown from DNA
preserved in fossilized mosquitoes. Hammond's proposal is that his guests take
one tour of his island park, along with his two young grand-children, and put
out a good word on his park. At first, the park is a dream come true, as Dr.
Grant finds himself living out his child hood dream to be in the presence of
real Dinosaurs. Unfortunately, lurking in their midst is a spy waiting for his
chance to steal the Dinosaur embryos for another rival organization. His
foolish actions lead to all the park systems shutting down, the power goes off, and now all the Dino’s can walk about or go hunting without being restricted by
electrical fences. With the situation rapidly getting out of hand, Dr. Grant
finds himself separated from the group, and in the care of Hammond's two
grandchildren. Thus, the adventure is on as our heroic guests try to escape the
theme park, while avoiding both the jaws of a giant T-Rex and the claws of savage
Velociraptor's.
Now back when I was a just a little kid
seeing this film for the first time, all I wanted were cool dinosaurs and fun
chases with them. Well, I certainly got both of those, but I surprisingly got
more than expected. The first thing this movie absolutely got right was it’s
cast of characters, who were all very engaging to watch, even at a very young
age. Granted, some could right these characters off as cartoony stereotypes, right
down to the fact that they all ware color-coded clothing, but there’s such a
talented ensemble cast bringing them to life that it hardly matters.
Dr. Alan
Grant is played by Sam Neill, who’s natural charm and charisma absolutely
carries the film. Even back when I was just a child, Sam Neill was one of the
first actors I ever consciously chose to become a fan of, and it all began here
with his portrayal of Alan Grant. I always loved that he wasn’t just a
survivor, he also had an arc in which he overcame his distaste toured children,
protected the two kids, became a father figure and in the end was finally ready
to start a family. For all the memorable action set-pieces, one of my favorite moments is Alan throwing his prized raptor claw on the ground, symbolizing that he's ready to start a new life without clinging to his obsessions.
Speaking of the kids, they were another crucial ingredient
to the film, not just for Dr. Grants arc, but for bringing younger viewers into
the experience. It’s through the eyes of these two children that young viewers
put themselves in their shoes, and it made both the wonder and danger feel all
the more real. Laura Dern is also very lovable as the love interest Dr. Ellie
Sattler, who thankfully isn’t poorly stereotyped as a token female. She manages
to be strong without drawing too much attention to herself, and her chemistry
with Sam Neill is very natural without the need of forced romantic dialogue.
Oh, and of course Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Malcom made for one of the most
charismatic and memorable characters that the 90’s had to offer. He was the
funny, cool guy of the group, but was also very smart and was even the first to
take note of the problems in the park, well before all the trouble starts. He’s
also got the most quotable lines of the film, with the most iconic being “Life
finds a way”. Malcom's cocky attitude was the perfect offset to Sam Neill’s more
stubborn tone, and I just loved watching this cast in general play off
one-another.
Perhaps the most well-rounded character
of all is the theme park owner himself John Hammond, who’s played masterfully by
the late Richard Attenborough. While Sam Neill as Alan Grant has always been my
personal favorite character, John Hammond was the most important to get right,
and it’s here where the movie really shines. It could have been so easy to make
Hammond your typical greedy business man who just wanted to make a fortune from
the dinosaurs, but instead he’s the kindest, most lovable and innocent man who
just wants to bring joy and wonder to the world. He probably would charge
customers for free if he could, but it’s through his simple-minded, if well
intended ambitions that the tragedy of the situation really hits home. Jeff
Goldblum as Dr. Malcom at one point in the film sums things up with this
chilling statement, that Hammond is toying with incredible power, and he’s
wielding it like ... "A kid who just found his dads gun". That in a nut-shell sums up
the tragedy of John Hammond, as he’s someone with the impulse of a child, so
caught up in the joy of his discovery, that he forgot to see if the safety was
on, and suddenly people die because of his stubbornness. I’m also very glad
that this movie doesn’t feature a straight forward human villain. We have the
saboteur played by Wayne Knight, but he never really becomes a villain of any
sort. He’s simply the catalyst for getting the problems started, and once he
plays his part in the story, he’s quickly taken out of the picture. It’s also cool
to see Samuel L. Jackson in one of his early roles as a park scientist, before
he became a famous actor. Surprisingly, his character has one of the most
quotable lines of the film … “Hold on to your butts”.
Now in the wake of “Jurassic Park’s” many sequels, it can be easy for casual viewers to
right this film off as just another mindless action film with nothing but
exciting Dinosaur attacks throughout. While that’s certainly what the sequels
devolved into, some may have forgetting that the first film was much smarter
and far more of what I’d like to call an experience, rather then a strait
forward action adventure. One of my favorite scenes is the opening helicopter
flight, which boasts one of the most triumphant musical scores I’ve ever heard,
the scenery is gorgeous, and the whole scene sets the tone for something grand
and special before we even see a single Dinosaur. Then we get our first real
scene of awe and wonder when our team encounters their first dinosaur. The
scene with the Brachiosaurus is one of my favorite moments from any action film,
because it has nothing to do with action or excitement ... it’s just our heroes
marveling this beautiful giant, and the music once again just makes my spirit
sour. I know that’s a corny thing to say, but it’s true. Obviously, John Williams is a legend when it comes to classic music tracks in movies like “Indiana Jones”, “Superman”, “Harry Potter”,
“E.T.” and of course “Star Wars”, but for me ... it’s his musical track to "Jurassic Park" that’s always left the biggest impact on me.
Another one of my favorite little moments
is when the team comes across the sick Triceratops. The scene really has
nothing to do with the film, but it’s just another added detail that makes this
film feel special. We see Ellie take on the role of a nurse, Grant becomes a
child as he’s face to face with his most beloved Dinosaur, and while I’m
perfectly aware that this Triceratops is animatronic, it never once felt like a
robotic puppet ... that thing looked and felt real. This brings me to the films
Oscar winning effects, which were more then just a breakthrough in computer
generated technology, it was the perfect fusion of CGI and practical
animatronics. Looking back, it’s actually quiet refreshing to see how many life-like puppets were featured in the film. More to the point, I always looked at “Jurassic Park” as one of the big game
changers in special effects. Before this film, Dinosaurs were only ever
featured as stop-motion, sock puppets or guys in rubber costumes. This is the
film that convinced a generation that these photo realistic Dinosaurs were
alive, and that we could reach out into the screen and touch them. If “King Kong” was a mile stone of special
effects back in 1933, “Jurassic Park”
was the next level of what “King Kong” started,
and to this day I really don’t think it’s been surpassed, although there have
been some contenders. Also, for an occasionally dark and creepy movie, this was
actually a very colorful looking film, and I loved it for that.
Science Fiction fans can likewise get a
lot of enjoyment out of this movie. Granted there’s no space ships or anything
we commonly associate with traditional Sci-Fi, but the science behind the
creation of these Dinosaurs, while impossible, still make for cool ideas that
almost feel plausible. The science also leads to ethical and moral debates,
which is yet another great strength to this film. I love seeing these
characters sit down at the dinner table and debate the ethics behind what’s
happened. I also love the subtle shift in tone, as our visitors go from over
joyed wonderment, to very concerned about the moral principles of the science
on display. It should be noted that it actually takes over an hour before we
have any real Dinosaur attacks, and in that time, this film has dazzled us with
awe inspiring moments, fleshed out the characters and raised ethical debates.
Once the carnage goes down, I feel completely engrossed in the experience and
in general it’s some of the best stuff the monster movie genera has ever
offered. I’ll never forget seeing this for the first time and thinking I was
becoming a big boy for handling the content in the film. Truthfully, while many
sequences were intense, I was never really that disturbed by the violence, nor
do I recall ever being that scared. Actually, the most terrifying part of the
film for me was the opening title card sequence, as that eerie music always got
me spooked to watch this by myself.
Now obviously for any kid obsessed with
Dinosaurs, the T-Rex is commonly their favorite, and it certainly was for me. I
was crazy obsessed with the T-Rex, and seeing this thing come to life on film
was the stuff that only dreams were made of. In all seriousness, the T-Rex from
“Jurassic Park” will always be one
of my favorite movie monsters, and a staple to the art of practical effects. Naturally
my favorite scene of whole film was the iconic T-Rex attack in the rain. This
scene is film-making at it’s finest, and a testament Steven Spielberg’s craft.
The build-up to this attack alone is riveting, and features one of cinemas most
inspired visuals ... in which a cup of the water ripples due to the vibration of
the T-Rex’s giant steps. I especially love that there’s no music of any sort heard during
this attack, and all we hear are the chilling sounds of falling rain. Speaking of
great sounds, that T-Rex roar … oh my ... it’s one of my favorite sound designs
ever put to film. No surprise, along with the effects, this movie also won the Academy Award for best sound design. Also, despite being a very suspenseful sequence, this first
T-Rex attack actually has some subtext, as it’s an example of life breaking
free from its confinement, and ties back into the ethical debates of earlier ... "God I hate being right all the time". Another
T-Rex highlight of course was the exciting jeep chase, which was both thrilling, but also had a great deal of tension, largely thanks to Laura Dern, who’s an excellent
screamer.
Another thing I loved about this film was
that it didn’t just resort to dinosaur attacks for exciting sequences. We also
have our hero’s escaping a tree before a car topless on them, and we have a
deeply tense scene with the boy trying to get over an electrical fence before
the power comes on. I should also give this movie credit for introducing me to
Raptors. These guys don’t show their faces until the third act, and the wait is
worth it because these guys are awesome. Once again, the practical puppet work
is amazing, and something I honestly never payed attention to as a kid was just
how frightening they were.
Seeing this movie as a child, I just thought those
Raptors were awesome, but looking back as an adult, there are some truly tense
and intimidating moments with these guys. The whole climax is a slow burning
cat and mouse game with these guys, and of course the kitchen scene is an
electrifying piece of suspense film-making. Things build to a riveting final
showdown on a museum display, and even though it’s admittedly short, it’s still
extremely thrilling and highly satisfying. To this day I still get chills all
over my body when the T-Rex comes in to rescue our heroes from the raptors.
That was always my favorite part as a kid, because I loved seeing their most
dangerous obstacle become the thing that saves the day. Oh, and that final shot
of the T-Rex roaring, with the banner falling in front of him … a thing of
beauty! Even after the T-Rex drops the mic, this film still deliver’s as we
lead into one of my all-time favorite movie epilogues. We see our hero’s fly
away to safety on the helicopter, not a single line is spoken, yet the characters are still conveying so much. I feel for Hamond has he stares at his cane and
ponders the lessons he’s learned from this experience. I feel for Grant and
Ellie as they exchange knowing looks, that their ready to start a family. I
especially love that final image of that flock of birds flying over the ocean.
Then as the music builds, and the helicopter fly’s off into the distance, I’m
always left with chills, like I just embarked on a once in a lifetime
journey.
Like I said earlier, there are some people
these days who could easily look back on “Jurassic
Park” as that one hit monster attack movie, which had impressive special
effects, and then think nothing else of it, but there really is so much more to
this film. I always looked at “Jurassic
Park” as a movie that had something special to offer to any kind of viewer.
It’s a griping survival film, a family adventure, a creepy monster flick, a
magical journey, and an intriguing Sci-Fi that balances fantasy with ethical
debates.
There’s honestly so much I can say about this film that I could
probably write a whole book on why I firmly believe that “Jurassic Park” should be regarded as a higher form of cinematic art,
rather than just another entertaining B monster movie. It’s a film that
captured my imagination as a child, took me on a thrilling ride, and after so
many years, this movie still continues to inspire me. It’s also my favorite of Steven
Spielberg’s work, as it masterfully combines his talents of bringing wonder and
horror into one package. We’ve seen Steven Spielberg’s raw talents of bringing
wonder to viewers through films like “Close
Encounters of the Third Kind”, and we’ve seen his relentless skill at
livening up suspense in films like “Jaws”.
With “Jurassic Park”, it’s a
seemingly perfect mirage of his craft. I know that a movie of this nature will never truly be regarded as high art, but frequently I see films like “Jaws” and “King Kong” in honorary ranks among the greatest movies ever made,
so why not give "Jurassic Park" that same love and respect? Weather you think this film is
special, or simple fun, or maybe even overrated, I’ll always look back on this
as one of my favorite movies, one that takes me back to my child-hood, and
reminds me of a time when Dinosaurs were the greatest.
I proudly
give the 1993 Sci-Fi/Adventure classic “Jurassic Park” ... a perfect 5
stars out of 5.
