Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is I think one of my favorite adaptations from a book to the big screen. When Jurassic Park came to theaters the first time I was only 10 and so my parents would not let me go and see it until they rented and watched it first. I don't know what particularly about Jurassic Park resonated with me so much, but I still love this movie today and I think it may simply be that dinosaurs are one of those things in life that kids are just drawn to immediately. There are so many aspects of this movie that at the age of 10 I loved and still today take me back to being that younger version of myself like the awe inspiring imagery of the Brachiosaurus or the adrenaline I felt as two kids try to evade a couple of Velicoraptors, or the spine tingling that goes down my back every time the T-Rex lets out its huge roar. So naturally when they re-released Jurassic Park in 3D, I jumped at the opportunity simply to have the theater experience for Jurassic Park.

Typically, in a movie with the type of story Jurassic Park has they seem to get a cast that can't act and are terrified of monsters they can't see. Jurassic Park was the exact opposite of this as Spielberg was able to put together a strong cast. Sam Neill plays Dr. Alan Grant, our heroic paleontologist who along with Dr. Ellie Sattler played by Laura Dern, Grant's fellow paleontologist all go to this park they know nothing about to endorse the park to calm a group of investors. The scenes where these two are onscreen together work really well and the chemistry they have works. Yet, after they are separated it is great to see Neill's character evolve from the paleontologist who does not mix well with kids to actually caring about the kids he protecting through the park. The rest of the cast was cast really well and worked so well from Richard Attenborough as the eccentric owner of Jurassic Park to Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry the corrupt computer programmer who is out to greatly increase his own bank account and releases the mayhem of the dinosaurs to freedom.

It was interesting to learn that a bidding war ensued for the rights to the Jurassic Park book with Universal Studios winning out. While it would have been interesting to see what other directors would have done with the material, Spielberg was the perfect choice and his direction was perfect. While the script is adapted from the book, it is really one of those unique movies that comes out and changes the way movies are presented to the audience. Spielberg's direction worked as it was really a character driven developed story that was intermingled amazingly with the action sequences. By being a movie that was strongly character driven it made you care for the characters and it created the caring in that you either loved them or hated them exactly with how you are supposed to feel based on the way Spielberg has driven the characters. The story for Jurassic Park captures the human imagination so well because I know I am not the only one that has wondered what dinosaurs were really like. The story worked for me as well because although dinosaurs are extinct the science they describe for genetically cloning and bringing dinosaurs back seems to be plausible and not so outlandish as some sci-fi that is out there.

The visual effects and special effects for Jurassic Park while when compared to a lot of today's movies are nothing to write home about, when Jurassic Park came out it was really pushing what had been done and was cutting edge. Spielberg's vision to mix CGI with animatronics and not use just one of them was a great idea. Yet, one would not know when CGI and when animatronics are used because in all actuality the dinosaurs look completely real and not created. And the differences between the CGI and animatronics are so minuscule that in reality you can not tell when what is what. The dinosaurs that are brought to life are not only majestic looking creatures, but intimidatingly powerful creatures. While I saw this in 3D and it was enjoyable I did not find it to be overwhelmingly amazing, but it was a decent aspect. The musical score by John Williams is one that met the blockbuster feel for Jurassic Park throughout that is always necessary. The score and the first bar of the main theme is one that I think any movie goer would recognize immediately.

Jurassic Park is one of those movies that stands the test of time as I still love it as much as I did originally and it has not got old at all. The acting in Jurassic Park was not second rate like many would expect in a creatures gone amok movie. Spielberg's direction and combination of CGI dinosaurs and animatronic was done perfectly. The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park set a whole new standard in special effects and today's movies may not be where they are had it not been for Jurassic Park. That is why I am giving Jurassic Park three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies that I love to watch from time to time and one that is worth owning for any movie fan.

-The Movie Man