Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park took the world by storm when the film was released in 1993. Starting off as a 1990 science-fiction novel written by Michael Crichton, the concept of a theme park featuring revived dinosaurs is an easily enriching premise and is one that can bring about this sense of wonder and magic, but also traditional terror and suspense. The book was hugely successful and only grew in popularity after the film came out and introduced it to a mainstream audience who were incredibly captivated. It became a cultural phenomenon, and no other film has truly been able to capture a similar feeling of seeing dinosaurs on the big screen (there aren’t even that many copycat films surprisingly). Even after all these years and becoming a massive franchise, the original is still looked back on quite fondly and held to classic status. Wealthy businessman John Hammond (played by Richard Attenborough) has created Jurassic Park, a theme park that consists of cloned dinosaurs on an isolated island, and he is now trying to find people to endorse his creation in order for it to be properly funded by investors, who are still shaken by the dangers this could cause. Hammond invites paleontologist Alan Grant (played by Sam Neil) and paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (played by Laura Dern) to the island and they, along with fellow invitee chaotician Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum) are blown away by seeing real living dinosaurs right in front of their eyes. Although the risk of this ‘’playing God’’ act is very apparent, Hammond is determined to prove he knows what he’s doing, leading them on a tour of the park with his two grand kids, Tim, and Lex (played by Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards). However, due to a sabotage from within the compound from Dennis Nedry (played by Wayne Knight), a jilted employee who is selling the dinosaur embryos to another bidder, the park security is shut off, leaving Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and the kids trapped on the outside. With Grant lost with the children and Ellie trying to find a way to restore power in order to get things back under control, humans have become the prey for a threat that is quite literal out of this time period. With glowing reviews from both the general public and critics, Jurassic Park was a massive hit, becoming the highest grossing film ever at the time of its release (until it was beaten by Titanic in 1997). Although there are things to pick apart from a scripting level, it still stands as a very solid film to this day with likeable characters, outstanding visual effects and an effective tonal balance between enchantment and intensity.

The ownership of the film rights for the story actually started even before Crichton had published the book, with four different studios vying for them until Steven Spielberg (with assistance from Universal Pictures) acquired the rights. With Crichton acting as a screenwriter on the film along with David Koepp, the film adjusted several elements and streamlined it to remove a majority of the book’s expositional moments and excessive violence The end result was a movie that had the same outline and beats, but now had a much more digestible atmosphere and one that didn’t operate in the same kind of world that Crichton stories usually operate in. His stories have a heavy scientific angle to them which results in the plots being very talk-heavy, the consequences are often as much an intellectual threat as they are a physical one, and the characters and tone are more aggressive, blunt, and not very sympathetic. With this in mind, the portrayal within this film is almost the exact opposite to that mindset; the scientific nature has been diminished against something that is more along the lines of a straightforward monster movie, the moral dilemmas raised like the very nature of the park and cloning are mentioned but not discussed that much in-depth, and the characters are made much more likeable as well as much simpler, to the point where their arcs and narrative purposes are easy to comprehend and resolve. For the most part, this is a good thing as it results in the picture being much more inviting and more akin to a blockbuster instead of an intellectual complex film with niche appeal. It allows everybody to become engrossed in this environment and really fall for both the wonder and the terror of this concept, and a lot of that comes from Spielberg’s directing. Despite being known for making films with a whimsical, often light-hearted energy, films like Jaws demonstrated that he could portray tension and build-up very well, and that element really livens this movie up and keeps the situation enjoyable, but also uneasy and quite primal. The opening act does feel slightly messy due to some awkward clunky exposition that comes off as unnatural and unneeded (which is a common trait of David Koepp’s writing style), but the second the dinosaurs are shown, the film kicks itself into high gear and it doesn’t lose steam. It’s not the most complex material and it’s a shame that some of the more thoughtful commentary present in the base story isn’t talk about as it’s not that bad especially for the time, but the content on display is still engaging, and the simple framework does wonders for repeat viewing experiences.

A big change from the book is how these roles were portrayed. In the book, a lot of the characters were very unlikeable people (another staple of Crichton’s work), and the movie tried to remedy that as they didn’t want the film to packed with people you were actively wishing to get eaten. While some of these changes were called out by hard-core book purists, particularly changing Hammond from a ruthless businessman to a kindly old grandfather-figure, most of these changes feel like smart choices that match the tone and style of the film much better. These aren’t especially gripping characters and can sometimes be a little one-note from a writing department, but they are likeable enough people to be around for a good chunk of the movie and a lot of that is helped out by the acting, which is wonderfully charming and believable. Sam Neil as the lead is appropriately stern and stand-offish without coming across as cold, and the moments he actively enjoys his passion as well as the part where he connects with the kids are nicely handled. Laura Dern doesn’t really pull off an action heroine very well and she does oddly mumble throughout the movie which can be a little distracting, but from a basic character point, she does fine. Jeff Goldblum was still a fresh face at the time, and therefore his style of acting was still new for people and his portrayal is definitely unique to say the least with his odd phrasings and inhuman line delivery, but he does at least leave an impression and he’s thankfully kept mostly to the background, so he never gets too annoying. Although people may have a problem with the change to Hammond, the role does feel much better with this sweeter angle, and Richard Attenborough does still portray him as this figure who is in over his head and tampering with things he can’t control, the resolution is just a lot softer. The two kids are pretty annoying, but they also aren’t too obnoxious, and they do sell the moments when they are terrified. Wayne Knight does good at making Nedry this slobby, backstabbing jerk, Samuel L. Jackson is given a pretty thoughtless role that doesn’t seem to use any of his great qualities, but this was pretty early in his career so it can be explained away, and most of the supporting roles don’t stand out a ton, but no one really stands out as awkward.

While most of the people in this story are enjoyable but wouldn’t be enough to hold the movie without outside assistance, the best characters in this movie are clearly the dinosaurs. Not just in how they interact with the humans and get across a good amount of animalistic personality, but also in just how they look. This film was a landmark with how it used computer technology to digitally resurrect long-dead animals in real life and it has an alluring draw that would’ve floored people upon seeing it for the first time. It carries a magical element to it that definitely added to the film’s vibe, and the effects, while noticeable by today’s standards, still look very impressive (ironically looking much better than they ever would in later sequels). The mixture between the practical and the digital effects is a nice way to blur the line between the two and keep the effects from getting stale, providing some truly amazing life-sized models from the talent of Stan Winston whose special effects and make-up work consist of projects like Aliens, The Thing, Edward Scissorhands, and The Terminator franchise. Even if they don’t really match how the actual dinosaurs were in real life (most of them aren’t even from the Jurassic period, but rather the Cretaceous period), they still feel like genuine creatures that can be delightful one moment and then horrifying the next. The pace and build-up to this switch is given just enough time to not feel like a complete unexpected turn, and some of these suspenseful moments are just handled so perfectly. The T-Rex is easily the best dinosaur in this movie; with an incredible introduction scene that is still horrifying to this day, effects that are legitimately still impression whether they be CGI or an actual life-sized model, and a roar that is so distinct and awesome sounding that it can never be matched. The sound design for a lot of this movie by multi-time Oscar winning sound designer, Gary Rydstrom is fantastic with the various calls and cries of the animals being visceral and unnatural yet still very fitting for the kind of animals they are. Considering his impressive track record of fantastic sound effects (he even made the iconic sound of the Pixar lamp in Luxo Jr.), he’s clearly a name worth respecting. The score by John Williams is as iconic as the franchise is by this point, creating a tune that is jovial, upbeat, and adventurous as well as insanely memorable and can make you feel so triumphant in any moment.

Jurassic Park is a very popular film and for good reason as it left its impact on the world in all the right ways. It pushed the boundaries of computer effects which led to several more breakthroughs in the future, brought to life a story that balances its pleasant and horrifying components pretty effectively, and started a franchise that continued to secure big money at the box office (despite the quality of the films being pretty questionable at best and frustratingly lazy at worst). There are definitely things to point out that keep it from being a perfect film like its poor writing choices in the opening act that include a ton of expositional elements that pretty much result in nothing of substance, but the likeable characters, gripping intensity of certain scenes and enough of a timeless feel with its effects and themes to make it one still worth returning to all these years later. As ageless as the creatures on screen, this theme park may not be the safest, but it’s definitely one that’s worth being blown away by.