1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Jurassic Park

#901- Jurassic Park (1993)
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Directed by: Steven Spielberg


Plot Summary: Jurassic Park is billionaire John Hammond's newest business investment, a theme park on a remote island where living, breathing dinosaurs are on display. Before the park can be opened, Hammond needs to prove that the park is safe and invites experts Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Ian Malcolm on a tour of the park. Their tour turns deadly, however, as the dinosaurs begin to run around freely. Now it is up to Dr. Grant and the others to find a way to escape from Jurassic Park.


One of the most talked about movies in the '90s was Jurassic Park. I think it made an impact because of two main reasons: dinosaurs and Steven Spielberg. Through the use of visual effects, Spielberg was able to create an environment that captivated an audience and made Jurassic Park one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. But until about a year ago, I had never seen it before. While I was familiar with what the film was about, I still had never sat down and watched it all the way through. I felt I didn't have to because almost everyone I knew had seen it and was entertained by it, so I felt like I knew everything about it that I needed to know. It wasn't until its 3D re-release was announced that I felt it was actually time to watch it and see if it's a film that holds up 20 years later or if it is pure '90s nostalgia that keeps the movie in pop culture.

A key aspect when trying to see if a film holds up is by looking at its main characters. Dr. Alan Grant, played by Sam Neill, is the dinosaur expert that Hammond acquires to certify his park. His popularity only relies on the fact that he knows his facts about dinosaurs but, beyond that, he isn't a very interesting character. The only real relationship he has with the other characters worth mentioning is with his girlfriend Dr. Ellie Sattler, played by Laura Dern, and even that has very little depth to it. Half the movie the audience and other characters wonder if they are actually dating, and their biggest conflict is that Sattler wants kids and Grant does not. It's a conflict like that seems very fitting of a Spielberg film with the right amount of corny whimsy. As a main character, Dr. Grant has his moments but, for me, I expected him to have a little more depth than what is presented on film.

Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, helps supply the film with a '90s style of attitude, which in turn, helps supply the comic relief. Jurassic Park came out at a time when Jeff Goldblum was very popular actor, and it was after Jurassic Park that he became a walking stereotype of his own acting career. What I think Goldblum is able to do is give a natural response to the film's events, speaking in a way that any viewer would be able to say "I'd probably be acting the same way if a giant T-Rex was chasing me." He is arguably the film's most popular character for a reason. His fast-talking brand of witty dialogue can sound a bit cheesy, but I think it helps give Malcolm a natural charisma in the film that only Jeff Goldblum's style of acting and line delivery could give the character.

My biggest problem with the film is John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough. While Hammond can have some redeeming qualities, such as developing the park to make others happy, his biggest flaw is that he comes off as incompetent and stubborn. He doesn't listen to anybody who tries to tell him that the park could be a bad, but instead, ignores them and assures them that the park will not have any problems. Hammond's biggest flaw is that he is sure that money will solve the problems in the park. He believes that the park can have no issues because he is able to afford the best experts to help him create it. While he does learn something by the end of the film, his naive nature can come off as annoying because the other characters and the audience can see his mistakes coming from a mile away.

The main human characters are just bait to reel in the audience before introducing the REAL stars of the film, the dinosaurs. Through the use of CGI and animatronics, Spielberg was able to create dinosaurs that blended in well with the environment, almost as if you could believe that dinosaurs were really there. I'm not sure if Spielberg thought the main characters did not need to be properly developed because he felt that the dinosaurs would be the selling point of the film, but that's what the movie feels like to me once the dinosaurs are introduced. The T-Rex is what supplies the film with its most memorable scenes, from its ominous arrival on screen, to chasing down our main characters, the T-Rex is what saved Jurassic Park from falling flat and made it big hit that is still remembered to this day.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Jurassic Park is still able to garner attention at the box office 20 years later, thanks to its 3D re-release. Everyone should see this film at least once for its groundbreaking visual effects and for becoming a pop culture phenomenon of the '90s.
 
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Jurassic Park and movie images are copyrighted by Universal Pictures