Andy's Archive - Jurassic Park (1993)

Credit: Universal Pictures

In an effort to get more use out of my movie collection, I thought I would dust them off and write reviews for all that I own on video. Jurassic Park seemed as good of a place to start as any, since it is a great example of the movies that I enjoy most, which are movies that have multiple layers. Jurassic Park appears to be another summer blockbuster/popcorn adventure movie but beneath the surface it is rooted in a classic science fiction tradition of "what happens when you play 'God'." There are also fun performances, great special effects (both computerized and animatronic), and suspenseful chases once the dinosaurs are let loose.

When talking about fun performances, I have to mention Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcom first. He is at his wacky best in Jurassic Park when he is giving speeches about the Chaos Theory and life finding a way. It's as if the Casting Director glanced over the list of characters, saw "wacky, socially awkward scientist" and knew the best man for the job would be Seth Brundle, pre-Fly transformation. I actually enjoy the cast of secondary characters more than most of the stars, like Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry and Samuel L. Jackson as Ray Arnold, especially when those two get on each other's nerves. It's also notable that Samuel L. Jackson seems to have the most prosperous career after Jurassic Park, since he's went on to star in a Die Hard movie, The Avengers, several Tarantino movies, and the Star Wars prequels.

The movie's flaws seem more apparent as an adult. I was wondering why the park's creator would bring along dinosaur experts after he has already mass-produced herds of dinos and not during the planning stages. Clearly Dr. Grant is disturbed when he witnesses a baby Velociraptor hatching and it foreshadows that bad things are going to happen. It seems logical to me that Jurassic Park should only be home to plant-eating dinos, like a Stegosaurus, and not the blood-thirsty raptors even though kids visiting would prefer those "cooler" species. I think Jurassic Park was doomed to fail because of poor management. The funny thing with Jurassic Park management is that they created all types of dinosaurs, yet their video featuring John Hammond introducing the tour looks like its viewed with a 1950's projector. The video production department is clearly not as advanced as their laboratories.

Jurassic Park's other flaw would be the use of children. The first offense is a kid showing up at a dig site and calling out Dr. Grant for saying dinosaurs evolved from birds. How did that kid show up in the middle of several professional archaeologists; shouldn't he be in gym class getting picked last for whiffle ball? Kudos to Dr. Grant for putting that kid in his place. The other offenders are the bratty grandkids of John Hammond that show up for the tour of Jurassic Park. The boy named Tim isn't that bad, as he's mostly there for laughs, like annoying Dr. Grant and getting electrocuted. Its the girl named Lex that fits the 90's movie stereotype of "hacker kid"; ooh, and she's vegetarian, too.  Maybe this followed the stereotype or it actually created it, I guess I can't be bothered to check since I just review movies, not research them.

The real meat of this movie are the dinosaurs, especially the raptors. The sequence in the kitchen when they chase the children, and the first appearance of the T-Rex when it attacks the vehicles, are such amazing displays of special effects wizardry, that it is very hard to decide which I like best. I loved the use of both digital and animatronic dinosaurs though it was the creation of the computerized dinosaurs (along with the T-1000 in Terminator) that revolutionized movie making. Those scenes are seamless transitions between both computer and animatronic dinosaurs. However its not the moments when the dinosaurs are on-screen that have stood out most in my mind. What has always stuck with me about Jurassic Park is the feeling of dread before the T-Rex appears, with that glass of water vibrating in the car and later a puddle in its footprint. So next time you watch Jurassic Park, I suggest you hold onto your butt.