THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When you learn about dinosaurs as a kid, you likely fantasized the possibility if they were to ever live in the same era as modern Homo-sapiens, as in a zoo like theme park. When you watch Jurassic Park, you’ll understand that it’s a bad idea.
PLOT
Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, the film follows industrialist John Hammond who wants to build a theme park of dinosaurs. When an employee is killed by one of the creatures, the investors send lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) to represent them, demanding to invite experts that'll determine its safety. While Gennaro invites mathematician and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm, Hammond invites paleontologist Alan Grant and his girlfriend, paleobotanist Ellie Sattler. When they first arrive at Isla Nublar, an island where the park will be, they are at first in awe after seeing their first dinosaurs, the Brachiosaurus and a herd of Parasaurolophus. They next go to the visitors center to learn that the cloning is accomplished when extracting their DNA through prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber. According to scientist Henry Wu (BD Wong), they fill in the genome gaps with frog DNA. And with direct chromosome manipulation, all the dinosaurs are designed as female to prevent breeding. The group does see an infant Velociraptor hatch and after seeing an adult get fed, they debate at lunch on if the park can work. While Grant isn't sure what to expect, Malcolm is certain that it'll fail. All are joined by Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim, who are chosen to be occupied while their parents are divorcing each other. Once they arrive, all take part of the first tour, which will be overseen by Hammond from the control room. It doesn't start out interesting when a Dilophosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex do not appear, but their disappointment disappears when encountering a sick Triceratops. Their tour however must be cut short when a tropical cyclone approaches the island. As the others head back to the Tour Vehicles, Ellie goes to the control room due to wanting to study the sick dinosaur. Other than Hammond, the only employees that stay behind are: warden Robert Muldoon, chief systems engineer Ray Arnold and lead computer programmer Dennis Nedry. When the latter leaves, he steals fertilized dino embryos and deactivates the security system (fences and phones), only after being bribed by a corporate rival. The only fence he left alone was the raptor fence. He is unable to get the last laugh because he loses the embryos before getting killed by a Dilophosaurus. Because Arnold is unable to get the park back online without him, the guests are in danger. It is proven so when they last stopped at the T Rex paddock. Before the said predator breaks from the fence, Gennaro leaves the kids behind to hide in the closest bathroom. When it attacks them, Grant tries to distract it with a flare to lure it away from them. When Ian inadvertently intervenes with the same technique, he is chased down to the bathroom and gets his leg broken. When the bathroom is destroyed, it devours Gennaro. Alan and Lex are able to avoid the predator when they hang on the other side of the fence. However, it overturns the vehicle with Tim inside. Alan would then rescue Tim from it before it falls off the tree it originally landed. Ellie and Muldoon search for survivors, but only find Ian and get chased away by the T Rex before they could find the others. For the night, Alan and the kids take shelter on top of another tree. When they wake up the following morning, they encounter a Brachiosaurus and feed it. When they get off the tree, Alan finds a nest of eggs. This means that the dinosaurs are now able to breed. Although they use frog DNA and control the gender to be female only, he points out that West African frogs are capable of changing their sex in a single sex environment. At the control room, Hammond convinces Arnold to reboot the entire system of the park, which'll undo what Nedry did. When the computers come back on, he goes to the maintenance shed to reset the fences. When he doesn't return, Ellie and Muldoon go to do it. Muldoon finds himself occupied when noticing that the raptors escaped when their fences were off. Ellie does reach the shed and manually turns them on. Little did she know that Tim got shocked as he was trying to climb over Perimeter Fence with Lex and Alan. She doesn't get to celebrate her involvement because she gets chased away one of three raptors that killed Arnold. Another is able catch Muldoon off guard to kill him. Alan leaves the kids while he finds Ellie. When heading to the bunker Ian and Hammond are hiding, he arms himself with a Franchi SPAS-12 like Muldoon did. Lex and Tim encounter two raptors and avoid them by locking one in a meet freezer. When they reunite with Alan and Ellie, they go to the control room. With Lex's hacking skills, she is able to restore the power. Grant calls Hammond and tells him to call for a helicopter. The raptors continue to hunt them down as they break through the glass of the room. The group go through the vents to avoid them. They attempt to reach the floor by climbing down the skeleton display, but another raptor leaps towards them which results in the exhibit crashing. While the group isn't anymore harmed, they are still cornered by the final two raptors. They take their chance to escape when both are suddenly killed by a T Rex. As they drive away in a Jeep, Hammond and Alan agree that the park is far from being capable of being endorsed. As they escape the island via helicopter, the film ends with Alan watching a flock of pelicans fly nearby, a reminder that birds are the surviving relatives to the dinosaurs.
THOUGHTS
As long as I can remember, I have seen this film more than I can count, which goes without saying that I absolutely this movie. Director Steven Spielberg knew that dinosaurs were the most interesting things that happened on this planet humans made a difference and he pulled off bringing them to life in a way that shouldn't have been possible. The combination of practical and visual effects are able to make the creatures appear as real as possible and they still do to this day, aside from the array of sequels. If that doesn't hook you in, the score by John Williams will. While the dinosaurs are beautiful to behold like Brachiosaurus especially, they're terrifying as well because this film shows us that they don't belong in this era because we wouldn't exactly stand a chance. Everyone knew the name of the T Rex and recognize it as the most popular of dinosaurs. Every time it appeared, there is nothing but chills throughout because you can call it 'beautiful nightmare' for being something you want to see but never up close. The velociraptors are inspired by another dinosaur known as Deinonychus, which explains why they're taller than they're supposed to be. These things were the most terrifying because of how they're intelligent. Whenever they seem to be outsmarted, they always find a way to overcome whatever they see as an obstacle. Just when you think one of them is bad, three just makes things worse. The true reason that this movie remains iconic because it teaches us a lesson to respect our nature and not try to damage it because whatever the intention and no matter how hard you work on/for it, it can backfire in an enormous way. We learn this from the character who makes this mistake, John Hammond. Thanks to a beautiful performance by the late Richard Attenborough, we are aware that he is in the wrong yet admire his flamboyance and desire to share something that is real. You forgive him because his feelings are the most pure compared to any onscreen mad scientist before him. Going into the rest of the cast, Jeff Goldblum is great as Ian Malcolm because he is our conscience to the story, the only one that predicted the park to fail. He comes off cocky, but he is very clear about he is appropriately solemn with what is at hand. 'Life finds a way' is the best quote because it's true. Whatever happens in lie, species and nature will always figure out to reproduce and survive in whatever conditions. The final shot of the pelicans proves just that. Sam Neill gives his best performance in his first outing as Alan Grant. We relate to him due to the interest of dinosaurs, but the respect for him grew because for being brave towards the things that can kill him with ease. While he never had kids with Ellie, his time with Hammond's grandchildren prepared him if he ever were to. The role of Ellie Sattler is my favorite performance by Laura Dern because the actress portrays her to be an adventurous and independent person. While she was scared of the dinosaurs up close, you admire her attempts to put her fear aside to be a helping hand. I always admired Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon because he seemed to be the most experienced. He was someone that commanded attention like Malcolm, he was highly concerned about the park's safety, which is part of the job. Due to his experience as a handler to current animals, he knew how dangerous the raptors were and it is a shame he couldn't take one down when he can. Breakouts Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards also land big impressions on this film in their respected roles. While they remain youthful, they show that Lex and Tim can be as intelligent as the adults around them, considering that they outsmarted two raptors. Fresh out of multiple collaborations with the great Spike Lee, Samuel L Jackson provides another iconic performance as Ray Arnold. He is likable due to being direct with what he is capable of doing and acts rational with his decisions. Whenever you notice him smoking, it is pretty clear that his job is stressing him the hell out. He has every right to be because it's not everyday you say you work at a dinosaur theme park. Last but not least, Wayne Knight is memorable for making Nedry the most selfish and despicable of all human villains this film franchise would have throughout. Seeing the argument between him and Hammond, you knew he had been planning to screw him over for a while. His death was brutal to notice, or at least hear, but we all know he had it coming. This is a film that’s impossible to hate but after many times of watching it, I see a few flaws to admit that it’s not perfect. The first gripe that drives me crazy goes to a continuity error in the opening. When the gatekeeper falls after the raptor attacks the cage to go backwards, the cameraman's hand appears in a mere second before the actor falls. I know it happens so quick you wouldn't notice, but it's irritating every time I do. Also, why does the boy in the opening say the raptor doesn't 'look' scary when he doesn't even see the screen. If he meant to say 'sound', than that take should've been used. And than the robotic hand disappears in a frame when raptor egg hatches. Going into the story, why did Alan freak about the raptors being bred when he didn't react in that manner when hearing that there was a T Rex. Hell, he even got excited about a Dilophosaurus. So if he's gonna freak out about having a predator on the park, he should freak out about all of them. I want to appreciate the lunch conversation, but no one takes a single bite out of their plates. If the others weren't hungry, they could've just told Hammond. And the weirdest thing I can never understand is the design of the T Rex paddock. When it first breaks through the fence, it seemed to be on solid ground. But when Grant and Lex are over the fence, they're over a cliff instead. Does it go from solid to steep? If it is the case, that should be explained immediately. If you ignore all of this, the love remains intact. In short, Jurassic Park will forever be a sci fi classic for having a fascinating high concept premise across the board. If you love dinosaurs, see this one now.
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