I’m sure there are endless debates all around the Internet about the science behind Jurrasic Park. Finding dinosaur blood in a mosquito from way back in the day to recreate the DNA and clone dinosaurs sounds like a boring debate waiting to happen. Whether the science is solid or not, the setup to explaining how the park came to be is definitely solid. Rather than drone on with needless exposition we’re taken through an amusement park like ride that explains everything in a brief and entertaining manner. From there we launch into what becomes an action packed thriller full of dinosaurs.
The biggest complaint I can lodge against Jurrasic Park is that everyone we want to survive does and everyone we don’t want to survive doesn’t. It’s an easy out and especially hard to accept when you get scenes like the following. Tim, one of the kids trying to make it back to the headquarters, gets 10,000 volts through him as he hangs on one second too long to the electric fence that regains power. Tim survives the fall and shock. The worst part? His first word is to finish his count, “3”. It’s a terrible scene. Fortunately it’s followed up by a classic game of hide and seek in the park’s industrial kitchen with Tim, his sister Lex and a pair of raptors. That still got me jumping a bit, at least once.
Jurrasic Park is a fun and fast paced movie. The main characters are archetypes but serve their purpose. The drama is never melodramatic and the focus stays where it should – the dangerous journey of trying to escape from an island overrun with dinosaurs. Speaking of dinosaurs, they generally hold up on screen 18 years later which is no small feat. Bad CG or animatronics can ruin the suspense of a film. Jurrasic Park was ahead of its time in that regard. Debate can be had on whether we see too much of the dinosaurs too soon, but there is no denying that the action delivers even though we know exactly what is after our human protagonists.
In the end, it’s a fun blockbuster that doesn’t pretend to be more than that. It’s competent in the areas it needs to be (story and characters) and excels in the other areas (action, computer animation, set pieces). Current day blockbusters would do well to take note.
NOTE: I watched the Blu-ray version this time around. A good but not great looking blu. I’m hoping the great remastering is saved for Spielberg’s true classics that have yet to hit the format.
[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]
This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bim7RtKXv90[/youtube]