Still Some of the Best Special Effects You're Going to See

Rating: Null/10 (10 April 2013)

Jurassic Park (1993)
*** (out of 4)
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel about a group of people invited to an island to try out a new amusement park, which just happens to have real dinosaurs on it. Before long there's a breach in the security and the dinosaurs are running loose and man has to face them. JURASSIC PARK was recently re-released in 3-D and I must say that I really didn't think the format made the film any better or worse. There were a few nice shots in the 3-D but overall I'd say people can just be happy with the original version. As for the movie itself, I still remember the lines around the block when this thing came out and I still remember the hype of opening day. I've always thought this was a good movie but at the same time I have never fallen in love with it like so many other have. I think my biggest problem with the picture is that I just didn't find it scary enough. Spielberg spends the first half of the movie getting the viewer to let their mind go in the wonder of dinosaurs being alive. The second half of the film is when the action takes place and I just didn't find any of it scary. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I never believed for a second that any of the major characters were ever going to be harm and I won't spoil how the film turned out. Outside of that, the film is technically well-made by Spielberg who does a great job hinting at what we're about to see early on before actually bringing out the dinosaurs. Once they're released on screen you can't help but be impressed by the special effects, which hold up incredibly well when viewed today and I think a strong argument can be made that these type of effects haven't been beaten by any other film. Another major plus is that we're given a good cast but I will say Jeff Goldblum's one-liners are as bad today as they were in 1993. The music score from John Williams is another classic as it too really brings this fantasy world to life and makes you believe in the miracle of how they came to be. JURASSIC PARK certainly isn't one of my favorites but it still has a lot going for it that makes it worth seeing.