Action adventure that shows true directional mastery

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2010)

Two archaeologists are whisked away to a private island to get an exclusive glimpse of an amusement park that brings dinosaurs to life.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park is a dramatic reconstruction of a scientific cloning experiment that brought the term Blockbuster to Hollywood and thanks to some masterstrokes from one of the world's best directors have created a timeless masterpiece.
Steven Spielberg had already mastered the science fiction genre with Close encounters of the third kind and created a whole new concept in adventure with the Indiana Jones series and here, combining the two genres demonstrates an even higher expectancy as we see ancient creatures materialize to cause chaos in one of the best adventures ever made.
The opening scenes set the tone for the upcoming problems as park rangers attempt to contain an unidentifiable animal in a cage which ultimately ends in a sharp cut away and we see Sam Neill and Laura Dern uncovering a velociraptor skeleton. Some beautiful comedy from The Piano actor sets the tone for his character and his wonderful rendition of a raptor's movements is eagerly anticipated and a good sign of what is to come.
After Richard Attenborough invites himself into their home the adventure is underway. Spielberg in typical fashion creates a dynamic feeling of sudden excitement. The combination of the music, the helicopter and some wonderful picturesque panning elaborate the adventure which lies ahead for the audience and the characters.
The first scene in which we first encounter the dinosaurs is cleverly shot, depicting the spellbound expressions with simplistic animal behaviour from the apparent extinct creatures.
There are certain films which are remembered for certain big moments. The day after tomorrow is recalled for the sharp boat sequence, alien has the John Hurt moment where this 1993 release has a lot of little moments that ultimately make it bigger and bolder. The simplicity of seeing the dinosaurs for the first time, the build up to seeing the T-Rex and the manipulation of Dennis all add up to a truly spectacular film.
In a world ruled now by CGI it's worth mentioning the highly impressive effects on show here. The animatronics used along with other methods capture the movement of the dinosaurs spectacularly. The T-Rex stands above all others, especially when seeing it in the rear view mirror of the car. And who can forget the water in the cup moment, perhaps the greatest build up to an action sequence ever? My personal favourite moment was the T-Rex introduction with the disappearance of the goat. The raptors are another stand out with their claw tapping predatory instincts.
If you haven't seen this already this will make you sit on the edge of your seat and be drawn into a spellbinding array of action and adventure.