Spared no expense!

Rating: 10/10 (13 June 2009)

The release of Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster about a theme park overrun by dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, was surrounded by momentous amounts of hype. Previews and posters were everywhere. Parents were warned that the horror and carnage of the film might be too intense for young children. What most made an impression on me at the time, as a kid in kindergarten, was all the dinosaur merchandise. There were velociraptor sneakers, dilophosaurus backpacks, and triceratops t-shirts; even I had a lunch box featuring a tyrannosaur leering at a car a quarter of its size. As the ill-fated lawyer predicts in the film, Jurassic Park's merchandising alone was worth a fortune. It was a marketing phenomenon even before it was released. All of this buildup created high expectations. Audiences were promised creatures more stunning and realistic than anything they had ever seen before. Jurassic Park delivered, but not only in the special effects department. The film is an artistic and economic accomplishment. Most see the movie's special effects as its greatest legacy and indeed they had no equal at the time. The CGI still holds up well today against some of the more cartoonish creations in films as recent as Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) and the Star Wars prequels (1999-2005). The first dinosaur seen in all its glory on screen is the massive brachiosaur, standing over 40 feet tall. It is one of the most memorable scenes in film history for its visual impact. From the towering sauropods to the agile raptors, the dinosaurs behave so naturally that they are more like animals than movie monsters (not that liberties weren't taken with science for dramatic purposes). Though none of it would have been accepted without the realistic reactions from the actors. Other than the screaming, the acting in Jurassic Park can best be summed up as subtle. Sam Neill turns in a soft-spoken performance as paleontologist Alan Grant. He has a down-to-earth quality that fits perfectly for a man who spends his life digging in the dirt, who is then thrust into an inconceivable situation and does what he must to get out of it. Laura Dern portrays Grant's girlfriend, Ellie Satler. The romance between them is not forced or overplayed. Both of them particularly stand out in the scenes of openmouthed awe when they encounter the creatures firsthand that they have spent years studying. When confronted with the brachiosaur, Grant just manages to stammer, "It's it's a dinosaur," before collapsing to his knees in wonder. These reactions feel authentic and are quite impressive considering that the actors were reacting to CG dinosaurs that were not on set. They are the anchors that make the effects believable. Spielberg knows how to please an audience by making the compelling, but overly technical novel into a coherent adventure film that hits all the right dramatic notes, accompanied by a beautiful and majestic musical score. Audiences responded, making Jurassic Park the highest grossing film ever until the release of Titanic (1997). Of course, fiscal success does not make a film good art. These days, a filmmaker with plenty of money can just throw CG effects on the screen and the masses will still pay to see it for the spectacle. This attempt at imitation is one of the reasons blockbusters often lack the personal touch. Movies like Armageddon (1998), Underworld (2003), and Van Helsing (2004) can get away with having absolutely no substance beneath pretty pictures produced in postproduction. It seems to be an unfortunate side effect of Jurassic Park's digital innovation and subsequent success. I'm convinced that perfection is unattainable within film-making and Jurassic Park is certainly not flawless. For one, velociraptor was actually much smaller; the creature in the film more closely resembles a deinonychus. Also, I've been to San Jose and it is certainly not next to a beach and coastline as it is labeled in the movie. There are also a few sequences that seem formulaic by monster movie standards; however, time is taken to develop the characters so that the audience will actually care if a dinosaur eats them, unlike those nameless souls who are crushed in Godzilla (1954). Logical quibbles can be made over any movie, though, and if you're looking for realism, you can find it outside the realm of cinema. There is no reason I cannot recommend Jurassic Park unless the potential viewer really does not enjoy suspenseful, humorous, and fun adventure-thrillers with a hefty dose of dinosaurs.