The Monster of All Monster Movies!

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2015)

The focus of Steven Spielberg's ground-breaking thrill-ride Jurassic Park, is a wondrous island theme park off the coast of Costa Rica populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs, masterminded by billionaire visionary John Hammond (a superlative Richard Attenborough), ready for business as soon as a handful of experts can declare it legally and naturally safe for paying customers. Soon we see a group of scientists head to Isla Nublar including paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), his paleobotanist colleague Ellie Satler (Laura Dern), and mathematician Ian Malcolm (a fast- talking, vintage Jeff Goldblum), a chaos theorist who recognizes that knowledge without discipline equals disaster. Of course he's right, and the park's maiden tour turns into a nightmare for the visitors, who include Hammond's two precocious grandchildren. Compounding this mayhem is the park's systems-control expert, who plots to sell dinosaur DNA to a rival corporation, and must sabotage park security to carry out his scheme. When a tropical storm threatens the island, our unscrupulous employee seizes the opportunity, leaving the billion-dollar attractions to roam free, as all hell breaks loose. What ensues is special-effects nirvana!
Jurassic Park is an astonishing success in one sense and one sense only: It is the monster of all monster movies, guaranteed to challenge weak bladders and flutter heartbeats with its astounding full-size live-action mechanics and computer-generated imagery. But more than anything, it is Spielberg's pop culture wizardry that sells Jurassic Park. He retains a child-like glee in making us jump while giving flesh and blood characters the fright of their lives, with every mind-boggling moment of wonder and terror - from the gentle gracefulness of a gigantic Brachiosaurus walking across a green pasture to the horrifying attack of a T-Rex during a rainstorm to the first appearance of the dreaded Velociraptors. Spielberg orchestrates the action with effortless verve and, only the most Scrooge-like viewer will fail to be transfixed by the thrilling action and the sheer scale of the director's vision. T-Rex and his chums are indisputably the stars here but Jurassic Park is still a very character-driven movie, and part of what makes the film so successful is Spielberg's insistence that the dinosaurs may overrun the park, but never the film. Every character has something to do, and they are the focus of every scene with all actors pitching in commendable performances.
Jurassic Park exists now as one of the pinnacles of popcorn cinema - a terrific thrill ride that is more than just the sum of its special effects. It may be easy to look at Jurassic Park as of a bygone era, but no rose-colored glasses or nostalgic impulses are needed to remain in astonishment at what Spielberg was able to create. It remains as potent an entertainment as ever - a watershed moment in cinematic history!