Welcome To Jurrassic Park

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2007)

After viewing this film several times, it is very clear to me that Michael Cricton's book is a base for this, but the film for entertainment value goes far beyond the book. It literally borrows from the original King Kong to try & make itself into an epic. While it falls a little short of that goal, it is an admirable effort.
Spielberg even makes fun of borrowing from King Kong with the gate at the beginning of the Jurassic Park tour. In fact, tung in cheek humor is rampant throughout the adventure film. The casting of Wayne Knight as the evil guy who brings the park tumbling down perfectly illustrates this. Knight is great in this role, a fine supporting actor of this era.
The opening sequence of the film gives you an idea that this is going to be a low budget film, even the impression of a slice & dice melodrama. Then, it goes in the other direction entirely. The scenery is lavish, & the scale of reality is amazing. They do have to dumb down Michael Creigton's explanation (novel idea) of genetics in order to appeal the film to a mainstream audience.
This film marks some of the earliest modern computer technical special effects being used to great effect. When you watch the film repeatedly, you realize how well the viewer is manipulated into a fantasy as large as King Kong.
The cast is still largely a group of unknowns with the exception of Sir Richard Attenborough who is used to great effect in his role as the creator of this park destined to fail. Jeff Goldblum & the others went on to other films but only Jeff has really established much outside of the sequels.
This film is the blockbuster of the 1990's for Spielberg. Sam Neil & Laura Dern still have little fame beyond this film. Wayne Knight is more famous for the sit-com Seinfeld than this movie though this film & JFK prove his talent in support of films.
Influence is what makes this film unique. This film stimulated an entire younger generation to have more interest in dinosaurs than there had been for many years. It created the imagination for rides at Universal Studio & at Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom. Next to ET, this is Spielbergs largest kids film.