Back To The Jurassic Age!

Rating: 10/10 (9 May 2013)

(Reviewed on the basis of watching on video 20 years after release)
Plot: John Hammond, a business tycoon has established a biosphere reserve named 'Jurassic Park' which breeds and preserves living dinosaurs reproduced from fossilized mosquito DNA. Hammond invites three experts on tour of his amusement park where his two grandchildren also join them. Meanwhile, one of his security experts betrays him by stealing the embryos of all species for which he shuts downs all security including the perimeter fences. As a result, the animals get loose and they soon wreak havoc on the whole island.
Review: Normally in these articles I analyze films from a critic's point of view penalizing them for any minor flaw as if I myself would have done a better job than that. But considering my very limited knowledge of Hollywood history, I am in no position to critically comment on any offerings from the greatest film-industry in the world. And in the case of a film like Jurassic Park, I can only offer the wide-eyed overwhelm of a blind-admirer who continues to be spellbound by these incredible franchise right from his childhood.
When I first landed the VCD 10 years back, I could hardly understand the dialogues spoken in hard American English. There were subtitles; but which kid has the patience to follow them? I didn't and I didn't need to. The visual extravaganza stimulated such amounts of thrill, terror, joy and sorrow; it cast an ineradicable web over my imagination without my understanding a single word! I did memorize some dialogues and developed a general idea of the whole story upon numerous repeat viewings; although some details still eluded me. As a result after many years when I again sat down to revisit it; I was determined to follow the subtitles as my understanding of American English hasn't improved much. After all I am a freelance critic now and can't afford to rate a film without understanding its story. So after I diligently tracked the subtitles (through quite a few pauses and rewinds); imagine my excitement when I ended up watching a film far-removed and improved from the impression of the childhood spectacle which had been preserved in my consciousness till then!
Every dialogue seemed to convey a whole lot of information which stands testimony to the fluency and intellectualism of Hollywood film-making. Surprisingly, I found the dialogues filled with humor and irony even in the gravest of situations which is impressive. I understood the details of the dinosaur breeding, the embryo-theft plan, security functioning of the whole park and the characteristics of the various species (especially the striking ones of the velociraptors) which hitherto were unknown to me. But the funniest thing was the catchphrase of Mr. Hammond: 'spared no expense'; which I wonder how I had missed before. Overall, the script presented itself to be as one of the most complex I have ever seen and hardly any less impressive than the computer- generated special effects (the discussions were as engrossing as the thrills). And we Indians believe who needs a script when we can have the VFX!
But it would be unjustified to say, it was only the plot which bowled me over this time. All the sequences featuring those amazing and terrifying beasts still zapped me just like they did some years ago. The scene where Ellie, Grant and Malcolm see a brachiosaurus for the first time, jumping to bite a branch and then falling with a thud; was and remains my favorite scene from the movie. The other favorites include the scene where Tim sees the ripples on glasses of water indicating the arrival of the T-Rex. When the T-Rex breaks free amidst the lashing rains, it provides one of the greatest moments of cinematic terror. Along with it, the-car-rolling-down-the-tree sequence and the shadow of a raptor behind the dining table are moments which create a deep impression. Also the climax, where the T-Rex demolishes the main building, has a metaphorical significance.
I had become an instant fan of Sam Neill after watching him first time and he continues to look equally dashing especially in his hat and goggles. Sam perfectly portrays Allan Grant who becomes the embodiment of protection in evil terrains. As Hammond rightly mentioned, "Who better to guide them through Jurassic Park than a dinosaur expert?" How a man who detests kids gradually gets intimately involved with a couple of them is a heartwarming sub-plot. Along with this, he also experiences the joy of verifying his theory that birds are the descendants of dinosaurs and also the realization of the obsolescence of his profession in the current scenario. Plus who can forget Grant's expression on watching the brachiosaurus for the first time!
Richard Attenborough, whom Indians know as the maker of 'Gandhi',plays the founder John Hammond. From a boastful personality hiding his inner insecurities to a crumbling old man who sees his dream shattered; Attenborough is able to draw the viewer's sympathy despite his mistakes. Laura Dern portrays a courageous woman while Jeff Goldblum is quite funny with his dialogue delivery. It was really sad to see the valiant Robert, played by Bob Peck, meet his end; but that shows how dangerous these creatures are.
Based on the famous Michael Crichton novel of the same name, the film conveys a message against interfering with nature. One must duff his hat to the maestro Steven Spielberg for providing us an experience as to what might happen if dinosaurs and humans, separated by 65 million years of evolution, were to come together. But being an Indian we are habituated to 3-hour entertainers; hence a running-time of 127 minutes is just a little inadequate. For this reason alone I can only give it 9.5/10. Lastly, the dinosaurs were supposed to die if they weren't artificially provided with Lysine. But as we will know, that won't happen. Why? Maybe The Lost World has the answer. Can't wait to revisit that one now!