Honoring it's 10th anniversary, A Fan Gushes

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 2003)

I was the editor of a busy publication when Jurassic Park opened, but that didn't stop me from playing hooky and seeing the movie. Having read the book the moment it came out, I was impatient for the movie that would marry the scientific scribe of future possibilities to the man many call the master of motion picture art, Spiels. Spielburg and Crichton -- what a hellava combination. The movie did not disappoint me in the least, I hung onto the arms of my seat and let the movie pull me in inch by inch. When T-Rex was chasing Ellie and Ian, I felt myself slipping down the chair. The wind was in my hair, I could almost smell the dino spore, the storm, Muldoon (so perfectly cast), Denis Nedry and the kitchen scene, and I didn't even mind that it was a stark impossibility T-Rex could have gotten into the pavilon at the end of the movie.
It was magic. Then and now.
In the past ten years, I have watched JP 1 -- at least five times a year. When I'm working I have to have it on sometimes -- even if I'm not glued to the TV. I just have to hear it. There is a rhythm to the narrative, one I would think Koep created and Spiels enhanced -- moving forward, echoing Ian's observation, "Life moves forward, it breaks through barriers, painfully..." It is among my top ten films, and no matter how cheesy, I will always go see a JP movie.
To be fair and realistic, I am not so blind to think JP is a perfect movie. So here are some things I didn't like - though through the ages I have softened considerably.
A - Ian was supposed to be an early 20's kid. (but we love Jeff G)
B - The whole migration angle from the book was missed.
C- I would have liked more 'Dino Snacks' (humans) on the island.
D- I wish Henry Wu (B.D. Wong) had a bigger role
E- I missed the end scene of the book, Oh to have been in the Raptor cave. Oh, to have seen the Raptors out on the beach waiting for the transport like birds.
F - I wanted John H to be more of a bad guy -- I liked him too much.
All in all, JP 1 will always be in my little boy heart. I have collected all of the toys and figures. I have the posters and books, DVDs etc. As my father once pointed out, "Son, you got dinosaurs on the brain!"