Don't read the book first!

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2004)

Upon hearing that Steven Spielberg was planning on releasing Jurassic Park, I immediately bought Michael Crichton's book and read it. Since I love science, I was mesmerized with all the scientific aspects which sounded VERY believable. The rich details of the island, scientific processes, and fears for the characters on the island caused me to start from page one once I finished the book. If you are into biology, genetics, or science, in general, this is an awesome book. When I went to watch the movie I had images of the book in my imagination and I was deeply saddened to see that the visual representation only teased some of the aspects of the book. I thought that with Crichton writing the screenplay, the movie would closely resemble the book, but I was wrong. He left out all the best parts and inserted ideas that weren't as good as his book. It is true that Crichton adapted a screenplay with one image in mind: teeth. He understood that, like in Jaws, movie-goers love flesh eaters. Computer generated dinosaurs with menacing teeth running amuck on an island is basically the standard he lowered his book to. He eliminated the experiments the scientists made to create the dinosaurs, the egg factories, prehistoric plant life, how the dinosaurs evolved to reproduce on their own, and the fact that some dinosaurs escaped the island from his book. Sure, I thought the movie was cool, if it was a stand alone, but when you compare it to the book it was a flop. Then Crichton did the unimaginable, he wrote two more adaptations and released movies for them. He understands that the public, especially children, wants to see more `chomping,' hence the PG-13 rating. Now, I've noticed that he plans on releasing a fourth installment in 2005. Sounds like a rental to me.