Who doesn't love dinosaurs?

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2009)

Jurassic Park is one of the landmark films of my childhood. One of the earliest memories I have of ever going to see a movie at a movie theater was of seeing this movie. For simple nostalgic reasons this has always been one of my favorite movies, but I think in a way I never fully appreciated the film until I have become an adult.
Jurassic Park is truly up there with Jaws as one of the most thrilling monster movies of all-time. Each time Tim and Lex get chased by the velociraptors, my heart pounds. When the T-Rex attacks the jeep on that rainy night, I always get filled with raw excitement. It is hard not to be thrilled by Jurassic Park's many death defying set pieces, but the film truly shines thanks to its characters and its director.
What makes Jurassic Park more than your average amusement park ride, is that the director, Steven Spielberg, knew that the film would need great characters in order for the audience to feel any sort of attachment to the film's story. This was a ploy in which he utilized so well in the past in Jaws, and he does here once again with Jurassic Park. The story of Alan Grant leading Tim and Lex through the dinosaur filled Jurassic Park would have not been as thrilling, or even as heartwarming, if Alan Grant was a fan of children. Still the characters on the page were not enough, they needed great actors to bring them to life, which Jurassic Park had; ranging from Sam Neil to Richard Attenborough. I mean could you imagine watching Jurassic Park without Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm. It's almost impossible isn't it.
Overall I think Jurassic Park is one of the most underrated films in movie history. The classic Spielberg magic is there, and in my opinion even more so than Jaws. What Spielberg did with Jurassic Park was give it an awe inspiring scale, but also he gave this film true heart. As a kid I thought this was one of the greatest films of all-time, and I still think the same today.
I give Jurassic Park a perfect 10 out of 10!