Based on the 1990 novel, Jurassic Park follows Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as they are invited to a mysterious island containing a new theme park ‘Jurassic Park’ owned by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) that contains dinosaurs, recreated from DNA found within a mosquito that has been preserved in amber. The tour ride experiences a malfunction and the trio of doctors and the two grandchildren of Hammond have to escape from the park while the dinosaurs roam free.
At the time of the original release Jurassic Park came to define the summer with it’s family-friendly appeal and incredible story. Rarely is the audience given a moment of downtime as each scene packs in so much tension, excitement and jaw-dropping wonder. The special effects are still discussed in animators circles as one of the finest examples of the creation of verisimilitude in film history. So impressive were that highly acclaimed directors like Stanley Kubrick approached Spielberg regarding achieving the same levels of realism as Jurassic Park.
The cast are well pitched at somewhere between cold scientists and awe-struck children, and as is common in Spielberg films it all revolves around the theme of ‘family,’ with Alan Grant especially learning his role of fatherhood to children that aren’t even his. Add to these solid performances, the amazing score by John Williams and you’ve got the makings of a masterpiece. There’s even a role for Samuel L. Jackson, which helped him back on the path to super-stardom. So popular has Jurassic Park become in the years after release that for an entire generation of audiences it remains in their top five favourite films.
From the state-of-the-art special effects that are still talked about almost two decades on, the astounding and memorable score, the great acting and the fun family film premise and Jurassic Park stands the test of time as one of the most astonishing films ever.
Trailer Review Tarantino gets a lot of stick for his movies. He is accused of…