Jurassic Park (1993)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg | 127 minutes | action, horror, adventure, science fiction | Actors: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight, Gerald R. Molen, Miguel Sandoval, Cameron Thor, Christopher John Fields, Whit Hertford, Dean Cundey, Jophery C. Brown, Tom Mishler, Greg Burson, Adrian Escober, Richard Kiley

Spectacularly made entertainment with a high adrenalin content that keeps on rumbling on to the next thrill. ‘Jurassic Park’ is a film set up as a tour of… right, an amusement park. But when the initial tension has subsided, you are sent away with a somewhat empty feeling inside.

What possibilities are there with the advancing developments in the field of cloning? What would it be like if humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth together? Those questions so fascinated writer Michael Crichton, who died in 2008, that he combined them and wrote a book about them. Jurassic Park was released in 1990 and was a huge bestseller. Crichton was the master of the techno-thriller: about the often destructive influence of human actions on new technological developments. The tall writer was originally a doctor, came up with the TV series ‘ER’, wrote the screenplay and directed ‘Westworld’ (1973) and saw many of his books being adapted into films by others with more or less success. Titles like ‘The Andromeda Strain’ (1971), ‘Rising Sun’ (1993), ‘Disclosure’ (1994), ‘Congo’ (1995) and ‘Sphere’ (1998) appeared on the silver screen, but none of them made it to the screen. even close to the blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park’ and its sequels.

Because a film adaptation of his bestseller was inevitable and in 1993 ‘Jurassic Park’ premiered with much fanfare. The screenplay of Crichton himself, edited by screenwriter David Koepp, throws overboard many of the moral and ethical objections to cloning in general and the cloning of dinosaurs in particular. What remains is a straightforward action film without too many subtleties and nuances. Koepp’s adaptations were entirely attributed to the direction of Steven Spielberg, who knows how to handle the basic material. The big advantage is that Crichton had a cinematic writing style, which allowed many of the scenes to be taken straight from the book. What those who know the book will miss most are the warnings about the dangers of cloning and the intellectual debate behind Crichton’s smooth writing style. That the fate of some characters in the film is very different, is then taken for granted.

When released, the film made a big impression because of the realistic-looking dinosaurs. And they are indeed impressive, especially for the early 90s. The visual effects of Industrial Light & Magic and the special effects of “guru” Stan Winston and his people ensure that you (almost) never feel you are looking at trickery . Spielberg uses a combination of digital effects and old-fashioned animatronics (puppets that can move electrically or manually) in portraying the dinosaurs. Among the beasts that died out millions of years ago are the dreaded Tyrannosaures Rex and the intensely vicious and clever Velociraptors.

The story has remained – by and large – intact: the wealthy industrialist John Hammond has found a way to clone dinosaurs and has built an amusement park on an island off the coast of Costa Rica. After a few accidents, investors start to get nervous and a number of renowned scientists are invited to declare the park “safe”. This safety should become clear by means of a tour through the park. In addition to the experts, the house lawyer of Hammond’s company and Hammond’s two grandchildren will also be attending. Of course, the tour takes place during an approaching tropical storm, while one of the employees tries to steal frozen dino embryos by disabling all security. And let the electrically propelled jeeps just come to a halt in front of the T-Rex’s territory…

Old John Hammond is played by veteran Richard Attenborough, who reneged on his 1979 decision to retire from acting especially for Spielberg. Attenborough did so because he didn’t think he should have won Oscars for Best Picture and Director for ‘Gandhi’, but those awards should have gone to Spielberg’s ‘ET’. His version of John Hammond is a somewhat naive grandfather, who realizes too late what he has unleashed on the world.

The scientists are portrayed by Sam Neill as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, Laura Dern as paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Jeff Goldblum as mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm. Goldblum gets pretty much all the good lyrics from this trio, in which he expresses his concerns about the possible disastrous consequences of cloning dinosaurs. Although his input is minimal compared to the book, Malcolm’s explanation of the “chaos theory” is beautifully executed. Neill has the thankless job of playing the conventional hero, and he’s especially uncomfortable because he’s stuck with Hammond’s grandchildren Tim (Joseph Mazzello) and Alex (Ariana Richards) as a nanny. Dern is allowed to stare wide open at the dinos around her a few times, then runs around in a second, unsuitable storyline to help save Grant and the kids. In small roles, familiar faces such as Wayne Knight (as the corrupt computer programmer who wants to steal the embryos) and Samuel L. Jackson as engineer Ray Arnold.

The story is fairly predictable (so it’s not hard to guess who will die and who will live) and after a slow start explaining the background of the characters and the history of the cloning activities of Hammond’s company InGen, the action erupts. off with one chase after another. Technically well executed and exciting scenes follow each other in rapid succession. Spielberg once again proves that he has mastered this work down to the finest details.

But that cannot hide the fact that there is hardly any character development and that, despite all the interesting angles, ‘Jurassic Park’ has just become a monster movie. An effective, exciting monster film. However, much more could have been taken from the thought-provoking premise. Spielberg, for example, had an excellent example with his own blockbuster ‘Jaws’. ‘Jurassic Park’ brings the monster genre some extra with convincing effects and the fact that these monsters are officially extinct. And, as the film makes clear, that’s a good thing.