Jurassic park Review

Jurassic Park 
Steven Spielberg
1993



Figure 1: Jurassic Park Movie Poster

Jurassic Park, a spectacle that everyone has seen weather it be on an ITV re run or back in the day when it was released. What it lacks in story, it makes up for in fantastic visual effects that still hold up to this day and incredible set pieces that have been mimicked and re used ever since it's release."The effects have barely aged and the joy is timeless." (Richards,2013) A perfect adventure, thriller movie that blends both early stage CGI and animatronic technology incredibly well, creating a believable world that is grounded and sticks to its own ideas.

The plot, if not already known, revolves around an eccentric billionaire who has found a way to reproduce a race of creatures that has been extinct for millions of years. Dinosaurs. Placing them on an island and turning it into a revolutionary theme park. After inviting scientist's and others to the park, a series of events ensues that leaves the group fending for their lives against a species designed to hunt mammals like us.



Figure 2: John Hammond

The main part of this movie is obviously the visually stunning Dinosaurs that play a huge role in movie."Spielberg was wise to not rely entirely on computer images, rather blending the new technology with old-fashioned practical designs" (Dunks,2014) Using a blend of CGI and Animatronic's Spielberg has created, creatures that look and feel like they exist in the world. Everything from the triceratops to the Velociraptors and the T-rex are believable, making the wonder and dread that the Sam Neil's character experience even more real. The dinosaurs are what makes the set pieces in this film truly astounding and the stories behind some of them even more interesting. 

The scene where the T Rex attacks the convey is the films most recognizable moment. We finally get to experience the fear that these creatures can convey. We see the T Rex move, we hear it roar and its just marvelous.  Whilst the T Rex is the biggest dinosaur on the island it is far from the films most well known creature. That would go to the Velociraptor's."They were absolutely frightening when they were first revealed" (Reyes,2014) The hyper intelligent pack animals that lead to the phrase "clever girl" becoming a well known phrase in cinema. These beast's bring the thriller factor to the movie, turning it into what seems to be a slasher movie of sorts. They hunt down the main group, keeping themselves hidden until they strike. Their horrific screech and the way they move makes them some of the scariest creatures to ever be shown in film. 



Figure 3: Velociraptor

This film isn't all about the dinosaurs however, the characters introduced to us all have a profound effect on the atmosphere of the movie. Sam Neil's character, Alan Grant, establishes from the beginning that he doesn't like children. This begins to change throughout the movie when he is stranded with the two grandchildren of Doctor Hammond, the man who created the Island. As events unfold he begins to become more protective of the children and the final shot of the film solidifies the idea of him becoming open to the idea of having children. 

Then we have Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum. Talking about the theoretical side of the inhabitants and how nature cannot be controlled or ceased by humanity. The scientist's have genetically modified the dinosaurs to only be female, however as accurately shown by Malcolm in the helicopter when he ties the two female ends of the seat belt together. Life finds a way of prospering, in this case dinosaurs spontaneously changing their sex.



Figure 4: T-Rex

In short, Jurassic park is a stunning visual masterpiece that hold's up even in today's over blown CGI world. The story is complex yet also simple and the characters and dinosaurs memorable and appealing in many different ways. 



Bibliography

Olly Richards, Empire Magazine, http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=138260, August 19 2013

Glenn Dunks, Quick flicks, http://blog.quickflix.com.au/2014/09/23/play-it-again-jurassic-park/, September 23 2014

Mike Reyes, Cinema Blend, http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Reason-Why-Jurassic-Park-Raptors-Total-BS-67615.html, November 10 2014




Illustrations

Figure 1: http://www.impawards.com/1993/posters/jurassic_park_ver2_xlg.jpg

Figure 2: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=john+hammond&safe=off&espv=2&biw=944&bih=951&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=p_oRVdjhAayy7Qag0IC4Bg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgrc=2dJNB1ZV6g8pjM%253A%3BGve1-dcl8CWJDM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmaxlevelgeek.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2014%252F02%252Fjp-johnhammond1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmaxlevelgeek.com%252F2014%252F02%252F14%252F6-insanely-famous-movie-roles-sean-connery-turned-down%252F%3B1016%3B555

Figure 3: http://www.jurassicworlduniverse.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/velociraptor-03.jpg

Figure 4: http://imageserver.moviepilot.com/jp-14-is-jurassic-park-s-hero-t-rex-due-to-return-in-jurassic-world-the-evidence-is-compelling.jpeg?width=1280&height=720