Subject: RETROSPECTIVE: JURASSIC PARK (1993)

From: [email-masked] (Chad Polenz)
Date: 23 Jun 1997 15:12:23 GMT

JURASSIC PARK
                       A film review by Chad Polenz
                        Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz

**1/2 (out of 4 = OK)
1993, PG-13, 127 minutes [2 hours, 7 minutes]
[science fiction/thriller]
starring: Sam Neill (Dr. Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Dr. Ellie Sattler), Jeff
Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm), Richard Attenborough (Dr. John Hammond), produced
by Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen, written by David Koepp, Michael
Crichton, Malia Scotch Marmo, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the
novel by Michael Crichton.

Modern storytellers, especially those in Hollywood, are fascinated with
dinosaurs. They have always wanted to tell a plausible story where modern man
somehow co-exists and/or comes into contact with dinosaurs, and "Jurassic
Park" is a film of grand designs that fulfils that wish. The film is
extremely impressive visually, but the story and the way it is told is not.

We meet Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern), two
paleontologists whose dig in the Badlands of Montana is interrupted when a
Scottish scientist named Dr. John Hammond (Attenborough) tells them their
expertise is needed for his new theme park in South America. Hammond
describes his "Jurassic Park" in a vague but exciting manner and convinces
them to come with him.

At the same time, an overly complicated sub-plot of espionage begins to
develop. Dennis Nedry (a funny Wayne Knight), a computer programmer at
Hammond's park plans to sabotage it through a complex process of tricks that
only could happen in such a Hollywood movie. 

When the doctors arrive we finally learn what Hammond's park is about as we
get our first glimpse of a realistic, life-size dinosaur. The dinosaurs were
cloned from blood from mosquitoes that had been petrified and preserved for
millions of years in amber. The way this explanation is given is surprisingly
believable because it is kept relatively simple. 

The first half makes for an interesting sci-fi story, as we learn the
dinosaurs are genetically bred to be female, and we see a few up close in
fine detail. Then a matter of scientific and philosophical theory comes into
play as Grant and Sattler, along with mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm
(Goldblum), start to question the ethics of the park, saying nature selected
dinosaurs to become extinct and Hammond is tampering with uncontrollable
forces. Since we are dealing with fantastic beasts in a major Hollywood
picture, it is clear something big is going to happen from all the scientific
jargon. 

The second half is even more impressive visually, but the story and overall
genre seem to turn on a dime into a dressed up (but thrilling) horror flick.

Nedry's scheme and a tropical storm cause for the park to go into a state of
chaos. Grant and Malcolm, along with a lawyer and Hammond's two young
grandchildren, find themselves on the run from a Tyrannosaurus Rex! This
encounter is fantastic, but goes overboard quickly. We get scenes involving
the dodging of a falling truck, climbing a 50-foot tree and climbing back
down to dodge the same truck, only to have the characters become trapped in
the truck again!

The film's attempt at thrilling us wouldn't have been half as blatant if the
two children stuck with Dr. Grant hadn't been such annoying characters. These
kids overact at every given opportunity and seem more like living cartoons
than any kind of plausible characters. The fact the boy's name is Timmy says
it all. 

The final act involves lots of running from dinosaurs and trying to fix a
huge computer system crash. But the film keeps snowballing and becomes
tiresome. Some individual scenes are even more corny than some slasher
flicks, and if it had been done in the spirit of satire it would have been
forgivable.

To say "Jurassic Park" is a bit over-the-top would be pointless - that's
premise of the film. Over-the-top films work if they are done in a sense of
innocent adventure, not as something to be taken as seriously as this film
would like to be. 

Please visit Chad'z Movie Page @ http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz