Subject: REVIEW: JURASSIC PARK

From: [email-masked] (John Hagerman)
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 14:36:46 GMT

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			       JURASSIC PARK
		       A film review by John Hagerman
			Copyright 1993 John Hagerman

     Everybody is going to see this movie anyway, and I'm not much of a
movie reviewer, so I'm not sure why I'm bothering to review it.  But
anyway, here goes.  The plot is: Dinosaurs are cloned to make a theme
park, auditors come to check it out, and they decide it's not a very
safe place.  By the way, the movie is not a very safe place for kids;
you can imagine what hungry, carnivorous dinosaurs do to people.

     As you would hope for $100 million, the special effects are
superb.  I came away feeling that I had some idea what it would be like
to stand next to a live dinosaur.  However, today's great special
effects are tomorrow's run-of-the-mill effects.  Since I wasn't
impressed with the other aspects of the movie, I think that JURASSIC
PARK will go down in movie history merely as another pioneering effort
in special effects.

     I've read the book and, as usual, it's better.  (The only case I
can think of where this was not true was BLADE RUNNER, but that's not
even really fair since the movie was only loosely based on the book.)
The problem with JURASSIC PARK is, as usual, that there are lots of
good ideas in the book and too many of them were put into the movie.
For example, if I hadn't read the book, I would have come out of the
movie wondering just what the heck Jeff Goldblum's character was
supposed to be doing, blathering about chaos theory.  But that's okay,
because only lip service is paid to this thread, and then it's quickly
dropped.  If you have read the book, you will know that Michael
Crichton is pretty good about science.  Unfortunately, science takes
time, and time can't be spared in the movie, so don't expect to learn
anything.

     The movie has its gripping moments (how could it not with teeth
like that?), but I think the guy next to me who fell asleep would
agree: If you took away the special effects you would find a mediocre
movie with a predictable script, flat characters, and uninspired
acting.

     I suggest that you wait until this movie comes out again in the
dollar theaters next year after it has won Best Special Effects.  Or
better yet, just read the book; your imagination will do the effects
just as well, and you will find a much better story.

- John
[email-masked]