It doesn't matter that the story line is slight or the characters underdeveloped. The dinos are what we come to see, and the dinos are what we get.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
Growing up in the fifties as I did, it was hard not to come across "King Kong" or "Mighty Joe Young" on TV or the creations of Ray Harryhausen on movie screens. But as much as I loved those old monsters, even as a kid there was always that nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that they didn't look quite true-to-life. No such suspicions with "Jurassic Park." The film made cinematic history with its digital creations. The dinosaurs are real. They are awesome in their believability. It doesn't matter that the story line is slight or the characters underdeveloped. The dinos are what we come to see, and the dinos are what we get. But understand, it's a one-of-a-kind experience. Once you've seen them and admired them, simply repeating them isn't enough, as the makers of "Godzilla" and "The Lost World" and a dozen more-recent monster-movie extravaganzas have found out.
It is no surprise that "Jurassic Park" was directed by Steven Spielberg. He's used to mega-projects. This one is an updated "Jaws" with even more stupendous beasts, if not with the same quality ensemble cast or the same degree of tension or suspense. But, as I said, it doesn't matter. The sense of fantasy, of vision, of wonder is greater than ever. In fact, it's maybe that sense of wonder that's the key element in "Jurassic Park." Except for old fidgets who probably never liked Harryhausen's work, either, the movie makes children of us all, as we sit amazed at what is undeniably reach-out-and-touch-it authentic. Not that the film isn't filled with its requisite share of thrills, too. It's about as close to an old-fashioned, Saturday-afternoon creature feature as you can find and not feel like you're wasting your time wallowing in nostalgia. Do I like it? You bet, and it's a natural for the DVD medium in widescreen and DD 5.1 sound.
Based on the best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, the idea behind "Jurassic Park" is the entirely plausible theory that dinosaur DNA, if found, could be cloned to produce modern animals. In the movie that's just what a multizillionaire, played by Richard Attenborough, does. He finances the building of an immense amusement park on a private, tropical island devoted to the breeding of just such prehistoric critters. But before the park opens, he wants to have his inventions validated by the leading authorities in their field and invites a pair of paleontologists, played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern, and a mathematician, played by Jeff Goldblum, to the park.
When they arrive, the scientists are impressed (so much so that Neill loses his breath, as we do, too, at our first sight of the beasts), but they are not entirely persuaded that rebuilding nature is in nature's best interests. Only Attenborough's attorney ("the bloodsucking lawyer") sees the value of the place, in dollar signs! Then, the inevitable occurs. An unscrupulous employee attempts to steal and sell some of the DNA, turning off protective fences all over the park in order to effect his getaway and setting loose all hell. At this point, the story turns into a hair raiser with the excitement of a roller-coaster ride.
Now, I mentioned that the plot is slight and the characters largely undeveloped, which is true, but this should not dampen one's enthusiasm for the picture. This is a rousing adventure story, not "Citizen Kane." So what if the story is simple. It's supposed to be simple; all old-time adventure movies were simple. And if the characters are underdeveloped, it does not mean they're without memorable personalities.
Sam Neill's Alan Grant is at first apprehensive of children ("They smell," he says) and a reluctant hero as well, but a strong and resourceful hero he turns out to be. Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler is sweet, cheerful, forever optimistic, yet plucky and courageous, too. Jeff Goldblum practically steals the show with his wisecracking performance as the chaos-theory mathematician. Richard Attenborough as John Hammond, the slightly daft old moneybags behind the project, is appropriately consumed by his ambition, heedless in the beginning of the scientists' warnings that he is moving too close to playing God. But he also grows on one, as a lovable codger. Bob Peck comes closest to stereotype as the "great white hunter" Robert Muldoon, an animal expert who is about the only one in the park who seems to know what he's doing. Samuel L. Jackson, performing a relatively small part before he became more famous, is notable for his no-nonsense approach to running the show. And Wayne Knight as the fat, foolish, blundering villain, Dennis Nedry, will probably be forever typecast in the role.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]5391[/release]