Jurassic Park

I thought that for my first review for this blog, I had better choose something appropriately magnificent. And when it comes to films, especially films from the '90s, and especially films from the '90s about dinosaurs featuring The Fly and Kris Kringle, none is more magnificent than Jurassic Park. Directed by Steven Spielberg, like many of his efforts it has become pop culture fodder,  inspiring parodies, references in TV shows, and weird art. It is easy to see how it has become so well-known, with dialogue that is eminently quotable, one of the greatest scores of all time, and stellar performances from its cast. One of the best films of all time? Maybe. One of the best films of the '90s? Definitely.

The plot is simple. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) discovers a way to create living dinosaurs from prehistoric blood, and then puts these Frankenstein-osaurs in a theme park. To test out his park, he invites Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) for a tour, along with some annoying kids and various other expendable characters. Meanwhile, the double-crossing Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) screws the pooch by turning off the electric fences that enclose the dinosaurs, in an attempt to steal some embryos. Dinosaurs run amok, escapades ensue. Or to simplify it, Sam Neill + Jeff Goldblum + Dinosaurs = Awesome. Whilst it may not seem like the deepest film ever, it does touch upon themes of the dangers of science, corporate greed, and environmentalism. However, these themes are for the most part subdued by the healthy amounts of quips, PG violence, and great special effects. The CGI and animatronics are really what make this film, and they even hold up almost 20 years later.

It would be remiss of me, as a self-confessed dino-geek, if I did not mention the inaccuracy in some of the portrayals of the dinosaurs (Wikipedia even has a page for this, so it's not just me!). More recent discoveries indicate that most dinosaurs had feathers, and were a lot more bird-like than previously imagined. By the standards of science in the '90s though (before the internet for god's sake!), the depictions in Jurassic Park must have been pretty darn cool.
Another slight issue with the film, though this may be an unhealthy dose of cynicism on my part, is how the film seems very well suited for spin-off merchandise, almost as if it was written by a marketing team. There is even a shot in the film of Jurassic Park toys in a gift shop. Who knew that corporate avarice could be so meta? Of course I may be reading too much into it, and in any case, it's quite hypocritical of me to complain, as I have cupboards full of JP stuff at home that I still haven't the heart to throw away.

In a nutshell though, most things about the film are greater than great. Especially this -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/