Here is my third post from the IMDB top 250 review series. I have already reviewed La Dolce Vita which you can read here. The Third film I'm gonna review is Jurassic Park released in 1993.
Story: Almost everyone knows the story, but for those that are clueless here is a summary. Archeologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) join Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Gennaro (Martin Ferrero), and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) in order to endorse Jurassic Park, an upcoming tourist attraction that houses live dinosaurs cloned from DNA found inside fossilized mosquitos.
Ian believes that these scientists, are in essence, playing God, and messing with things that shouldn’t be messed with. No matter how hard they try to control the animals, life will find a way, as it always has before. Alan and Ellie find the dinosaurs quite stunning, but even they say they can’t easily predict how it would be for humans to interact with dinosaurs. Pretty soon, they were right, and they are running for their lives.
My review: It has been over 2-3 years since I've last seen this and today I re-visited this timeless classic again. I never realized that there could be a movie that just never gets old and gets more and more exciting with every time you watch it. Steven Spielberg adapts the novel faithfully and brings the dinosaurs to life with amazing technology which still amazes me to this day, 20 years later. John William's score is still as unforgettable as ever, it's just a really beautiful and moving score that suits the movie perfectly.
True, the story may not be all that believable, but its a film for entertainment, not education. It is truly a classic and well worth adding to your film collection. The following sequels are not even worth mentioning but Jurassic Park, standing on its own, is as impressive today as it was all those years ago.
Spielberg spends the first half of the movie getting the viewer to let their mind go in the wonder of dinosaurs being alive. The second half of the film is when all the action takes place.
What I most enjoyed about the movie were the action sequences[duh!]. I've seen hundreds of movies, yet my favorite scene of all time is the scene where the Tyrannosaur escapes and attack the cars. It's just so amazing and so iconic. The rain just adds a certain tone that draws you in, adding tons of tension; And when I see the T-Rex escaping through her fence and attacking the 2 children still gives me shivers.
Cast Performance: My favorite individual performance in the film was that of Jeff Goldblum! He was just terrific, possibly one of his best roles as he too tends to be an acquired taste, as Dr. Ian Malcolm, a mathematician who warns right from the beginning of playing God.
Sam Neill was perfect for the role as Dino genius Dr. Allan Grant!
Laura Dern has also done well as Ellie Sattler.
Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards play Tim and Lexi Murphy, Hammond's grandkids. Oh my word! Both were terrific and truly capture the teen audience very well and have some really hair raising scenes.
Summary: The movie has an amazing story, riveting action and everything that makes an epic film amazing. All in all, the movie is quite solid. Audiences of all ages will love it, especially those with interest in science or dinosaurs. It might be frightening for some children!
The film is great fun from beginning to end and deserves to be up there with Jaws and King Kong as one of the all time great monster movies.
Verdict: A groundbreaking classic. [There was no need for Sequels tho!]
Rating: 86/100
Note: I can point out many flaws but would care not to as its a movie to enjoy not to analyse! As I said before this film is for entertainment, not education! Timeless classic!
The top 250 keeps on changing but I think I will follow the 250 I have shown here. Next in the list is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). But I will skip the next one - Three Colors: Red (1994) coz this film is the third part of a trilogy. To understand it better I will have to watch the prequels which I'm not looking forward to do right now.