TL;DR – A masterpiece in cinema that still moves you thirty years later.    

Post-Credit Scene – There is no end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Jurassic Park Review –

Some films captivated you the first time you watched them, getting your claws into you and never letting go. As a kid, one of those films was Jurassic Park. It delighted and terrified in equal measure. But even though it is in my Top 10 Films of All Time, it is a film I never watched on the big screen because I was far too young when it was released. But on the 30^th anniversary of its release, it was back in cinemas, and it was time to rectify that.

So to set the scene, on a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica, an animal transfer at a new type of zoo goes terribly wrong. Investors start to panic, so John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and his lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) bring in three experts: Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to give the park their stamp of approval. But why would a zoo need palaeontologists? Cue the John Williams soundtrack.   

Now we have a giant Jurassic Park franchise across two different movie series and more, but when you go right back to the start, you feel the power that could spawn a universe. This film is packed to the brim with worldbuilding at every turn. The names on the embryos, the evil company, and single sentences bring worlds of meaning. I completely forgot that the movie justifies why the kids were sent to be with Grandpa. I think it helps because even now, the technology they use to bring the dinosaurs back feels plausible but also fantastical. It delights while not being completely absurd. There is hubris, but deep down, we all kind of wished someone would be just as reckless in real life.

One of the considerable strengths of the film is that it understands the power of the subject matter it explores. In the opening part of the movie, it does the build-up to a giant dinosaur reveal three different times. The first is at the start with the fake-out coming from the trees, where all we see is a flash of malice from a set of eyes and so many screams. Then, the famous head-turning moment before finally all hell breaks loose with the T-Rex. Each sequence understands the power of the dinosaurs, both to terrify and bring joy.

However, you can understand that power narratively, but you still need to bring it to the big screen. Even thirty years later, the combination of mechatronic and digital dinosaurs still holds up. Their physicality and presence reverberate through your spine as your chair rumbles with each footstep. It is that joy and power the later films started to forget with their genetically modified dinosaurs and locusts. Sure, with time, you can see the differences when they use CGI vs. puppet dinosaurs, and you can spot a couple of imperfect wigs on stunt people, but none of that matters.

This is because the emotion is still there. It is, hands down, John William’s best work. Yes, I said that. The opening as they flew into the park on the helicopter and the music swell for the first time brought me to tears with its beauty. The dinosaurs matter, the people matter, not going for the lowest quote with your IT department matters. The film knows that I want to pat a brachiosaurus even if I might get sneezed on. One of the most memorable moments when watching the movie was seeing them introduce the raptors and hearing a voice cry, ‘But daddy, what happened to the cow?’ It felt like I was witnessing a canon moment that we all went through back in the day.

In the end, I don’t think I need to beat around the bush about recommending Jurassic Park. Of course I do. It was an emotional joy getting to be surrounded by John William’s music while Steven Spielberg delighted, and we learned the power of a ripple. Few films ever have an impact as significant as this, and I am glad we got it.      

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Jurassic Park?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Jurassic Park
Directed by –     Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by – Michael Crichton & David Koepp  
Based on – Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Music by – John Williams
Cinematography by – Dean Cundey
Edited by – Michael Kahn
Production/Distribution Companies – Amblin Entertainment & Universal Pictures
Starring – Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B.D. Wong, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L. Jackson & Wayne Knight