Jurassic Park (1993) (Draft)

What's not to like about this film? It's got dinosaurs, and they are very, very scary!

That's pretty much all there is to say about it. Of course you must see it before you die.

It's an adrenalin-pumping thrill ride, with the most stupendous effects that bring these Jurassic beasts to convincing life. The FX are over 30 years old, but they stand up pretty well. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it, as it became a staple VHS treat for my sons. I was fascinated to know how the effects were created for despite having read The Making of Jurassic Park, it was difficult to spot the joins between the various effects methods. How did they get that life-size animatronic T-Rex to lift Gennaro, the lawyer, off the toilet?? (They didn't, I guess, cleverly switching to a CGI rendering of the character being swung about in the dino's jaws.)

John William's score is fabulous. The two main themes, the brass fanfare as Grant, Malcolm and Sattler arrive at the park, and the string heavy section as they meet the brachiosaurus are typical lush orchestral pieces. But my favourite is the suspenseful sequence when Nedry sets his plan in motion, just after Gennaro is frightened by the first thunderclap of the coming storm (sympathetic background?)

Complaints that the characters are poorly drawn seem to be more motivated by disappointment that the film didn't translate everything faithfully from the book. For some of us that hadn't read the book beforehand, this wasn't a problem. Hammond, Grant, Malcolm, and the two children were engaging enough, and in any case, the dinosaurs were the stars.