Retrospective Review: Jurassic Park

Retrospective Review: Jurassic Park

“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but dinosaurs and man… two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?” – Dr. Alan Grant

Without a doubt, Jurassic Park (1993) is one of the most iconic science fiction movies of all-time. In my opinion; regardless of genre, it is one of the greatest films ever. It certainly deserves its place as one of Director Steven Spielberg’s best works in his long and prestigious career. The original film has a magic that none of its sequels have come close to replicating. Some reasons are derived from the fact that it is the first film in the franchise. Obviously, it has the novelty of showing the audience dinosaurs for the first time. Dinosaurs had been presented as monsters in films before Jurassic Park [e.g. King Kong fighting a Tyrannosaurus Rex in King Kong (1933)]. Nonetheless, Jurassic Park took great lengths to portray dinosaurs as realistic as possible based on the knowledge of its time. Accordingly, the movie is the first time that an authentic take on dinosaurs were presented on the big screen. Moreover, the film does well to capture the awe and amazement in the reactions of its characters when they initially come face to face with gigantic sauropods. Next, the discussions of the hypothetical science and the ethics behind wielding that power is fascinating, especially since the ethical debate regarding cloning was a significant topic back in the 1990s. No other film in the series provides nearly as interesting fruit for thought. Other reasons Jurassic Park is vastly superior to its sequels are not exclusive to it being the first in the series. For instance, it has a strong cast that portrays great characters. In addition, there is great chemistry among the cast and their characters. It is an amazing group that has not been replicated by the later films. Similarly, the sequels fall short in capturing the same level of terror that exudes through the screen once the safeguards of the park fall apart. I was in the second grade when my dad brought me to see Jurassic Park. I was fascinated by dinosaurs and super excited to watch a movie featuring them. I did not realize how petrified I would be by the legendary horror scenes featuring the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors. I was so scared during the movie that I immediately got physically sick when I returned home. In the sequels, the carnivores have become carnival theme park monsters. They chase around the heroes but they never catch them. Moreover, the feeling of danger has been completely lost. Instead, they only feast on villains or secondary and tertiary supporting characters who the audience has little connection to in the films. Finally, the music from the movie is also epic. It is not surprising since legend John Williams scores the soundtrack. When you analyze the combination of all those factors, you understand why Jurassic Park is a truly special movie. Not surprisingly, the most memorable scenes and quotes in the franchise are in the first film. As John “Ray” Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) would say it, “Hold on to your butts.”

Opening Scene

The first scene in the film foreshadows and sets the tone for the impending terror. It also immediately sends the movie to the primary premise of the story. Park workers, led by Game Warden Robert Muldoon (Robert Peck), are preparing to transport a cage with a Velociraptor into her paddock in the Park. When the gatekeeper walks along the top of the cage to open the gate, the Raptor rushes at it and the impact flings the gatekeeper to the ground. The Raptor starts pulling his lower body into the cage and mauling him to death. Despite efforts of the other workers to electrocute the Raptors to force them to release the man and Muldoon’s desperate pleas for his men to “Shoot her!”, the gatekeeper is killed. The incident triggers the events of the film. It results in a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit from the family of the gatekeeper. Not surprisingly, the insurance company and underwriters are worried about the safety of the park. They task lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) with performing a full investigation. In addition, the insurance company insists on two experts signing off on the park before they are willing to go forward with insuring the park. Gennaro gets mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as one of the experts who will assess the park. The insurance company wants paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) as the second. Grant is a digger who searches for dinosaur bones. He will not want to leave his dig site in Montana. It will not be easy to convince him to visit the park without a convincing, personal touch. One of the first scenes of the film features Grant and his colleague, paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), uncovering a Velociraptor skeleton in the ground. Their excitement turns to anger as an unaware helicopter lands and blows dirt all over the priceless fossil. While Alan and Elle frantically yell at the pilot to shut off the helicopter, the CEO of InGen John Hammond sneaks into their trailer. As they enter to confront him, they are further annoyed with Hammond opening a bottle of champagne that they were saving for a special occasion. However, he insists it is time to celebrate and he begins charming them with his charisma. Nevertheless, money talks. He gets their attention and their commitment to visit his “biological preserve” for the weekend by offering to fund their dig for another three years. Accordingly, the movie quickly thrusts the main characters into the picture. Ian, Alan, and Ellie are the experts visiting and assessing the viability and safety of the park. With Gennaro, they are part of the endorsement team. Hammond is their host for a weekend trip none of them will ever forget.

Hammond Champagne

When Hammond asks Alan and Ellie to visit his biological preserve, Alan rightfully asks “What kind of park is this?” As the audience knows, it is a dinosaur park. Nonetheless, there is great anticipation from the wait to see a dinosaur on screen [not just the shadowy figure of a Velociraptor in the opening scene]. The first film benefits greatly from the novelty of dinosaurs and the corresponding excitement of seeing them for the first time. The movie does an amazing job reflecting that amazement and awe in the reactions of its characters. Their weekend trip begins with an unforgettable helicopter ride into the Costa Rican island where the park is located. In real life, it is the stunning Napali Coast on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Shortly after they land, they are transported on jeeps into a section of the park. When the vehicles stop, Alan is totally shocked. He stands up and takes off his sunglasses just to make sure he is actually seeing what he thinks he is: a majestic, gigantic Brachiosaurus eating leaves off treetops. Hilariously, Ellie is too busy examining and confused by what looks to be an extinct leaf. As such, she does not notice the nearby dinosaur. Alan is too stunned to speak so he can only motion his hand to grab her head and manually turn it. They immediately geek out at analyzing a living, breathing Brachiosaurus. Similarly, Ian is mesmerized and says to himself “He did it. You crazy son of the bitch did it”. As the audience will quickly find out, he is adamantly opposed to the idea of the park and bringing dinosaurs out of extinction. Nevertheless, even he cannot contain his excitement for the impossible sight and releases a huge smile. Of course, Hammond cannot wait to slip the fact that the park features a Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) as its primary attraction. As Alan is stuck in disbelief, Hammond needs to repeat it again: “We have a T. Rex”. Alan is dizzy by the excitement of the breathtaking moment and needs to sit down to catch his breath. When he is sitting on the ground, he looks to the distance and marvels at being able to confirm theories about the duck-billed Parasaurolophus through observations of living specimens when he famously notes “They’re moving in herds. They do move in herds.” When Alan is sitting on the ground trying to catch his breath and process what he is seeing, Hammond proudly declares “Welcome to Jurassic Park”. He is welcoming his guests. It is also a meta-moment when he is welcoming the movie audience to the park and the film too.

Brachiosaurus

Next, it is easy to forget now but the first movie was initially praised for its scientific accuracy at the time. Steven Spielberg even hired leading American paleontologist Jack Horner to advise on the film. However, research on and knowledge of dinosaurs has significantly advanced in the last 25 years. Accordingly, the out of date portrayal of dinosaurs is scoffed at from a retrospective perspective. Today, the discussion usually ends with the point that Deinonychus is incorrectly referred to as a Velociraptor. It is a silly nitpick of a film [and the source book] that intentionally changed the named to Velociraptor because it rolls off the tongue better. Moreover, it is not like the dinosaurs walked around the Earth calling themselves Deinonychus or Velociraptor. They are man given names. It is not that big of a deal that a film swapped them for marketing purposes. It is also revisionist history that the film is not scientifically correct [e.g. no feathers on the dinosaurs] because it is not consistent with the knowledge and theories prevalent today. It could only base their portrayal of dinosaurs on the information available to it in its time. For those reasons, I still consider the first movie as the first time moviegoers see a realistic depiction of dinosaurs on the big screen. Obviously, the novelty of experiencing and seeing a dinosaur for the first time with the characters in the movie is an aspect Jurassic Park has that is impossible for the sequels to duplicate.

The first film is also the most thought provoking in the franchise. The discussion of the science and ethics of bringing back extinct animals is absolutely fascinating. When I refer to the science of cloning dinosaurs, I am referring to the science fiction of it. The premise is that there were mosquitos back in the days of the dinosaurs. Like the insects do today, they sucked the blood of dinosaurs. Once in a while, the mosquitos would accidentally get trapped in tree sap, which encased and preserved the dinosaur DNA for tens of millions of years in amber. The scientists of Jurassic Park extract the DNA from the mosquitos and filled in gaps in the DNA sequence with the DNA of a frog. In real life, it is very farfetched because it is highly unlikely that DNA could be preserved for so long and be usable for scientists. From the perspective of science fiction, Jurassic Park does an amazing job presenting a story to its audience that makes sense. In addition, chief genetic engineer of Jurassic Park, Dr. Henry Wu (B.D. Wong), adds an interesting tidbit about his design of the animals as he explains to the group how all of the dinosaurs are female for population control reasons. It is interesting to see a young B.D. Wong as Wu in the original film. He is depicted as a pleasant, innocuous boy wonder. It is in sharp contrast to his role as a primary antagonist and mad scientist in the current Jurassic World trilogy.

The-birth-of-a-Velociraptor

Another interesting part of the scene is Malcolm’s tenacity in challenging Wu and his science by stating “But, again, how do you know they’re all female? Does someone go out into the park and, ah, lift up the dinosaur’s skirts?” Wu completely scoffs at the suggestion as an ignorant statement from an individual who does not understand simple science: “We control their chromosomes. It’s really not that difficult. All vertebrate embryos are inherently female. They just require an extra hormone given at the right developmental stage …to make them male. We simply deny them that.” Nevertheless, Malcolm is a proponent of chaos theory. In general, he believes that the world is comprised of complex systems with way too much randomness to ever control. Accordingly, he perceives it as totally blind arrogance that Hammond thinks he can insert dinosaurs into the equation and ever hope to have the absolute control it would take to contain them and keep the Park safe. Malcolm provocatively argues that “John, the kind of control you’re attempting is not possible. If there’s one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. Expands to new places and crashes through barriers. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But… there it is [the group witnessing the birth of a Velociraptor, which has been extinct for tens of millions of years].” He concludes his points with his most famous quote in the movie: “Life will find a way”. Despite the mockery and dismissal of his opinion by Wu, Malcolm’s words will prove to be prophetic.

Lunch-scene-from-Jurassic-Park

The debate continues between Hammond and Malcolm during lunch in one of my favorite scenes in the film. Not surprisingly, Malcolm leads the charge against Hammond with his concerns about the technology and the park. The film does a wonderful job presenting both perspectives. Moreover, the dialogue is absolutely epic during the exchange. Malcolm has the opening salvo when he declares “The lack of humility before nature that’s being displayed here staggers me.” He adds “Genetic power’s the most awesome force this planet’s ever seen but you wield it like a kid who’s found his dad’s gun.” Malcolm is absolutely correct in pointing out that Hammond and his scientists are completely blinded by the excitement of unlocking an unbelievable power that they have total disregard for the implications and ethics around using that power. He also makes great points when he explains “I’ll tell you the problem with the scientific power you’re using here. It didn’t require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves so you don’t take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could. Before you even know what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunch box, and now you’re selling it.” It is true that individuals will appreciate something more (e.g. prestige, accomplishments, etc.) if they earned it for themselves rather than be handed it. His second point speaks to the corporate greed and commercialization. Of course, a company’s goal is to maximize profits. Nonetheless, it cannot literally do what it wants to achieve those results. There are regulations in place (e.g. FDA setting standards for and approving food and drugs) that protect the safety of the public. An issue with Hammond and Ingen cloning dinosaurs are that they did not stop to consider the broader consequences of their actions. There was no one to tell them no or at least question them until Malcolm arrives. He emphatically stamps his argument with one of my favorite quotes in the movie: “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied over whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

On the other hand, Hammond makes thought provoking counterarguments too. His best point occurs when he makes an analogy to condors, which are endangered, and how no one would object if he utilized cloning to prevent their extinction. Accordingly, why is it a bad thing that he is reversing the extinction of a species? Malcolm has a good response when he notes “This isn’t some species that was obliterated by deforestation or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs had their shot and nature selected them for extinction.” In other words, the cloning of dinosaurs and re-introducing them into a time they do not belong is upsetting the order established by nature. Nonetheless, the comparison to condors is Hammond’s best argument. From my perspective, his point is clearer when it is applied to cloning in general. When one tries to delineate between one species and another, the line becomes much more blurry. If you are fine with the cloning of animals, why would there be a fine line drawn between endangered and extinct animals? In my opinion, the debate should be between allowing and not allowing cloning. Next, Hammond’s second point is an emotional appeal rather than a logical argument. He is animated with his surprise that another scientist would feel he could “stand in the light of discovery and not act”.  Not surprisingly, Malcolm is provocative by responding that “What’s so great about discovery? It’s a violent, penetrative act that scars what it explores. What you call discovery, I call the rape of the natural world.”

While Ellie and Alan are not as combative, they voice their reservations in a more respectful and calm manner. Ellie intelligently notes that the Park is dealing with an extinct ecosystem and it would be foolish to assume they can control it. More importantly, she states “But these are wild, untamed creatures who have no idea what century they’re in and they will defend themselves. Violently, if necessary.” Alan is actually the most objective of the three skeptics. He definitely shares similar concerns to Malcom and Ellie. However, he is willing to reserve judgement until he tours the park and gets more information: “I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but dinosaurs and man… two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?” As one could see, the debate over the ethics of cloning, especially when applied to the extreme of bringing back dinosaurs, is riveting. The brilliant dialogue adds a lot of power to the scenes. One of the primary themes of the story is a warning about the power of genetics and cloning. It obviously steers the audience to support Malcolm, Ellie, and Alan. Nevertheless, it does well to point out situations when cloning may be a good thing. It adds a lot of depth to the conversation. In my opinion, I would definitely oppose cloning dinosaurs if it was a realistic possibility. On the other hand, I would probably pay to go see those animals if they were cloned. In real life, it an issue that needs to be decided by society with responsible restrictions passed by governments. Society needs to be comfortable with how that technology is used. Obviously, a company should not have unilateral ability to do whatever it wants with it.

Ellie and Alan

The first film is also special because it has great characters and a distinguished cast. The main characters are all interesting in their own unique ways. Alan Grant is not nearly as charismatic as the others. He is brilliant but has a guarded and overly serious personality. Again, his first scene in the film is when he and Ellie uncover a Velociraptor skeleton. While he is explaining the discovery and the skeleton to his team of archaeologists, he takes exception to a child commenting that it looks like a turkey. Ironically, the dinosaur, that is actually named Velociraptor, is the size of a turkey. In order to educate the young boy on the ferocity and deadliness of the Raptors; Grant takes out a Raptor claw, explains how the dinosaur would hunt its prey, and graphically describes and demonstrates how the Raptor would kill then eat him on the boy’s body: “A turkey, huh? OK, try to imagine yourself in the Cretaceous Period. You get your first look at this “six foot turkey” as you enter a clearing. He moves like a bird, lightly, bobbing his head. And you keep still because you think that maybe his visual acuity is based on movement like T-Rex – he’ll lose you if you don’t move. But no, not Velociraptor. You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that’s when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side, from the other two raptors you didn’t even know were there. Because Velociraptor’s a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this… A six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the the middle toe. He doesn’t bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say… no no. He slashes at you here, or here… Or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So you know, try to show a little respect.” Obviously, most adults would never traumatize a child the way Alan does. In general, he is a good guy. However, he has a wicked and a bit sadistic humor at times. He can also appear cold at times because of his inability to loosen up his uptight personality. Nonetheless, he is a likeable character.

Next, his digging partner is Ellie Sattler. I absolutely love the vision for the character and Laura Dern’s fantastic portrayal of her. She is an intellectual equal of Alan and an equal as his partner and colleague. The character is ahead of her time. Ellie depicts an inspiring image of the modern, progressive woman: intelligent, strong, and confident. When the containment measures fall apart in the Park, she steps up in the survival situation and bravely goes into the park with Muldoon on multiple occasions to try to help save the day. At one point, Hammond implies he should be going out into the Park instead of her because he is a male [in spite of his advanced age]. In response, Ellie is completely and rightfully disgusted by the chauvinistic suggestion. She answers “Look… We can discuss sexism in survival situations when I get back.” In addition to her competency and bravery in all situations, she also has a witty sense of humor. In one scene, Malcolm is talking to himself out loud about the ill-advised tampering of nature by InGen: “God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.” Ellie has an amazing and hilarious reaction when she completes his logic by stating “Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.” The statement stamps the character as a feminist symbol who is ahead of her time. Accordingly, it is also a shame that Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, Claire Dearing, in Jurassic World (2015), sets back the image of the modern woman twenty years.

Her relationship with Alan is also very interesting. They have a lot of chemistry professionally and personally. Their relationship could easily be romantic. When Alan scares the daylights out of the young boy during the unearthing of the Velociraptor skeleton, Ellie cringes and disapproves of the extreme measure. Afterwards, she gently but clearly tells him it was an unnecessary and over the top response to a kid that did not know any better. In response, Alan notes his disgust of children and rhetorically asks her if she wants one just like that boy. Nonetheless, it opens up a discussion about children. It obviously shows how they are attracted and interested in each other but have significant differences of opinion on key issues in a relationship. She clearly wants to have children eventually while he cannot stop ranting about how “They’re noisy. They’re messy. They’re expensive” and “They smell”. If Alan could just let his guard down and let her in, she would be the perfect woman for him. He respects her intelligence. She has a sweet personality that would mellow him out. Of course, she is very beautiful too. Unfortunately, he is very set in his ways and stubborn. He is also uncomfortable confronting his emotions. At the end of the film, there is hope that the two will be together. In Jurassic Park III (2001), Ellie marries someone else and has a family but the two remain close friends and he visits her and her children frequently. As such, he blows it with Ellie. Based on his personality, it is probably the most likely outcome if those two types of individuals met in real life.

dr-ian-malcolm-jurassic-park-jeff-goldblum-chaos

Next, Jeff Golblum’s Ian Malcolm is another iconic character in the film. He is the consummate skeptic and a little dark with his constant insistence on chaos theory. He can also be very snarky and obnoxious. On the other hand, he has a lot of charm. In fact, Hammond facetiously calls Malcolm a “rock star” when they take a helicopter ride into the island. Accordingly, he has plenty of contradictory traits that blend into a very interesting and insightful character. Goldlum is the perfect actor for the role and adds in some neurotic tendencies to top Malcolm off. Again, he antagonizes Hammond for the creation and the existence of the Park more than any other character. Nevertheless, he is very logical and passionate in his stances. In general, he is not shy about voicing his displeasures. He cannot help himself from speaking his mind or stop himself from being overbearing and abrasive. As an example, he declares “God help us. We are in the hands of engineers.” when they begin the tour of the Park in two automated jeeps. When dinosaurs do not show up for the guests to see them as planned, Malcolm knocks on the camera on his car and asks if they plan on having dinosaurs on the dinosaur tour. They are a couple examples of the memorable quotes and great one liners the character says in the movie.  In response back in the control room, Hammond tells himself “I really hate that man.” Obviously, Malcolm can really get on someone’s nerves. However, he is aware of and fine with it. In contrast, he can be a very charming. He is a bit of a player and misogynist. When he is asked whether he is married, he notes “Occasionally. I’m always on the lookout for a future ex-Mrs. Malcolm.” Not surprisingly, he has his eyes on the beautiful Ellie as soon as he sees her. In one scene, he uses water to explain his beloved chaos theory. Every time a drop of water touches her skin, it drops and moves in a different direction. In other words, it is completely unpredictable. Of course, he is flirting with her and trying to arouse her with drops of water that act as a metaphor for him touching her. Not surprisingly, the situation makes Alan very uncomfortable and jealous. While Ellie entertains the flirting for a bit, it is obvious that she is too intelligent to fall for his act. A great quote from Jean Grey in the film X2: X-Men United sums it up perfectly: “Girls flirt with the dangerous guy, they don’t bring him home… they marry the good guy.” Nonetheless, all of Malcom’s character traits make him fascinating and compelling to watch.

Without a doubt; the character, who deviates the most from the source material, is John Hammond. In the book, he is not a likeable individual. He is arrogant and greedy with a temper tantrum. He only values his expensive dinosaurs and has no respect or regard for the well-being for his employees. The character is vastly different in the film. It is not that surprising when you consider Richard Attenborough is cast in the role. Besides Jurassic Park, one of his most recognized roles is his portrayal as Kris Kringle [Santa Claus] in Miracle on 34th Street (1994). Although the film is released a year after Jurassic Park, it is another example showcasing Attenborough as the charming, loveable grandfatherly figure. His charisma draws an audience in. The movie presents him as a visionary whose dream overreaches the limits of his ability to control it. Naturally, he and his company stand to make a fortune on the Park. Nevertheless, the film suggests it is not the primary reason. When Gennaro is giddy over the thought of the park being able to charge any price it wants for visitors to see dinosaurs, Hammond corrects him by declaring “This Park was not built to cater only for the super-rich. Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy these animals.” Instead of being portrayed as money hungry, the movie presents him as a man of the people whose main goal is to give the world “living biological attractions so astounding, that they’ll capture the imagination of the entire planet”. He is the ultimate showman. He yearns to see the pure joy of his guests in awe. Moreover, he adds that he has “spared no expense” to ensure his guests get the experience of their lives. He repeats those words multiple times. In many instances throughout the film, you can see and feel the beauty in his vision. On the other hand, his ambition and vision get too big and they blind him with ignorance. He is incapable of considering the consequences of his actions before they lead to catastrophe. As such, his majestic dream turns into a terrible nightmare. From my perspective, I have never read the book. Accordingly, the film’s take of John Hammond is the only version of the character I know. I love Attenborough’s performance so it is difficult for me to envision a different portrayal of the character. Similarly, I can understand the frustration of fans of the book who are sticklers for adhering to the source material or expect a Hammond close to the one they are introduced to first.

jurassic-park-muldoon

In addition, the secondary characters are great too. They include Hammond’s grandchildren [Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello)], game warden Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck), and chief engineer John “Ray” Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson). First, Tim and Lex are likeable children who adore their grandfather. They join Alan, Ellie, Malcolm, and Gennaro on the tour through the park. Lex is a sweet and polite young lady. Tim is an energetic, dinosaur enthusiast. Moreover, he is a fan of Alan Grant and has read his book. Accordingly, he brings up Alan’s theory that dinosaurs evolved into birds in a fruitless attempt to spark a conversation between him and Alan. Naturally, Tim also wants to sit with Alan in the same jeep during the tour of the park. Obviously, Alan does not feel the same way. As a practical joke, Ellie asks Lex to try to sit with Alan too and tell him that it will be good for him. Nevertheless, he avoids it because he wants nothing to do with either kid at the beginning of the film. Accordingly, Lex and Tim are important to Alan’s personal growth during the movie. In addition, putting children in the middle of the impending peril adds to emotional resonance of the story. In terms of Muldoon, he has a real sense of the danger of the Park with his job as the game warden. Although Hammond calls the warden a “bit of an alarmist”, Muldoon is rightfully cautious and concerned at all times. Moreover, he is a hunter and overall badass. During one of the scenes, he, Ellie, and Malcolm are chased by the Tyrannosaurus Rex in their jeep. After they narrowly escape, he flashes a brief smirk and smile on his face. It shows that he understands the peril they were in and is definitely afraid. However, he also enjoys the thrill of the hunt when the animal is hunting too and has a chance to win. Last but not least, there is Samuel L. Jackson’s Ray Arnold. There are many jokes about how many movies Jackson is in. Nevertheless, I am a fan and enjoy him in most situations. In Jurassic Park, he is a smart engineer and computer programmer who is just trying to keep the park running and desperately tries to get it back up when things go awry. Tim and Lex, Muldoon, and Arnold are part of an excellent group of supporting characters. In particular, Muldoon and Arnold say some of the most iconic quotes in the franchise.

Dennis Nedry

In terms of the villain, computer programmer Dennis Nedry is the human antagonist in the story. Nedry is portrayed as a slob who is greedy, irresponsible, whiny, and goofy. Not surprisingly, he gets himself into financial difficulty. He often gets into an argument with Hammond about his compensation. In one scene in the movie, Hammond is tired of getting drawn into another debate with Nedry. He notes that “I don’t blame people for their mistakes. But I do ask that they pay for them.” Unfortunately, he is trying to reason with someone who is a degenerate and disgruntled employee. It is a bad mix. Behind Hammond’s back, Nedry is bribed by a man named Dodgson, a representative from a rival corporation, to steal dinosaur embryos. Dodgson gives him a shaving cream container that has a secret compartment in the base to smuggle the embryos. In order to pull off the scheme, Nedry uses his access as a computer programmer to disable all security measures via a malicious computer program. It shuts off the electric fences that contain the dinosaurs. Accordingly, he is directly responsible for the horrors in the story. He leaves Ray Arnold desperately trying to break his program. Why would a company allow an individual in such dire financial straits to be in one of the most critical positions that affects the safety of the Park? Nedry also does not even hide his financial situation and outwardly complains about it. Even if they choose to employ him, they should be very careful with the access they give him. The fraud triangle consists of opportunity, motivation, and rationalization. Nedry exhibits all three red flags. The character is portrayed by Wayne Knight, who has a distinguished career in television and film. He does a fine job with the character and nails all the deplorable traits. On the other, he is not a true villain. He is shady and indifferent to the consequences of his actions but not diabolical.

In actuality, the carnivorous dinosaurs and the threat they represent [after the Park’s safety measures are disabled] serve as the de facto villains of the film. However, they are really just animals acting on their natural instincts. The prominence of the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the film is self-explanatory. It is the most recognizable dinosaur. Accordingly, the Park plans to utilize it as the star attraction and has the silhouette of its skeleton on its logo. Its sheer size and powerful jaws of death strike pure terror into onlookers. On the other hand, Velociraptors [based on Deinonynchus] are made mainstream by the movie. Again, their deadliness is featured in the opening scene. Alan also attests to their cunningness and ferocity when he scares a child mocking them as “six foot turkeys”. Muldoon confirms Alan’s fears when he answers his questions about them. First, “They’re lethal at eight months. And I do mean lethal. I’ve hunted most things that can hunt you, but how these things move…” Moreover, Muldoon notes the Raptors possess “Cheetah speed. Fifty or sixty miles per hour if they can get out in the open. And they’re astonishing jumpers.” Finally and most concerning, he warns “They show extreme intelligence. Even problem solving intelligence, especially the Big One. We bred eight originally, but when she came in, she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one, when she looks at you, you can see she’s working things out.” and “they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses systematically. They remember…” For all those reasons, he concludes and advocates that “They should all be destroyed.” Again, there are no true villains in Jurassic Park. Nedry instigates the incident but does not serve more than that purpose in the story. His actions pass the baton to the T-Rex and Velociraptors. However, they are just animals acting by natural instinct. On the other hand, the Raptors are portrayed with some human qualities that are normally seen in human villains. They are calculating, which makes them more cognizant of their actions and appear sadistic. Consequently, the Raptors evolve into the main antagonists.

T-Rex Breakout

Another exceptional aspect of the original film is the legendary horror scenes. They are brilliant and methodical in how they are shot to build up and execute the anticipation, fear, and terror of the moments. The most famous of the scenes is the breakout of the Tyrannosaurus Rex from its paddock after the electric fences are turned off. There is a perfect moment of foreshadowing at the beginning of the movie when the camera zooms in at the T-Rex skeleton displayed as the centerpiece of the Visitor’s Center. During the endorsement team’s tour, the T-Rex is initially a no show even after a live, chained goat is raised into the paddock to bait it. However, the wait only increases anticipation for seeing it for the first time. When the park is disabled, the two jeeps are at and stop at the T-Rex paddock. Gennaro is in the front car with the children. Alan and Malcolm are in the rear car. Ellie started with them but she tended to a sick Triceratops during the tour and stayed behind to help it before getting a separate ride back to the Visitor’s Center. The arrival of the T-Rex is teased by the “impact tremors” in a cup of water in the jeep that become more frequent and stronger as it approaches. The film does an incredible job holding back the first look at the T-Rex until the last possible second. Tim realizes it is present when the goat is missing off its chain. In the next moment, the severed leg of the lamb lands on the glass of the sunroof of the jeep. As they look up, they see the head of the T-Rex through the tree line. Gennaro is so scared that he runs out of the jeep and into the bathroom. In a brief moment of comic relief, Malcom remarks “When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.” Ironically, Gennaro had previously mocked Lex for not wanting to see the T-Rex eat the goat when he said “What’s the matter, kid? You never had lamb chops?” In addition, he shows complete cowardice in abandoning the children even though he is understandably petrified by the T-Rex after the power is out. Once the dinosaur feels the fence with her arms to check whether the power is on, she realizes it is off and breaks the fence. Tim quickly closes the door of the jeep that Gennaro left open. The sound attracts the attention of the T-Rex. It is a terrifying shot in the film when its yellow, murderous eyes squint and peer into the jeep to search for prey. Nevertheless, he does not see the kids and starts to walk away. It is another brilliant touch in the movie that builds the anticipation to the crescendo of the scene.

Gennaro Death

Alan knows that the T-Rex’s sight is based on movement. As such, he instructs Malcolm to not move so that the predator will walk past them and move on. Unfortunately, Lex panics and attempts to use a flashlight to signal the adults for help. Of course, it draws the T-Rex back at her car. It is a scene of absolute horror as the T-Rex breaks the glass of the sunroof then flips the jeep and starts crushing it with Lex and Tim inside. Naturally, the fact that the children are facing death only amplifies the feeling of terror in the scene. With the kids in imminent danger, Alan grabs a flare to get the attention of the T-Rex. He chucks the flare back into the paddock and stays still so the dinosaur will follow the light back inside. However, Malcolm also springs into action. With less understanding of the T-Rex’s vision, he runs and holds the flare too long. The T-Rex runs after him until they both run into the bathroom. The structure collapses and Gennaro is left exposed sitting on the toilet. The T-Rex looks at him for a second before eating him. In the novel, Gennaro survives the events. In the film, his eventual death is telegraphed in his character development. He is painted as a greedy and sleazy “bloodsucking lawyer”. At first, he is totally skeptical about the Park and gives Hammond a very difficult time. When he sees a dinosaur for the first time and realizes how much money the company stands to make from the animals, he immediately pivots and changes his stance to the other extreme of totally supporting the Park. It feeds into the stigma [unfair based on my experience with most lawyers] of his profession being deceitful and lying for a living. Once he abandons the children, his fate is sealed. Of course, it also offers toilet jokes since he is eaten sitting on one.

At the same time, Alan pulls Lex out of the car. As she gets to her feet, Grant has to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming when the T-Rex returns. In a tense moment, the predator stands in front of them but cannot see them as they stand completely still. In reality, the T-Rex’s lack of sight is a myth. Moreover, it is theorized that it had great vision and strong olfactory senses. Accordingly, he would have been able to see and smell Lex and Alan. It would have eaten them both. Eventually, Lex and Alan escape into the paddock unbeknownst to the dinosaur. However, the T-Rex pushes the jeep into the paddock with Tim in it. Luckily, the jeep is caught by large tree branches that stay intact long enough for Alan to save him. As one could see, the Tyrannosaurus Rex breakout is an exhilarating and terrifying scene in the film. Later in the film, Muldoon and Ellie drive to the paddock to look for survivors. They find Malcolm. He appears despondent and near death. Ellie expresses concern to Muldoon with moving him in his condition. In the middle of the conversation, the T-Rex roars and Malcolm quickly and hilariously pops up and declares “Please. Chance it”. On their way back to the Visitor’s Center, the T-Rex appears and chases their jeep. It almost catches and flips the vehicle. In an ironic moment in the chase, the camera zooms into the words on the rearview mirror any driver would be aware of: “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear”. Those words have never been truer. Malcolm is at the back of the jeep and rightfully so terrified that he moves to the front and jams the stick shift for a critical moment. Ellie shrieks in total terror. Their reactions capture the pure horror of the moment. Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern are brilliant in the scene. On the other hand, Muldoon is also afraid but maintains his composure. Again, he cannot stop himself from briefly smiling to enjoy the thrill of narrowly escaping death. During those two scenes, the audience can feel the imminent danger that the T-Rex poses to the characters and empathize with the paralyzing fear experienced by them. Moreover, these iconic moments truly establish the T-Rex as the “tyrant lizard king”. The setup and execution of both scenes are flawless.

In contrast, the Velociraptors present different dangers and experiences of horror. Obviously, the Tyrannosaurus Rex is terrifying and intimidates with its sheer size and roar. The Raptors are much smaller at six feet tall. What they lack in size, they make up in sadistic intelligence and cunningness. Moreover, they have no weaknesses in their vision and smell. They will not simply just pass their prey by because they do not sense them. Their smaller frame also allows them to get into smaller spaces. As such, there is no place to hide from them. In addition, the Raptors also inflict a much more gruesome death. The powerful jaws of death from a T-Rex would kill someone almost instantly. However, the Raptors torture and tear apart their victims and start eating them while they are still alive. Even Nedry did not dare to shut off the Raptor fences. However, Arnold is unable to debug Nedry’s malware. Consequently, Hammond orders Arnold to shut the system down and reset it in a desperate attempt to restore power to the entire Park. Not surprisingly, something goes wrong. The system is reset but the shutdown “trips the circuit breakers”. Accordingly, Arnold needs to go to a shed at the end of the compound to restart them. Hammond, Muldoon, Ellie, and Malcolm secure themselves in the emergency bunker while Arnold heads to the shed and until he sends word he is done. Of course, they do not hear from him. As Ellie correctly guesses something has gone wrong, she goes out with Muldoon toward the shed. Shortly after, he realizes his worst nightmare has occurred: the Velociraptors have escaped their paddock after the system shutdown turned off their fences too.

Similar to the T-Rex, the film does a great job building up the anticipation for the Velociraptors and hiding their full appearance for much of the film. In the opening scene, the audience only hears the terrifying breathing and shrieking of the Raptor. As she mauls the gatekeeper to death, we only see her eyes as Muldoon stares her down. Accordingly, it is a shadowy figure and presented like a boogeyman. Although we get a silhouette of a Velociraptor near the beginning of the movie when Alan and Ellie dig up a skeleton, the bones are still not a fully breathing dinosaur. Again, Alan also provides a frightening scouting report of the Raptors when he scares the daylights out of a child. Even when he is only holding a newborn Velociraptor in his hands during his tour of the genetics lab in the Park, he is absolutely alarmed and frightened by their return from extinction. Alan is so concerned that he immediately goes to the adult Raptor paddock to observe the animals for himself. He makes it in time for feeding time when a live cow is lowered into the paddock. Again, we do not actually see the dinosaurs. We see trees and leaves rustling then hear the terrible shrieks of the Raptors and the cries of the cow as they tear it apart. Afterwards, Alan’s conversation with Muldoon confirms their formidable prowess and deadliness. The movie is brilliant in methodically teasing bits and pieces of its physical appearance and using testimonials to build up their infamous reputation. There is total dread and apprehension for the animals before we ever see a full Raptor on screen. Unlike the Tyrannosaurus Rex that anyone would recognize, most moviegoers did not know what a Velociraptor looked like before Jurassic Park. For this reason, there is also an uneasy curiosity to see what these animals look like and whether they are as scary as they seem. The slow but steady buildup of the reputation of the Velociraptors are a major factor in why they and their scenes are so epically horrifying.

Clever Girl

The execution of their scenes are also stellar. The scenes demonstrate that they are as cunning, lethal, and horrifying as their reputation suggests. The first scene occurs when Ellie and Muldoon near the shed to look for and check on Arnold. Suddenly, Muldoon is frozen by a grim realization “Because we’re being hunted.” He stays behind to hold them off as Ellie runs for the shed. Again, the Raptors are like boogeymen. With the T-Rex, you can hear and see her coming. With the Velociraptors, you may not even see them till the last second. It is debatable on which situation is scarier. Eventually, Ellie makes it to the control panel to restore power. She is ecstatic and celebrates by declaring “I think we’re back in business”. However, her moment of joy is fleeting. Before she can finish her sentence, the mouth of a Raptor comes out through some wires. Fortunately, she is able to get behind a fence door and kick it shut before it can get through and maul her. When she stands to breathe a sigh of relief, she is greeted with the reassuring hand of Arnold. Sadly, it is actually the severed arm of Arnold who has already been eaten by the Velociraptor. In reality, Spieldberg intended to film Arnold’s death on screen. However, Hurricane Iniki destroyed the set. It is an opportune accident since Spieldberg utilizes a brilliant, twisted touch that amplifies the horror of the moment. It is certainly one of the most memorable moments in the film. Laura Dern does another wonderful job portraying total fear as she wails in terror as she limps away from the Raptor before it can rip through the fence and chase her down. Next, the film flips back to Muldoon. He is hunting one of the Raptors and positioning his shotgun to make the kill shot. With all his knowledge of the Raptors, he has a fatal gap in information of their tendencies. As foreshadowed by Alan in the beginning of the film, they are pack hunters and use coordinated attacks. One Raptor will sit in the open as a distraction while the others attack from the side. Before he can fire his weapon, a second Raptor outflanks him and appears at his side. Muldoon utters some of the most famous last words in cinematic history: “Clever girl”. The line and his reaction are perfect. He is in complete fear and understands he is about to die. Nevertheless, he finds enough composure to express his appreciation for being completely outsmarted and outmaneuvered by the animals. In addition, he has the most gruesome death scene in the film. It matches the description Alan gives at the beginning of the film. They tear a victim’s body apart and eats him alive. Muldoon’s wails of pain and anguish are haunting. His death also adds a lot of emotional resonance to the film since he is the most charismatic and popular character who dies within the entire franchise.

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Another iconic Raptor scene in the film involves Lex and Tim. When Alan and the children survive their adventure through the Park and return to the Visitor’s Center, he leaves them in the dining room to eat while he searches for the other adults to assess the situation. Unfortunately, he is unaware that the Raptors have broken out and on the prowl. Lex and Tim’s brief moment of joy in eating decadent sweets abruptly ends when they see the shadows of the Raptors approaching. They scurry to the kitchen in vain to hide from the predators. Every aspect of the scene is brilliant in making it as horrifying as possible. At the same time the Velociraptors near the children, Alan finds Ellie outside of the Visitor Center. Naturally, she is still shaken and frantic from her near death experience with the Raptors at the shed. Before going back for the kids, they return to the bunker to get a shotgun from the armory for the inevitable confrontation with the Raptors. In addition, Ellie updates him on the situation. First, there are three Raptors. Next, she assures him and assumes that the third Raptor is contained in the shed: “Yes, unless they figure out how to open doors.” Of course, the animals are frighteningly intelligent and quickly learn how to turn the handles on the door. They first show this ability when they lower their arms and turn the handle to open the kitchen door. It begins the game of hide and seek from hell with Lex and Tim. They strike absolute fear into the children and the audience in the scene. As the first Raptor enters the kitchen, she belts out a terrifying call for a second Raptor. Their vocalizations, breathing, and toe tapping of their 6 inch death blade [big toe claw] against the metal floor provide the feeling of terror and fear in the scene. The deadly dinosaurs search the kitchen for their prey while the children desperately crawl around to stay undetected and find a way to run out of the door in the kitchen. In reality, the Velociraptors would have likely found and killed their prey if it is children they have cornered in a room. Accordingly, it is the only scene in the film that is like the cartoonish, monster chases I criticize in the sequels. Nevertheless, it is shot so well that it does not matter. Moreover, the thought of the Raptors tearing two children apart is a terrifying. The tension and drama of the scene is nerve racking. Not surprisingly, gruesome deaths for Lex and Tim are a little too dark and unnecessary for a movie. As such, they escape in very fortuitous ways. One of the Raptors rushes at Lex. However, it is actually her reflection off stainless steel and the predator knocks herself out for a moment running full speed and head first into metal. Tim runs towards the freezer and the second Raptor slips on the ice. Before the dinosaur can make it back out, Lex rushes to help Tim to push the door close and lock the freezer. They run out of the kitchen to find Alan and Ellie. The group heads to the command center to reset the system so Hammond can call for a helicopter extraction. For all the reasons above, the kitchen scene is one of the best and most terrifying scenes in the film. When I was a kid watching the movie for the first time, the T-Rex breakout and the kitchen scene were the two moments that scared me the most. The Raptor kitchen scene still gives me an uneasy feeling when I watch it to this day. In general, all the Raptor scenes in Jurassic Park are epic.

JP Ending

In addition to all the elements noted above that make the original film legendary, the conclusion to its storylines are very satisfying and provide an exceptional ending. First, the gruesome death of Dennis Nedry is an obvious fate. He gets lost on the drive to the East Dock to escape to the mainland on a ship, with the embryos, during a heavy rainstorm. When he drives off the road and needs to go outside to get it out of a ditch, he encounters a Dilophosaurus. The dinosaur appears docile and harmless at first. Nedry foolishly plays with it and taunts it. However, it is not so funny when it expands its frightening frills and spits paralyzing and blinding venom. It hits Nedry with the venom and sneaks into his jeep to finish him off when he desperately tries to get back into his vehicle to drive away. His gruesome death is proper punishment for his depraved and selfish scheme. Next, Malcolm’s bold prediction of “Life will find a way” is proven correct. During Alan and the kids’ adventure through the Park, they find a cluster of dinosaur eggs that have hatched in the wild. Alan is astonished that Malcolm’s statement becomes reality. He realizes there is precedence for it. He notes that West African frogs will change sexes in a single sex environment to reproduce. Since frog DNA is used to fill in the genetic gaps, it serves as a catalyst for the occurrence. In addition to proving Malcolm correct, it adds to one of the themes in the film: chaos theory and the delusional belief that life can be completely controlled. Finally, the Raptors’ chase of Alan, Ellie, and the children concludes in an unforgettable finale. They follow them to the control room. As Alan stands next to the door waiting for it to lock, he comes eye to eye with a Raptor. He is shocked and petrified with the realization that she also knows how to turn handles to open doors. Although Lex eventually reboots the system and lock the doors, the Raptors jump through the window. The group narrowly escapes through the vents before getting cornered by the two Raptors at the T-Rex skeleton near the entrance to the Visitor Center. As they prepare to lunge for the kills, the T-Rex appears to kill the Raptors. It is the perfect ending to the movie. It affirms the “King” of dinosaurs as the King of Jurassic Park. Moreover, it provides an amazing twist that makes the mighty T-Rex the hero at the end. The above conclusions to various storylines are logical and brilliant.

jurassic-11

Of course, character development is also essential to the story and its conclusion. Without a doubt, Alan grows more than any other character in the movie. His perspective and stance on children completely changes by the end of the film. Again, he sadistically tortures a young boy with a gruesome account on how Velociraptors would tear him apart. Next, he is completely annoyed when he meets Tim for the first time and the young lad pesters him with his juvenile but spirited knowledge on dinosaurs and questions. Alan reacts with total disgust and disdain and tries to avoid the kids like the plague. While Alan definitely finds children irritating, he is also a genuinely caring person beneath his rough exterior. He is uncomfortable with showing his softer side. At one point during the tour of the Park before it falls apart, Lex slips and falls a bit. He displays authentic concern for her well-being and reaches out with his hand to help her up. Even when Lex gets back to her feet, she decides to keep holding his hand and not let go. It is a funny moment when he is uneasy and tries desperately but is unable to break free from her tight grip. Nevertheless, it is a brief moment when he lets his guard down and shows his good side. When individuals face adversity, their true self tends to appear because they do not have the energy to maintain any false facades they may have. In Alan’s case, he turns out to be brave, thoughtful, and caring. After the T-Rex breaks out of her enclosure, he springs into action to save the children. Moreover, he takes loving care of them as they take an unexpected and unwanted adventure through the Park. In between the moments of terror, there are also moments of beauty. One of the sweetest scenes in the film is when they climb up to the treetops to rest. . In a majestic scene, there are Brachiosaurs singing and eating with the sunset and jungle as the backdrop. Eventually, the children also snuggle up with him to sleep. Instead of pushing them away, he embraces them. He also reassures Lex that she does not need to worry about danger and can sleep because he will stay up to make sure she is safe. In addition, he laughs at and adores Tim’s clever jokes: “What do you call a blind dinosaur? Do-you-think-he-saurus.” Later, a Brachiosaurus wakes them up as she eats the leaves around them. Lex is completely freaked out at first until Alan and her brother explain that it is an herbivore. Her fears are alieved once Alan instructs her to think of it as a “giant cow”. Naturally, Alan and the kids marvel at and enjoy the magnificence of the creature. It is a great scene that shows Grant bonding with the children. Moreover, it is a moment of peace and grace in between the carnage that reminds us of the beauty in John Hammond’s vision.

T-Rex Gallamimus

Despite mellowing drastically, Alan still maintains his wicked, slightly sadistic sense of humor. As they venture further in the Park, they encounter of herd of Gallamimus running in unison like a “flock of birds evading a predator”. They avoid being trampled by the dinosaurs and soon realize what the animals have been running from as the T-Rex appears and kills one of them to eat. Understandably, Lex is terrified and wants to leave. Nevertheless, Alan cannot help but make her wait a few seconds while he admires how the T-Rex eats. Afterwards, the group makes it to one of the unpowered perimeter fences. Of course, Alan tests whether it is on before they try to climb over it. In a twisted joke, he grasps the fence with both hands and pretends to be electrocuted. Naturally, he scares the children. Lex is not amused by the provocative antic. On the other hand, Tim really enjoys it. While Alan definitely bonds with both children, he builds a special relationship with Tim. First, Tim understands and appreciates Alan’s dark humor. Next, they share a shared passion and love for dinosaurs. At first, Alan is guarded and annoyed by Tim’s youthful exuberance. Once he lowers his guard, he allows Tim in and truly enjoys their relationship. Nevertheless, he still maintains the core of who he is as shown by him still having his unique sense of humor. Regardless, he is a genuinely good man. Dropping his tough exterior and allowing people in simply allows him to be and show his best self. Of course, Ellie knows this underlying fact about Alan. It is the reason she encourages him to spend time with the kids. At the end of the film, the survivors escape the island by helicopter. Inside, Alan willingly and happily holds both sleeping children in his arms with a smile. As he looks over at Ellie, she has a big smile because she knew the children would change him for the better. There is also hope in the scene that they will finally be together now that the issue of children is resolved. Of course, it is not to be in the series. In my opinion, it is the most likely outcome of their relationship: great and close friends but not romantic.

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Finally, the overarching theme of the story is to warn against the misuse and reckless use of genetic power. The breakout and rampage of the carnivores is the primary argument. Nevertheless, it is brilliant how the film subtly uses Hammond, slowly coming to the realization that his dream must die, to drive home the point. Not surprisingly, he is in denial at first. Obviously, he experiences great sadness since it is the death of his life’s work. In the middle of the film, there is a somber scene when he is eating alone in the dining room and collecting his thoughts. Ellie eventually joins him and they have a great conversation about illusions. Hammond starts telling the story about the first attraction he ever built: a Flea Circus. He notes it was “Really quite wonderful. We had a wee trapeze and a… a merry-go… carousel… and a seesaw. They all moved, motorized of course. But people would say they could see the fleas.” It explains his motivation, other than money, for creating Jurassic Park because “with this place, I wanted to show them something that wasn’t an illusion. Something that was real. Something they could… see and touch. An aim not devoid of merit.” Consequently, it is a beautiful vision he is not quick to let go. He tries blaming the catastrophic situation on hiring Dennis Nedry and the overdependence on automation. In denial, he is adamant that “Now, the next time, everything’s correctable.” While his dream is a wonderful idea, it is too grand and his ambition still blinds him from considering the full ramifications of his actions. Ellie tries to enlighten him by pleading that “It’s still the Flea Circus. It’s all an illusion. You never had control! That’s the illusion! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. So I made a mistake, too. I didn’t have enough respect for that power, and it’s out now. The only thing that matters now are the people we love. Alan, Lex, and Tim. John, they’re out there, where people are dying.” After she finishes her compelling, rational, and emotional argument, she slowly eats a scoop of ice cream with great sadness. Nevertheless, she comments that it’s good. Hammond responds with his patented phrase “Spared no expense” in a soft spoken and subdued tone compared to the eccentric and passionate manner he delivered the phrase many times earlier in the film.

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However, the point still does not totally sink in with Hammond. When he is nursing and attending to a seriously injured Malcolm in the emergency bunker, he casually notes that all major theme parks have delays. He points out that nothing worked in Disneyland when it opened in 1956. Malcolm has the perfect response when he says “Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.” It is not till the end that Hammond realizes the foolishness and ignorance of his ambition. After Alan, Ellie, and the kids restore the park’s systems and call Hammond to order a rescue, the Velociraptors prepare to jump through the window of the control room to hunt the group. Hammond can only helplessly standby and shout in terror as he hears the screams of the group over the phone as they run for their lives. Of course, it includes the lives of his beloved grandchildren. It is the final straw that forces him to realize he was wrong. When he pulls up in a jeep to pick up the group as they run out of the Visitor Center and away from the T-Rex and Raptors, Alan immediately states “After careful consideration, I’ve decided not to endorse your park.” Hammond ultimately responds with the correct reply “So have I”. Regardless, it does not alleviate the pain of watching his dream and life’s work die. When they get to the helicopter pad, he is the last individual to get on board. He stares somberly back at the Park he envisioned and built for a long goodbye. Alan needs to comfort and bring him into the helicopter. On the ride back to the mainland, Hammond stares sadly at the amber at the top of his cane. His Park started with the preserved DNA in the mosquitoes encased by amber. The film fittingly ends with Hammond staring into amber. In the end, there is great beauty in Hammond’s dream. There are plenty of fantastic moments that showcase his vision in action. In the haste of and the excitement in the opportunity of turning his dream into reality, Hammond is blind to foresee the danger of the power he is unleashing and the nightmare it eventually becomes.

As one could conclude, Jurassic Park is a legendary film that captures our imagination by stirring our fascination with dinosaurs and providing us with a grand adventure through an impossible park. It challenges us to consider the ethical implications of cloning and bringing back extinct creatures. It gives us great characters who provide unforgettable lines and moments. It also scares us with perfectly planned and epicly executed horror scenes. For all those reasons, it is one of the greatest blockbusters in film history. It is also one of Steven Spieldberg’s greatest masterpieces in his prolific career.

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies. Patrick is also a passionate foodie. He is Yelp Elite for three years in a row and shares his great finds in New York and his travels.

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