Jurassic Park

After the release of the trailer of Jurassic World, I decided to go and watch the first installment of the franchise just to see what I'm getting myself into when I watch the fourth installment. I did not imagine that I would spend the next two hours screaming at the characters to run or do something beside freeze in place to await for their death. The characters' personalities make you panic for their lives, and the same time wonder how on earth they survived.

John Hammond has found a new business venture in the form of dinosaurs. However, due to an accident in the island, specialists are now required to stamp their seal of approval in order for the business to push forwards. The specialists Mr. Gennaro got were Dr. Alan Grant (who was accompanied by Dr. Ellie Sattler), and Dr. Ian Malcolm. They were presented with a weekend getaway to experience first hand the features of the park. However, events happen that cause awry in the park, endangering people along with it. 

The concept itself is actually viable. While the legitimacy of the science can be questionable, technologies nowadays, coupled with further advances in the fields of science can make this concept come to life. If there wasn't a probability of death, I would pay money to go to this park and see actual live dinosaurs. The visuals were great; it brought a kind of realism to the film. There was a lot of dinosaur action involved, as it should be. The film still had its flaws and questionable moments; these moments are blatant in the movie but it doesn't impede the effect Spielberg was going for. Jurassic Park is thrilling, even if presents questionable characters and limited character development. 

The characters are both a strong and a weak point of the movie. They're an asset because their characters weren't coincidental; they each had a specific role to play and were needed for the progression of the story. My only exception to this statement is Jeff Goldblum; despite playing an expert, he wasn't out much in the field. I'm not certain of his involvement in future movies, but for this one he played the group's excess baggage (and based on the events, they got rid of all excess baggage). The characters become that weak point because for a group of intellectuals, they're kind of stupid. There were instances that the character could have done a sensible thing, but didn't. The decisions of the group were based on story progression, even if it was out of character. For having a survival instinct, only Dr. Grant was able to display that feat in him. 

I would watch all three movies in a row, but after that, I'm going to need a bit of a break. The movie was great; I just felt like shaking the characters to their senses. 

Final Word: No wonder this spurn two more movies, and another one to be released next year. Great stuff from Spielberg!

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum

Director: Steven Spielberg

Year: 1993