Jurassic Park has gotten a recent 3D re-release for its 20th anniversary. While it isn’t necessary to talk about the plot of the film (it’s been out for 20 years by now, people!), I’ll tell it anyway. John Hammond’s (played by Richard Attenborough) company InGen has found a way to bring dinosaurs back. By using mosquitoes trapped in amber, which contain prehistoric blood, and the use frog DNA to fill in gaps has allowed the resurrection of dinosaurs through cloning. With this power, John Hammond decides to open the first dinosaur zoo called Jurassic Park which will dazzle every single person on Earth. However, when putting a prehistoric predator into a cage, one of the workers is killed and the park is deemed unsafe by InGen’s investors until proven otherwise.
John Hammond decides to bring in two ancient experts to show that everything is safe. World renowned paleontologist, Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill), is chosen for his expertise in fossils and theory that dinosaurs evolved into birds. His partner and paleobotanist, (study of ancient plants) Dr. Ellie Sattler (played by Laura Dern), is chosen for her expertise with plants which will help with dinosaur health. Along with these two, is Dr. Ian Malcom (played by Jeff Goldblum) who is recruited by Donald Gennaro (played by Martin Ferrero), the lawyer representing the investors.
When they get to the island, the professionals and John Hammond’s grandchildren Lex (played by Ariana Richards) and Tim (played by Joseph Mazzello) go on a tour around the island. The tour is conducted with motorized cars which go to the different exhibits. However, a storm and a disgruntled computer programmer named Dennis Nedry (played by Wayne Knight) cause hell to break loose on the park. When this happens the fences keeping the dinosaurs in are shut down and the dinosaurs escape.
For this viewing I went down to the Cinemagic IMAX 3D showing in Hooksett, NH and while the ticket price is high, it’s well worth it. If you’ve never seen this movie in theaters before then drop whatever you’re doing and go see it now. Even if you have saw this movie in theaters when it came out, go and see it again. It’s completely worth it.
One of the main concerns people had when this film was announced was if the 3D was going tactually look decent. It seems that Universal made sure that this film got the proper 3D treatment, since it came out fantastic. The famous scene where the T-Rex breaks out of its pen and starts attacking the cars is a particular highlight.
Another thing interesting about the film is that the CGI still manages to look well done twenty years later. It might start showing its age to those with hawk eyes, but to the naked eye it’s still impressive. The mixing of dinosaur animatronics and CGI does look a little off on occasion, but that only happened once or twice. When looking on the film now, you can’t help but remember when CGI was brand new and remember when you first saw the film in awe.
While everyone says that the dinosaurs are the best part of the film, this film knows how to foreshadow. It’s no secret that the most deadly of the dinosaurs is the velociraptor, which actually makes its formal appearance near the end of the film. However, they’re referenced throughout the film, which makes you nervous for when they’re coming and it’s a surprise when they do. This foreshadowing does most of the work that the effects will eventually carry out and make a reality.
The actors do a good job for what are more simplistic characters and bring some life into them. The most memorable, of course, is the ever quotable Ian Malcolm with Jeff Goldblum’s weird mannerisms. It’s actually quite surprising that the kids aren’t too annoying (even though it’s said that Joseph Mazzello isn’t proud of his performance of Timmy). Sam Neill is very convincing as Alan Grant and pulls off his subplot without any snags.
Overall, it’s Jurassic Park, so what more convincing do you need? It’s simply a great 3D re-release of a great film. Go out and watch it while you can. And here’s a thought for you when you go to watch it again, so you can maybe find something new in this film. Pay close attention to how John Hammond acts, speaks and the park itself. There are many comparisons to him and God, besides the fact that he’s an old man wearing white and having a white beard.