Review of Jurassic Park

I might be biased because this is one of my favourite films of all time, but Jurassic Park is one of the greatest family adventure films ever. It looks as good today as it did twenty seven years ago. I don't know how Steven Spielberg does it, but somehow he makes films that never look dated. There were a lot of changes made from the book, but this is one of those times when that is a good thing. While I greatly enjoy the book, there are times when it is dull, when it gets too sciency. It was written as a book for adults, but the decision to make it more kid friendly was a great idea. One of the biggest character changes was John Hammond. In the film he creates the park to bring joy to the children of the world (and adults). He wants to wow people and give them memories that will last a lifetime. The John Hammond in the book is much less likeable, his main goal with Jurassic Park is to make money. Also, you know, you can't have Dickie Attenborough playing an a-hole. This film has a stellar cast, with my favourite being the oft sarcastic Ian Malcom (Ah, now eventually you do plan on having dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour, right?) Naturally the stand out stars are the dinosaurs. What makes them (and the film) great is the fact that 90% of the dinosaurs are done with physical effects, animatronics and models. They were spectacular in 1993 and still are in 2020. Some may think that the movie is a little slow to start with, but it's certainly worth the wait, with non-stop action for a lot of the film. The most memorable scene being the T-Rex attack on the tour cars. It's just a shame that the river scene from the book never made it past the concept stage. Overall Jurassic Park is an astrounding film that will continue to delight audiences for many, many years to come. There are four (soon to be five) other films in the series and while I enjoy them all, none will be able to surpass the jaw-dropping original. It truly is a film like no other.