I don't need to tell most people that Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park' is a great movie. Most of you have seen it, given it's record breaking box office, home rental sales, and a successful 3D re-release. So I really don't feel the need to review the film and repeat myself so instead I would like to discuss some history of the film you may not know, discuss the various themes and aspects of the film that still hold up today, and overall how the film itself works even 25 years later. So without further ado, this is 'Jurassic Park'.
Author Michael Crichton was a big name long before his 1990 novel, with big hit books like 'The Andromeda Strain' and movies like 1973's 'Westworld' under his belt along with numerous others. However, it's pretty safe to say that everyone in the world would learn his name, read every single book he'd publish and even after his tragic early passing in 2009 will forever be known as not just an excellent writer and a knowledgeable doctor, but the man who brought dinosaurs back into the spotlight for millions of children and adults around the world. While the novel is pretty different from the film adaptation, due to various elements such as stronger violence and the novel's focus on chaos theory can throw off many who saw the movie first. I was indeed one of those people, having seen the movie multiples times thanks to the many television showings and those weekend trips to the local video store so once I became old enough to read through and fully understand the book I was a little taken aback to say the least. The skeleton is still there for sure, but for anyone who is a big Jurassic fan such as myself will notice just how much of the first novel alone influenced multiple films beyond the original including the upcoming 'Fallen Kingdom'.
As said before, the novel is extremely gruesome when it comes to the animal attacks and while the films don't necessarily shy away from violence they are still PG-13 at the end of the day. 'Jurassic Park' the novel is NOT PG-13 in the slightest, with long descriptive paragraphs of people being gutted open, torn apart, and even a scene in which Compys chow down on a baby. Even certain elements that make a darker overall such as a much more greedy and selfish interpretation of John Hammond can make the novel unpleasant for those who have seen the film but did not know the details of the source material. But really at the end of the day, I personally see the film and book as two different stories with the same basic structure. Even though Crichton did write the screenplay for 'Jurassic Park' as well, David Koepp and even director Steven Spielberg himself lent their talents and those who know both of their work can see just how different the three storytellers differ. Crichton's novel overall is about Ian Malcolm and his Chaos Theory slowly revealing just how out of control Jurassic Park truly was. The film keeps that idea, but it's more of a side plot and the true story of the film is about Alan Grant and his acceptance of taking care of a life other than his own and his overall acceptance of children and family.
But as we can see with the sequels, there is something about the 'Jurassic' series beyond the visual trickery and just having dinosaurs roaming around creating havoc. While I still love 'The Lost World' and 'Jurassic World' for their entertainment and fun aspects, the sequels so far have yet to really incorporate that human element well. It's strange to say this specifically when discussing 'The Lost World' which is also based upon a novel but because David Koepp and Spielberg requested so many changes to that story, it became a typical summer blockbuster and lacked some of the deeper and frankly better aspects of that novel. But, we'll get to the sequels in later reviews so back to the original. At the time, merchandising for films were still not quite as big of a deal and there really wasn't quite anything like the marketing for 'Jurassic Park' at the time. With the exception of 'Star Wars' there really wasn't much in the way of toys, games, and even friggin' POGS with a film's logo on it like there was with 'Jurassic Park'. It was completely inescapable for the next two years and while I was a kid during that time and enjoyed it with several toys under my belt I couldn't have possibly imagined how it was had I'd been older.
Luckily, with this anniversary and the upcoming new film I think we're seeing one of the biggest marketing pushes since those first two films. There are action figures, video games, board games, cups, and even Band-Aids with JP logos on them (and yes, I do have those). This is by far the biggest 'Jurassic Park' has been in the modern age and it's a strong mix of feelings for one such as myself. I'm now going to get a little personal here, so feel free to skip this if you just want the film talk. 'Jurassic Park' is not just a film that I thoroughly enjoy, but it is a part of me. It was my 'Star Wars' and like those fans it brings up such good thoughts about your life, especially when you're an adult. I had a loving mother and father who because of this film have cemented some fond memories into my mind forever. When I couldn't afford a certain JP toy, my mom would construct something like it just for me and I never forgot it. When I first got my chance to see the film, it was considered a little too extreme for me so my folks would have their own little edit with the animal attacks censored by whatever Hannah Barbara cartoon was on that day for them to edit over on that old VHS tape. I didn't care though, I just wanted to see the movie and I would wear out several tapes throughout my youth. 'Jurassic Park' I would say is like that for a lot of people and that is it's true reason for staying with us beyond that multiplex. It was not just a movie about dinosaurs, it was something truly special for many people around the world.
