Jurassic Park

reviewed by Charity Bishop
 

I remember when Jurassic Park first came out; it thrilled, chilled, and terrified thousands of people worldwide. And it scared the heck out of me. I recently wondered if it would still have the same effect, so I picked up a copy. It did. It still has all the spine-tingling, stomach-in-your-throat moments that you never forget, as well as a touch more plot development than I'd remembered. 

"Jurassic Park" is a dinosaur-themed island in the works. Only unlike Disneyland, the attractions are living and breathing. Using technology adapted from the cloning process, scientists have been able to bring back to live the big lizards we've all seen in the history museums. Unfortunately, one of the workers has been eaten, which leaves the park open for a lawsuit and possible lock-down. The managing director and owner John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) must get a written slip of recommendation from several major naturalists to put a stop to the end of Jurassic Park. He goes to Alan Grant (Sam Neill), a scientist and archeologist expert on dinosaurs and his friend Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). Offering to fund their excavation for the next three years if they accompany him back to the park for the weekend, the group arrives on the island completely ignorant of the danger ahead. Also along for the ride are Hammond's grandchildren Lexie the vegetarian and Tim the would-be archeologist (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello).  The group is thrown together along with a brilliant skeptic (Jeff Goldblum) and a "blood-sucking lawyer." Several sub-plots involve a high-stakes thief determined to sell off the dinosaur embryos to their competitors and the relationship between Alan and Ellie, as well as his dislike for the two children he is ultimately coupled with. The film works with adrenaline and horror, pumping you up, keeping you in suspense and making you wish you'd brought in the cats for the night. After all, who knows what might be outside? 

Parents will be glad to note that the profanity is very low with only a few mild obscenities and one noted use each of Jesus and GD. Also, the film blatantly teaches that it's not safe to play God. As one character so prominently declares, "You knew you could do it and you did it, regardless of whether or not you should have done it." Dinosaurs are extinct for the very reason portrayed on screen -- because in our fallen world, they would dominate over mankind, who God esteems above any other creature on the planet. However, the film also embraces evolutionism ("God creates dinosaurs, God kills dinosaurs. God creates man. Humans kill God, create dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat man..." "--And women take over the world!" is only one quip; others involve "millions and billions of years and evolution) and violence.

It is not as graphic as The Lost World, but is still enough to give you nightmares. Several people are killed by meat-eaters; we hear their screams and see their writhing bodies through bushes. A dismembered arm and goat's hind leg are seen briefly. Some viewers may be uncomfortable with the "feeding" of the raptors in which a live cow is lowered into the pen. We don't see anything except hearing violent dino shrieks and trembling bushes but it's still cringe-worthy. The T-Rex rips violently into several smaller species and attempts to maul the children. One particularly chilling sequence has the T-Rex bursting through the fence and being attracted to the stalled automatic cars. He mauls the one with the children inside and (spoiler!) eats a side character, swinging his body violently back and forth in his mouth before his head vanishes above the camera's angle. On several occasions we see severed limbs with bloody stumps.

Characters are expendable and you wonder who will be next. But ironically enough, the film also carries with it subtle messages about friendship and family, as well as the dangers of cloning. There are a few touching moments between the kids and Alan, and a lack of sexual innuendo and content. It's unclear whether Ellie and Alan are living together, or merely carrying on a friendly relationship. The film is very rich and well-done, but it's scary. Much too scary for youngsters... and me!  If you can stomach intense terror and panic and take the feeling you're being stalked along with the characters on screen, Jurassic Park is a pretty good thriller. But it also boasts some violent images and enough scary sequences to make it unsuitable for many. Whether or not this film is as "dino-riffic" as the critics call it or another expendable epic is left for you to decide. But once you're through, you'll thank God every day He destroyed the dinosaurs.