REVIEW - Jurassic Park Trilogy
June 12, 2015
"HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS" - Samuel L. Jackson, Jurassic Park
Jurassic World is hitting cineplexes this week, with a fully functional theme park (at last!) and a Star-Lord to give the franchise a new slick of paint. With that, it's a great opportunity to revisit the original trilogy released between 1993 to 2001, with varying shift in qualities across the three movies based on the late Michael Crichton's original novels. Moreover, the franchise possibly single-handedly galvanised the world's interest in dinosaurs and the world 65 million years ago. Not a bad feat to achieve.
The three films have common themes, with an island infested with prehistoric monsters created through impossible science. On the way, our protagonists will either be attacked by a gigantic T-Rex, or a pack of cheeky raptors. Those clever girls are definitely the star dinosaurs of the franchise. Yet, it's still managed to rake in loads of cash (the first film garnering a billion dollars after re-releases), and no dino movie has even come close to the critical acclaim garnered.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The one that started it all. A film no one thought was even possible at the time, and Steven Spielberg went on to create what has now become one of the most iconic films ever to grace the cinemas. Before that, dino flicks mainly consisted of stop-motion trickery (King Kong) and limited to cartoon caricatures (The Land Before Time, anyone?), hence the release of Jurassic Park with animatronics / computer-generated (from effects master Stan Winston and Industrial Light & Magic respectively) dinosaurs blew audiences away. To add to its praise, the groundbreaking special effects at the time still looks greater than some of the CGI-heavy films of today.
Filled to the brim of likable heroes and villains alike (Even Dennis Nedry wasn't so bad), Jurassic Park strikes the right balance between the human and dinosaur sides, layered on with a straightforward yet thrilling adventure that is sure to get you on the edge. Basic premise was this: man creates theme park, brings people to test it out, things go awry, mayhem ensues. It was also one of those films littered with memorable memorable quotes and scenes that will sure to get a table talk going (suggested scenes: T-Rex reveal, "clever girl", the Goldblum laugh, the kitchen scene, "the magic word" and it goes on...)
A great movie that even 22 years later, would still give you the same sense of bewilderment, supported by the classic John Williams score.
9.5/10
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Spielberg's first ever directorial sequel, The Lost World felt like a different movie safe for the dinosaurs, with new main characters and a different setting far off Isla Nublar. John Hammond, now booted off from his company, enlists Ian Malcolm to stop a threat from InGen new bosses (and the 'Malboro men') towards the ecosystem of 'Site B - Isla Sorna'.
The Lost World lets go of some of the first installment's horror roots by heading for a more action-heavy adventure. Returning is Jeff Goldblum's sarcastic Ian Malcolm, who acts nothing like the Ian Malcolm we knew and loved before this. Instead, we're burdened by his brooding father-daughter and issues. Goldblum wasn't helped by the glut of uninteresting new characters brought in either, with Julianne Moore, despite how talented an actress she is, was relegated to being a rather clueless klutz, while Vince Vaughn mysteriously disappears before the ending. Speaking of the ending, in an attempt to up the wow factor, the film ended up being a set-piece ridden movie without much of a story to tell.
While it does have a few standout scenes (well, just the scenes with the raptors - hint: tall grass and tile roofs), The Lost World seemed to have lost the charm which made Jurassic Park such a critical darling. The weakest entry of the franchise in my opinion.
6.0/10
Jurassic Park III (2001)
The was the one where people completely lost interest in the franchise. Replacing Spielberg in the director's chair was a certain Joe Johnston, who is known being the art director on the Star Wars as well as the Indiana Jones films, and would later direct Captain America: The First Avenger (a personal fave). With Spielberg gone (only having a producer capacity), the film feels more like a spin-off for The Lost World, which is already as depressing as it sounds.
Staying on the lackluster Isla Sorna (probably due to budget reasons, some sets were reused here), this time it brought back Sam Neill and Laura Dern (the best characters from the first film IMHO), but was yet again riddled with new characters you wish were all chomped off by the newly introduced Spinosaurus. The new cast film was the least likable so far, with a Chris Martin lookalike combined with a bimbo couple, the husband looking like a real life Ned Flanders. The film even tries its hand on scientific accuracy, adding feathers to the male raptors, for which Jurassic World seems to have fortunately ignored. Also, THAT SCENE.
Nevertheless, Jurassic Park III has its perks as well. Playing off as more of a "B"/direct-to-DVD movie, Jurassic Park III has that enjoyable "so bad it's good" vibes. Despite its mediocrity, the dinosaurs effects were still a treat to watch (holding up surprisingly well), coupled with some eye-catching scenes featuring the Spinosaurus and plenty of Pteranodons, gives this film the edge over The Lost World.
7.5/10
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