Overdue #6 The Jurassic Park Trilogy (1993-2001)
We all know the story of the impact of Jurassic Park’s computer generated dinosaurs in 1993 (and the use of the technology since then, for better or worse) and with so much reverence for the superb dinosaur effects across each film it’s not only easy to overlook the human element, but to an extent unfortunate given the talent and performances involved. Both Sam Niell and Jeff Goldblum have become iconic in their roles as the grouchy palaeontologist Alan Grant and the chauvinistic ‘chaotician’ Ian Malcolm, similarly both actors are rarely seen on the big screen in high profile roles, respectively) despite their impeccable talents.
Curiously it has been the cast of supporting roles that have seen the most longevity from the franchise, it’s easy to forget that this was Vince Vaughn’s post-Swingers-pre-Wedding Crashers acting gig and Julianne Moore would continue in critically acclaimed roles. Child actors in the series Joseph Mazzelo and Camilla Belle can be seen in The Social Network and 10,000BC respectively. Elsewhere the likes of Arliss Howard (pulling off a pitch perfect English accent), Wayne Knight Samuel L Jackson (“hold on to your butts”) and Richard Schiff (privy to probably the most brutal demise in the series) fill out the roster of colourful side characters. Most notably however has to be Bob Peck and Pete Postlethwaite as park warden Robert Muldoon and jaded big game hunter Roland Tembo.
As for the set up to each film, the motivations in the first movie are monetary (scientists hired to endorse theme park), the second is centrally a rescue (rescuing human and dinosaur), the third is notable only as a hybrid of these two premises (Alan Grant is lured back to island under the pretence of money, only to find it is a rescue mission). Thematically the movies are linked by the very human issue of parenthood; Alan Grant is saddled with the company of two kids he’d rather ignore in the first movie, the second sees estranged parent Ian Malcolm and his daughter in the midst of dinosaur mayhem. The third film is unusual in the sense that Alan Grant has student Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola) as a surrogate son, this connection between the two certainly rings much truer than the forced missing son plot (courtesy of dim parents William H Macy and Teá Leoni, not to mention son Trevor Morgan’s grating performance) that drives the film. Surprising also as the underwhelming third entry actually gives us one of the most compelling relationships in any of the films, the banter and affection between Grant and Brennan is the central aspect that will keep you watching (when the dinosaurs aren’t onscreen).
While Lost World is naturally inferior to Jurassic Park, it is at least still solid in its premise. More importantly it remains thoroughly entertaining, offering a variety of different escapades and is host to some of the scariest sequences in the trilogy; Julianne Moore reaches for a railing as the glass beneath her begins to crack, the harbour staff of a San Diego watch in shock as a tanker drifts toward them to the sound of radio static. For a PG rated movie Lost World is an unrelentingly violent film, most of the gore is hidden but not even dogs (the holiest of cinematic holies) are safe from the jaws of a hungry T-Rex. The scope of Lost World at least feels like an organic progression from the events of Jurassic Park, which the third instalment arguably fails to maintain. JP3 is without a doubt where the series diverges into straight B-Movie territory, the set-up and delivery of the unfolding events feels arbitrary and aside from Niell’s Grant and Billy Brennan, the other characters only serve as irritating dino kibble. Sad considering director Joe Johnston’s previous output (including The Rocketeer, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and recently with the enjoyable Captain America) and his supposed enthusiasm to take the helm from Steven Spielberg. JP3 at least offers up some unique creatures including the formidable Spinosaurus and a spooky sequence in a Pteranadon aviary. If you want to mention diminishing returns then a comparison with this series and Jaws is not too far off the money, although this would be in regard to JP3 only once all things are considered.
For bang for your buck value the series has a number of recurring novelties, one lasting gimmick is witnessing the apex predator of each film (T-Rex or Spinosaurus) destroy the token vehicle of the movie in an attempt to devour the juicy humans inside (JP: Tour jeep. TLW: Trailer + many other assorted off-road vehicles. JP3: Light aircraft). The sight of the T-Rex flipping over a jeep became oddly iconic in 93’ due to its physical shock and awe of modern man and prehistory clashing head on, whereas today this herculean feat is pulled off by accident by many a Transformer. Jurassic Park and The Lost World at least had time on their side before their pioneering methods became overused and abused blockbuster standard. Jurassic Park sits comfortably in the same league as Terminator 2: Judgement Day as one of the most formidable and brilliant sci-fi blockbusters of the early 90’s, The Lost World’s thrills outpace Avatar’s routine action beats by three wide margins. It’s a shame then that Jurassic Park 3 had to come out in 2001, where what we know as modern cinema was gaining ground. Doubly saturated colours and quick editing became the norm and movie monsters had to move with a much faster pace. The secret to great monsters is to build the scenes around them, not moving through the scene (as is the problem with Transformers and Avatar).
Dinosaurs will always be popular with children and families (and rightly so) thanks to each Jurassic adventure, cinema however is impatient with trends and as Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong proved ‘if it’s not Jurassic Park then it’s extinct!’ Jurassic has the best T-Rex on film, period. Thus any other attempt to usurp the legendary creations of Stan Winston, Phil Tippett and Dennis Muren has thus failed to match Jurassic’s giddy heights, and always thus will be. Audiences today unfortunately are conditioned by new movie trends to lack the patience for more suspenseful fare and therefore if indeed Jurassic Park 4 is on the cards in the near (or distant future) then sadly the genie is out of the bottle, said Genie is also now performing in Vegas every Thursday. Ideally this trilogy will stand as an example of two excellent examples of blockbuster entertainment of the 1990’s, the third offers little you’ve not seen before but has its moments but all stand as milestones of the potential raw power of popular cinematic entertainment.
Jurassic Park is re-released in cinemas on 23rd September for a limited time.
The Jurassic Park Trilogy is currently available on DVD and is released on Blu-Ray on 24th October from Universal.