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JURASSIC PARK

by Michael Crichton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 1990

Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok in Crichton's new, vastly entertaining science thriller. From the introduction alone—a classically Crichton-clear discussion of the implications of biotechnological research—it's evident that the Harvard M.D. has bounced back from the science-fantasy silliness of Sphere (1987) for another taut reworking of the Frankenstein theme, as in The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man. Here, Dr. Frankenstein is aging billionaire John Hammond, whose monster is a manmade ecosystem based on a Costa Rican island. Designed as the world's ultimate theme park, the ecosystem boasts climate and flora of the Jurassic Age and—most spectacularly—15 varieties of dinosaurs, created by elaborate genetic engineering that Crichton explains in fascinating detail, rich with dino-lore and complete with graphics. Into the park, for a safety check before its opening, comes the novel's band of characters—who, though well drawn, double as symbolic types in this unsubtle morality play. Among them are hero Alan Grant, noble paleontologist; Hammond, venal and obsessed; amoral dino-designer Henry Wu; Hammond's two innocent grandchildren; and mathematician Ian Malcolm, who in long diatribes serves as Crichton's mouthpiece to lament the folly of science. Upon arrival, the visitors tour the park; meanwhile, an industrial spy steals some dino embryos by shutting down the island's power—and its security grid, allowing the beasts to run loose. The bulk of the remaining narrative consists of dinos—ferocious T. Rex's, voracious velociraptors, venom-spitting dilophosaurs—stalking, ripping, and eating the cast in fast, furious, and suspenseful set-pieces as the ecosystem spins apart. And can Grant prevent the dinos from escaping to the mainland to create unchecked havoc? Though intrusive, the moralizing rarely slows this tornado-paced tale, a slick package of info-thrills that's Crichton's most clever since Congo (1980)—and easily the most exciting dinosaur novel ever written. A sure-fire best-seller.

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1990

ISBN: 0394588169

Page Count: 424

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990

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by Michael Crichton & Daniel H. Wilson

by Michael Crichton

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A LITTLE LIFE

by Hanya Yanagihara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015

The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.

Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.

Yanagihara ( The People in the Trees , 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.  

Pub Date: March 10, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8

Page Count: 720

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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by Hanya Yanagihara

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PERSPECTIVES

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.

Pub Date: July 11, 1960

ISBN: 0060935464

Page Count: 323

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960

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by Harper Lee

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Book Review: Jurassic Park

Most people know the movie “Jurassic Park,” which was directed by Steven Spielberg and was released on June 11, 1993. Its box office gross was recorded at $357 million in the U.S. However, not many people know that the first movie of the series is actually based on a book that was written by Michael Crichton in 1990.

Crichton then wrote “The Lost World” in 1995, which continued the series. According to a Mental Floss article, Spielberg bought the film rights to the second novel before it was even finished.

“Jurassic Park” is a science fiction novel which takes place on a fictional and remote island called Isla Nublar located by Costa Rica. The company InGen is at work creating a park where real-life dinosaurs can roam the earth once again for human entertainment.

It would be considered a new type of amusement park. The creator, Dr. Hammond, invites multiple guests to test out the park before the grand opening.

He invites Dr. Grant, a paleontologist, Dr. Sattler, a paleobotanist, Dr. Malcolm, a mathematician, Donald Gennaro, a lawyer for InGen, and he also invites his own grandchildren, Tim and Alexis.

The park is marveled as a revolutionary scientific accomplishment, with high tech equipment like supercomputers — called Cray XMPs — to control the park with minimal staff, motion detecting data to keep track of how many dinosaurs have been created, and the most talented geneticists to recreate and breed living dinosaurs.

Although it seems like the park is deemed as a success, things begin to go wrong, starting with small incidents that are ignored which then snowball into a dangerous disaster.

Interestingly, while Crichton was in the process of writing the first drafts of “Jurassic Park,” he received negative reviews of the book because of the point of view he first wrote it in, which was from the perspective of a young boy. It was actually first written as a screenplay but then evolved into a novel soon after due to the criticism he received.

This book is filled with suspense and tension. It includes a lot of history and science, obviously, but not to the point where the reader will become bored with all the scientific jargon. It’s enough so the reader can feel knowledgeable about the science that is taking place.

It also contains mathematics, which was at first surprising but then again, you obviously need it to create DNA strands. You can actually learn quite a bit from this book, which is great.

The plot where everything seems to be going according to plan but then suddenly goes horribly wrong is always interesting. Crichton takes this plot through the many levels of a snowball effect where people’s lives are at stake, not to mention animal lives which is even more terrible.

There is also a hint of betrayal within the company, which helps set off the unfortunate events. It is truly a wonderful combination of misfortune.

There is another recurring theme as well, which is that a human’s curiosity can have dire consequences, especially when it comes to messing with Mother Nature and her creations. Even her past creations can stir up a lot up trouble.

Dr. Malcolm, the mathematician, warns the passionate creator of the park, Dr. Hammond, over and over again, which becomes his biggest mistake. Hammond refuses to listen and sees the dinosaurs as an extraordinary discovery that also will provide big bucks to everyone involved. After all, what could possibly go wrong on a tiny island filled with different species of dinosaurs?

This theme is seen throughout the whole series as well, and the character who reiterates this message is, of course, Dr. Malcolm. He knew that if the man was behind this advancement in science in reality it isn’t really an advancement at all, it is just the ignorance of acknowledging what Mother Nature is capable of and also that humans should never interfere with her.

This belief is not really acknowledged throughout the story and is instead ignored by the scientists who create the park, which is a grave mistake.

Knowledge is truly powerful, but if used incorrectly or even extensively, it can become very dangerous. It’s as if humans never can learn from past mistakes.

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Jurassic Park

By michael crichton .

Jurassic Park is Michael Crichton’s best-known novel. It is also often cited as one of his best (if not his magnum opus). 

About the Book

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

Jurassic Park is an exciting novel that’s hard to put down, even if you know what’s going to happen. Crichton’s thrilling depiction of dinosaurs, their environment, InGen’s flaws, and the dangers inherent in exploring the park carries the novel forward to its (perhaps predictable) conclusion. 

The plot is based on the idea that it is possible, although not advisable, to recreate prehistoric animals with fragments of DNA. There is some truth to Crichton’s depiction of genetic engineering, but nothing close to what InGen does in the novel (and the sequel) has been attempted in real life. 

Suspense and Cliffhangers 

Jurassic Park opens with a suspenseful, attention-grabbing scene where a mysterious animal attack leads to a full-on investigation into what kind of creature was responsible. Readers are already aware of the basic plot and will wait, with bated breath, to experience the main character’s reactions to the revelation that that’s an entire island of dinosaurs recreated from ancient DNA. 

The desire to find out what happens next drives Crichton’s novel forward. Readers, like myself, are far more interested in the overall plot than the fate of a single character, like Dr. Alan Grant or John Hammond’s grandchildren. 

The novel ends on a cliffhanger, as many readers may have expected, considering there is a sequel. It turns out, unsurprisingly as well, that dinosaurs have escaped the island and are on mainland Costa Rica. But Isla Nublar is still bombed, and Dr. Alan Grant is surprised to learn that his adventure is not over. 

Jurassic Park as a Cautionary Tale 

Jurassic Park is commonly interpreted as a cautionary tale, and it’s hard not to see it this way. From the start, it is clear that InGen’s reach exceeded its grasp. Before they’re even aware of it, the dinosaurs are off the island and inflicting injury on beachgoers in mainland Costa Rica. 

As doctors Malcolm, Grant, and Sattler arrive on the island, they, too, immediately see its risks. They’re only briefly in awe of Hammond’s creation before the reality of what he, InGen, and Dr. Wu have done sinks in. Dr. Malcom especially is well aware that despite their attempts to control and isolate their creations that there is no way for them to control what they’ve made. 

When reading the novel, knowing beforehand that disaster would strike, it’s hard not to see the flaws in InGen’s plan. Of course, I thought, the dinosaurs can’t be contained and of course, sending everyday people into the park is a terrible idea. The entire island’s security system was in the hands of one man who had the ability to disable it on a whim. The danger of this kind of centralization is incredibly clear. 

More than anything, Jurassic Park comes across as a warning against arrogance and pride. Hammond had an idea for a huge, money-making, groundbreaking theme park that would capture the attention of the entire world. He was so focused on achieving this goal that he never stopped to think about whether he and Dr. Wu should “play God.” 

Characterization in Jurassic Park 

As a thriller novel, specifically a technological thriller, Crichton emphasizes the dramatic, outlandish, and compelling elements of the plot. Dinosaurs, attacks, human error, and suspense play primary roles—characterization and dialogue do not. That’s not to say I don’t like Crichton’s dialogue or the characters he included; I do. It’s apparent from the start, though, that plot heavily outweighs the people experiencing it. 

Because his characters are somewhat lacking in their complexity and personalities, it is easy to find yourself on the side of the dinosaurs, hoping that they can survive this entire endeavor and be free from human influence. Although they pose a significant threat to anyone around them, I found myself hoping everyone could get off the island safely, not for their own sake, but so that the dinosaurs would be free to live out their lives. 

The Influence of Jurassic Park 

Much has been said about the influence of the Jurassic Park novels. From films to television shows to the public’s understanding of what individual dinosaurs look like, Crichton’s novel has touched the entire world of dinosaurs. 

Crichton is regarded today as an author whose novels are filled with (mostly) accurate scientific information. But, considering the world he was going to recreate, he took some liberties with Jurassic Park, many of which have made their way into the public’s consciousness. For example, the appearance of the velociraptors. These features were certainly made more prominent due to the success of Steven Spielberg’s adaption. 

Today, it’s common to find similarly designed dinosaurs in films and television shows unrelated to Crichton’s series. The image of the TV, velociraptors, and more are so ingrained in the public’s mind that it would negatively affect other dinosaur productions to change that image. Dilophosaurus, for example, is memorable and depicted as spitting venom at Dennis Nedry. But, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the dinosaur had this defense mechanism. 

Interestingly, before the film, most of the dinosaurs featured were unknown by the public, including velociraptors. Crichton’s novel and the resulting film adaptions are often credited with inspiring a new generation of paleontologists (much like Star Trek is credited with inspiring astronomers and astronauts at NASA). 

Jurassic Park: Michael Crichton's Most Influential Novel

Book Title: Jurassic Park

Book Description: 'Jurassic Park' by Michael Crichton is a technological, science fiction thriller based on the concept that it is possible to genetically engineer dinosaurs using ancient DNA.

Book Author: Michael Crichton

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Alfred A. Knopf

Date published: November 21, 1990

ISBN: 978-0345370775

Number Of Pages: 416

• Writing Style
• Lasting Effect on Readers

Jurassic Park Review

‘Jurassic Park’  by Michael Crichton is commonly cited as the author’s best novel. Without a doubt, it is certainly his most influential. It is set on a remote island where a group of scientists and paleontologists explore a theme park of genetically engineered dinosaurs.

• Incredibly creative plot
• The dinosaurs are exciting
• Suspenseful plot devices
• Dialogue is lackluster
• Characters are hard to care about
• Less-than-satisfying conclusion

About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

Cite This Page

Baldwin, Emma " Jurassic Park Review 🦖 " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/michael-crichton/jurassic-park/review/ . Accessed 12 April 2024.

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[book review] jurassic park by michael crichton.

September 21, 2020       Erica Robyn       14 Comments

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. With a very popular film adaptation, a section of theme park at Disney, and a slew of awesome bookish and film-related merch, Jurassic Park is an amazing tale of a theme park gone very very wrong.

When I heard that there was a readathon going on in September as hosted by tonyshorrorcorner and charmandareads , I signed up immediately! To follow along, check out the hashtag on Instagram for #lifefindsawayin2020 .

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Crichton is my favorite author so I could just rave about his style for days! If I had to pick a top five favorite elements, I would list; the suspense he creates, the quick moments of terror, the character development, how he handles the science, and just the overall flow and pacing of his stories.

For the science specifically, I love how he keeps it pretty high level so we don’t get too bogged down in the details.

From the characters that we focus on in this novel, I love that each character all have such different types of expertise that they bring to the table! This sets up a wonderful dynamic for the group already, but then add in personality traits and we’re really off and running!

The horror is MUCH stronger in the book when comparing it to the movie, and of course, I’m a big fan of that! The overall darkness and terror in every stressful scene is written so wonderfully. One of my favorite scenes is when they realize the fences are no longer electrified.

From cover to cover, this is just an amazing read!

My Favorite Passages from Jurassic Park

The infant lay in a wicker bassinet, swaddled in a light blanket, only it’s face exposed. Around the rim of the bassinet, three dark-green lizards crouched like gargoyles. 

Isla Nublar, Hammond explained, was not a true island. Rather, it was a seamount, A volcanic upthrusting of rock from the ocean floor. “It’s volcanic origins can be seen all over the island,“ Hammond said. “There are steam vents in many places, and the ground is often hot underfoot. Because of this, and also because of prevailing currents, Isla Nublar lies in a foggy area. As we get there you will see- ah, there we are.” The helicopter rushed forward, low to the water. Ahead Grant saw an island, rugged and craggy, rising sharply from the ocean. “Christ, it looks like Alcatraz,” Malcolm said. 

Her first thought was that the dinosaur was extraordinarily beautiful. Books portrayed them as oversize, dumpy creatures, but this long-necked animal had a gracefulness, almost a dignity, about its movements. And it was quick – there is nothing lumbering or dull in it’s behavior.

Grant stood on the path on the side of the hill, with the mist on his face, staring at the gray necks craning above the palms. He felt dizzy, as if the ground or sloping away too steeply. He had trouble getting his breath. Because he was looking at something he had never expected to see in his life. Yet he was seeing it.

“Story of our species,” Malcolm said, laughing. “Everybody knows it’s coming, but not so soon.” 

The attack came suddenly, from the left and right. Charging raptors covered the ten yards to the fence with shocking speed. Grant had a blurred impression of powerful, six-foot-tall bodies, stiff balancing tails, limbs with curving claws, open jaws with rows of jagged teeth. The animals snarled as they came forward, and then leapt bodily into the air, raising their hind legs with their big dagger-claws. Then they struck the fence in front of them, throwing off twin bursts of hot sparks.

“Because the history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.“

And then Tim realized: the tyrannosaur was holding the fence! The fence wasn’t electrified any more! 

Lex shouted, “Timmy!” and he saw the door give way beneath her, and she fell out of the car into the mud, but Tim couldn’t answer, because in the next instant everything swung crazily- he saw the trunks of the palm trees sliding downward past him- moving sideways through the air- he glimpsed the ground very far below- the hot roar of the tyrannosaur- the blazing eye- the tops of the  palm trees- And then, with a metallic scraping shriek, the car fell from the tyrannosaur’s jaws, a sickening fall, and Tim’s stomach heaved in the moment before the world became totally black, and silent. 

In a final gesture of frustration, the big hind leg lifted up and kicked the Land Cruiser over, and Grant felt searing pain and the surprising sensation of his own body flying through the air. It seemed to be happening very slowly, and he had plenty of time to feel the world to turn colder, and watch the ground rush up to strike him in the face.

Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such considerations as pointless.”

“We’ve had four hundred years of modern science, and we ought to know by now what it’s good for, and what it’s not good for. It’s time for a change.”

My Final Thoughts on Jurassic Park

 This will forever be one of all time favorites! I will definitely be rereading this time and time again. It’s just so perfect!

Snag a copy through Bookshop to help support local indie bookshops:

Thanks for reading!

Reader Interactions

September 21, 2020 at 11:30 am

I haven’t read this since high school – what a fun reread! It’ll always be a classic to me!

September 21, 2020 at 8:24 pm

For sure!! I love it so much! 🙂

September 21, 2020 at 12:01 pm

I loved Jurassic Park! It might be time for a reread.

<3 <3

September 22, 2020 at 3:26 am

I love the movie and just read the book a couple years ago. Watched the movie again a few nights ago as well. 🙂 Love the quotes, and that description of Isla Nublar,,,

September 27, 2020 at 12:27 pm

<3 <3 I need to re-watch the movie ASAP!! :) I love both so much!

September 22, 2020 at 3:28 am

Great review… I should really give it a try. Considering Jurassic Park is one of my favourite movies ever, I should really read this one.

September 27, 2020 at 12:28 pm

Thank you! And YES!! I definitely recommend it! I love both so much. They did a killer job with the film! There are various differences when comparing the book and the movie, but they are both wonderful.

September 22, 2020 at 8:18 am

I’m pretty sure a friend of mine read and enjoyed this too. I love that the horror and suspense is higher in the book.

September 28, 2020 at 8:45 pm

You can never go wrong with Jurassic Park! Great review. 🙂

October 4, 2020 at 8:28 am

Never!! 🙂 I love this tale SO much.

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Jurassic Park is the book that started it all, the very original conception that kicked off a massive franchise that 90’s kids, like myself, came to adore.  Author Michael Crichton is well known for writing numerous novels that are exciting and thrilling, but he is most famous for Jurassic Park.  Crichton published his first book back in 1966 under the pen name John Lange and has also dabbled in directing films and designing computer games.

Jurassic Park  has always been a well known book, but with the recent releases of Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom , the book has surged even further in popularity. My local book store stocked up and sold out of copies of the book during Fallen Kingdom’s  time in theaters. The question then becomes: Does the beginning of the franchise live up to the films that followed? Let’s find out!

Content Review

Violence : There is no way around it, the math of T-rex plus velociraptors plus all manner of predators, means heavy violence. The book isn’t violent all throughout, but when those violent moments happen, it is swift and very brutal. Blood and carnage happens in these moments and several characters, including some more innocent dinosaurs, die in the book. I would say the book is more gory than the film.

Sexual Content : Not much at all. There are some lewd comments, but they are rare. There is some discussion about reproduction, but it’s entirely for the purposes of science and cloning.

Drug/Alcohol Use : Very little, some of the characters will drink at points in the book, but it’s rare. One character regularly smokes.

Spiritual Content : Evolution is a notable theme in the book and while none of the characters openly denounce God, they don’t seem to believe or take God seriously. However, at the same time, the book consistently raises an implicit question: “When does playing God go too far?”

Language/Crude Humor : Some swear words, such as d***, god****, and h***, are used periodically.

Other Negative Content : Greed is a common theme in the book. Many characters want to use the dinosaurs for financial gain rather than respecting their existence and awesome power.

Positive Content : The book demonstrates some real acts of heroism during the desperate struggle to survive the island. Many of the characters jump right into danger to help others, knowing they may not survive, and several do die in their sacrificial effort.

I was nervous at the start of the novel because I often find it difficult to read a book after watching the movie. I nearly put down Maze Runner because I saw the movie first, but I didn’t have that issue with the novel version of Jurassic Park . The book was different enough from the movie that it kept the story fresh, with certain characters surviving in the movie that didn’t survive in the book and vice versa.

The story follows the characters we know and love: Dr. Alan Grant the paleontologist, Dr. Ellie Sattler the paleobotanist, Dr. Ian Malcolm the mathematician, John Hammond the eccentric park owner, and the various cast of characters who join us on the park that will take us back in time. Our story begins with several doctors and paleontologists investigating a mysterious lizard creature biting children in Costa Rica. They finally reach out to Alan Grant at his dig site in Montana for his expertise. Grant, Sattler, and a crew of other people are being commissioned by a company owned by Hammond called InGen. Right before Grant has a moment to investigate the mysterious lizard in Costa Rica, John Hammond himself invites Grant and Sattler to his biological preserve on the fictional island of Isla Nublar near Costa Rica.

They are joined by Ian Malcolm and meet the rest of the characters on the island that appear throughout the story, including Hammond’s two grandchildren, Tim and Alexis Murphy. Our characters quickly discover that the park is not what they thought it would be and find that it is so much more! The island is full of dinosaurs who were cloned from DNA found in various bugs preserved in amber. While many are amazed by the recreation of dinosaurs, Malcolm adamantly predicts that this park will fail and would will not be able to contain the dinosaurs. Judging from the rest of the franchise, his words were not taken as seriously as they should have been.

I won’t spoil too much more, but things obviously do not go as planned, and the dinosaurs get free because one man chose greed over his job to keep vigilant watch over the computer systems in the park. This leads to a story full of tense moments and frightening scenes involving some of the most deadly predators one can imagine. Those moments where the T-Rex was approaching were so tense that I was flying through pages without even noticing! The scenes involving the velociraptors were action packed and often brutal when they attacked. The author often did not ignore what can happen when a dinosaur attacks a human or other creature. Short answer: It isn’t pretty.

Just as terrifying in the book as it was in the movie.

The characters are pretty interesting and do not necessarily follow their depiction in the film 100%. The reader definitely knows who is good and who is bad, who is motivated by the good of all and who is motivated by greed. Despite them being interesting, they lack some depth and we learn little of their backstory. This didn’t bother me too much as I don’t always need to know everything about my characters, but it would have been nice to diversify who they were a little. Grant was the determined leader, Malcolm was the handsome intelligent academic, and Hammond was the eccentric man motivated by his goal to have the greatest park ever. I liked the characters, but they never really broke these molds until maybe the very end, but even then, not as much as the reader might have hoped for. Despite their simplicity, I still really liked all of the characters, good and bad alike, except one. Alexis Murphy, one of Hammond’s grandchildren, was incredibly obnoxious and I think the author could have done without that character in my honest opinion. She merely served to annoy the reader.

It wouldn’t be Jurassic Park if it didn’t challenge the reader with the question, “Just because we can, does that mean we should?” The story raises this question regularly and demonstrates that “playing God” can have significant consequences. It is impossible for us to control everything, particularly the natural order of life. The book demonstrates that we were meant to care for God’s creation, not to control it and dictate it as He would.

Overall, Jurassic Park was an exciting read with some really tense moments that boiled into action-packed and brutal scenes. The characters were a little simple, but they were enjoyable regardless and I still managed to care for them throughout their attempt to survive Jurassic Park.

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‘Jurassic Park’: Where the Wild Things Are

Our critics and readers make a return trip to the movie that kicked off a franchise. Does the blockbuster hold up in a summer without one?

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By A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis

“Jurassic Park” was the No. 1 movie at the North American box office in summer 1993 — and once again this summer , when it brought entertainment-starved moviegoers out to drive-ins. With no new blockbusters to enjoy (or endure), we invited readers to revisit Steven Spielberg’s popular park, where a T. rex and velociraptors develop a taste for human prey.

Set on a lush island, the park is the brainchild of John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), a showman with a passion for spectacle and extinct reptiles. Spielberg, adapting Michael Crichton’s best seller, shared those enthusiasms as did the film’s original audience. The lifelike quality of the dinosaurs and the intensity of the action were big selling points 27 years ago and we wondered how they looked to our readers in light of today’s CGI-heavy blowouts.

We also hoped readers would sink their teeth into some of the film’s meatier themes: the struggle between science and commerce; the tension between environmentalism and greed; the contrast between innocence and corruption; the debate between Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Sattler (Laura Dern) about having kids. And then there’s that dialectical puzzler, Steven Spielberg, the wunderkind turned empire-builder, who has long played the hero and the villain of modern Hollywood.

The Spielberg Touch really works both ways in JP for the good and the not-so-good. In terms of suspenseful and amazingly well-executed action scenes, the sequences following the T-Rex’s escape from the paddock are still a master class in every aspect of filmmaking. But the second dimension of his Touch — the sentimentality, the feeble feminism, the insistence on the formation of an ersatz family that makes the whole film’s arc about Alan Grant learning to become a father, and so on — makes this a lesser film than it could have been artistically. — B.J. Klinger , Chicago

A.O. SCOTT “Jurassic Park” was released less than six months before “Schindler’s List,” which makes 1993 a kind of Peak Spielberg moment. He started a franchise and cleaned up at the box office in the summertime — something he had done before — and then floored the critics and dominated the Oscars when the weather turned cold. Is there another American director in the post-studio era who has matched that feat? Have any even tried?

Watching “Jurassic Park” on my little screen this time around, I was struck by how refreshingly un-grandiose it seemed, at least when compared with the ponderous apocalypticism of recent tentpoles. The moments of wonder, exposition and ethical chin-scratching are arranged around a series of action set pieces that are scary, scrappy and marvelously executed. Their effectiveness has less to do with the dinosaurs (cool as they are) than with Spielberg’s craft. He’s just so good at building suspense and pacing and cutting through a scene, providing jolts and giggles as he builds toward a big scare or a hairs-breadth escape.

MANOHLA DARGIS Ha! Having recently splashed round with the shark in“Jaws,” I was struck by how irritatingly bloated “Jurassic Park” is by comparison. I like some of “Jurassic Park,” sure, though I’m always struck by how the most skillfully directed and sadistic scenes involve children, including the kitchen homage to Kubrick’s “The Shining” and its terrorized tot. And I dig that its three heroes are all scientists, which goes against the grain of too many Hollywood movies that vilify scientists or mock them as nerdy weirdos when they should be celebrated for being nerdy weirdos.

This of course brings me to the most astonishing image in the film, which is of Jeff Goldblum’s injured “chaotician” (hoot!), Dr. Malcolm, lying back with his black shirt unbuttoned to expose his lightly furred musculature. Consciously or not, Spielberg turns Goldblum into a sexualized spectacle, complete with dark shades and come-hither mien, a framing that seems dedicated to destroying a noxious ethnic stereotype. Goldblum has suggested in interviews that this great unbuttoning was spontaneous, but whether it is, the effect is the same. It’s as if Spielberg were saying, You want hot Jewish guys? I’ll give you hot Jewish guys!

It was fun revisiting this summer blockbuster after all this time. I definitely saw it with a very different perspective. The essence is summed up well in the line from Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm is “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” A disaster of a theme park, completely arrogant and immoral, and yet … there were sequels, none of which I saw. — Denise, Northern California

SCOTT Goldblum got to be both the movie’s conscience and its libido, which is not something just any actor could pull off. And if the animatronic dinos look a little dated, most of the human cast has aged beautifully. Goldblum may be more of a sex symbol now than ever before. Sam Neill is one of the few celebrities whose quarantine web videos were endearing rather than embarrassing. The Laura Dernaissance has been in full swing for a few years now. And Samuel L. Jackson, memorably chain-smoking his way through what might have been a throwaway minor part, has gone on to become the box-office champion of the world . So there’s a fun time-travel element in seeing their younger selves running from angry lizards.

The story doesn’t feel dated, though, because the basic problem that it explores is evergreen. One reader, Conrad Bayley , traced its theme of scientific hubris back to “Frankenstein” and, of course, in this case Promethean ambition is combined with greed to especially lethal effect. But the ambition is also excused. Hammond isn’t the villain — Wayne Knight’s venal tech guy and Martin Ferrero’s cynical lawyer are the designated baddies — because of his sincere idealism. He isn’t a scientist, but rather a former flea-circus impresario who has moved on to bigger creatures. He genuinely wants to awaken the public’s sense of wonder with an unforgettable, scientifically important and ethically impeccable entertainment experience. That’s also what Spielberg wants.

DARGIS And that’s a drag. In “Jaws,” Spielberg set out to tell a great story as well as he could: it’s a lean, mean, pure entertainment machine. To that end, it isn’t sentimental, including about children. By the time he made “Jurassic Park,” though, his sentimentalism about children (and “wonder”), which are crucial to “E.T.,” had become almost ritualistically sanctimonious (though he remained a Grade A sadist). And it’s no longer enough for him to make an “unforgettable” movie. He has — borrowing more of your words — to make one that’s “important” and “ethically impeccable” (as if) when he’s really making a souped-up Roger Corman flick. The contradictions are more amusing to think about than to watch.

Looking at“Jurassic Park” again, I kept wondering how it might have played if Hammond had been eviscerated by a raptor. That would have been quite entertaining, and it would have righted some of the movie’s wrongs. Because contrary to what it tries to insist, Hammond is the villain and not only because he’s among cinema’s worst grandfathers. His idealism is only sincere in the sense that he believes his own manufactured hype, which is an amusingly familiar failing shared by a lot of Hollywood people. Seen this way, exonerating Hammond reads as an act of directorial self-justification. But then, as one reader, Justin Cottrell , pointed out: “This came out soon after Spielberg made ‘Hook’ and he needed a huge hit.”

SCOTT Spielberg’s hunger — for hits, for respectability, for a body of work that nobody can ignore — has been such a powerful force in Hollywood for the last half century. His megalomania goes hand in hand with generosity, and while “Jurassic Park” isn’t up there with masterworks like “Jaws” or “Saving Private Ryan” or ( yes I’m going there ) “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” it does have a lot to give. I don’t always love the phrase “popcorn movie,” but this one evokes so much of what we’ve been missing lately. Even if, onscreen, the snacks are us.

In my neck of the woods we still have a drive-in cinema or two with long lines of cars backed up to the off-ramp of the closest highway. They’re running Jurassic World this world as part of a double feature. The sheer fun of going back to a ritual from 40 years ago has made this viral summer a tad less claustrophobic for me — gregolio , Michigan

A.O. Scott is a critic at large and the co-chief film critic for The Times. He joined The Times in 2000 and has written for the Book Review and The New York Times Magazine. He is also the author of “Better Living Through Criticism.” More about A.O. Scott

Manohla Dargis has been the co-chief film critic since 2004. She started writing about movies professionally in 1987 while earning her M.A. in cinema studies at New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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'Jurassic Park' Review: Steven Spielberg's Summer Blockbuster Is So Much More Than Its Sequels

In Collider’s look back at beloved films, a first-time watcher reviews the ultimate summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park.'

When Steven Spielberg 's Jurassic Park came out in 1993, it was considered ahead of its time. 30 years later, it's not hard to see why this colossal summer blockbuster has become so entrenched in pop culture and cinematic history. As someone who took their dinosaur-loving kid to the movies and struggled not to sleep through all of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion , I figured perhaps dinosaurs were just not my thing. It turns out, I was wrong, and I should have listened to my gut: never judge a franchise based on its unnecessary sequels.

Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton , Jurassic Park follows three experts, paleontologists Alan Grant ( Sam Neill ) and Ellie Sattler ( Laura Dern ) and mathematician Ian Malcolm ( Jeff Goldblum ), who have been chosen to tour and sign off on a theme park in Central America populated with genetically re-created dinosaurs. Jurassic Park is another timeless cautionary tale of man interfering with nature, or in other words, another clueless man plays god and is shocked when it doesn't work out how he envisioned it. The result? Dinosaurs fuck shit up, and it couldn't be more fun to watch.

Jurassic Park's Visuals Stand the Test of Time

It has been 3 decades since its release, and it is still not hard to see why Jurassic Park was such a visually groundbreaking film. The film employs a masterful blend of CGI and practical effects in order to create its iconic dinos, but what is most impressive is that the film actually only utilizes a shockingly sparse 6 minutes of CGI work in its entirety. In fact, most of the film's most iconic shots, such as the injured Triceratops, rely entirely on practical effects. In total, Jurassic Park utilizes CGI for no more than 63 shots. Compare this to Jurassic World: Dominion – an utter snoozefest of a finale to the Jurassic World franchise – which used around 900, and Jurassic World , which used around 2,000. The Jurassic World franchise is a perfect example of an overabundance of wealth. There is a majesty in Spielberg's dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that hasn't been matched since in the sequels, and a large part of that is due to the delicate balance between practical and digital effects.

RELATED: How to Watch 'Jurassic Park' and 'Jurassic World' Movies in Order (Chronologically or by Release Date)

One of the best examples of this is the iconic T-Rex, which was created with a blend of both highly detailed animatronics and the occasional CGI. The Rex is still iconic in Jurassic Park 's many sequels, but there is something indescribably special about seeing the Rex stomp onto the screen for the first time after escaping its paddock. The scene is rife with the perfect amount of spine-tingling tension, and it's not hard to see how this particular scene sparked a defining moment in cinematic history. The quietness of the scene increases the nail-biting build-up to the T- Rex's debut and makes sure the visuals remain the star of the show, from the shot of the water rippling in the glass to the horror of realization on the characters' faces. It's absolute perfection even before the T-Rex graces the screen.

In fact, Jurassic Park is 127 minutes long, and yet, there are only about 15 minutes where dinosaurs are actually onscreen. This is one of most impressive feats of the original as opposed to the sequels (again – an abundance of wealth, or in this case, dinosaurs, is not always a good thing). Jurassic Park makes every single second of those 15 minutes count, so much so that I was convinced the internet had to be wrong about their screen time. Those 15 minutes feel much longer because Spielberg's dinosaurs are just that imposing and impactful.

The Dinosaurs Are the Stars, but the Cast Is a Perfect Complement

The dinosaurs may be the stars of the show, but the cast, particularly the three leads and scream queen Lex Murphy ( Ariana Richards ), perfectly complement the prehistoric giants. There isn't anything particularly special about the characters themselves, but that's okay. At the end of the day, you're watching Jurassic Park for the thrill of the dinosaurs. The characters themselves are fleshed out enough that they serve as a refreshing complement to the dinosaurs, each serving a different role in the narrative. Dr. Ian Malcolm is the voice of reason who advises against the "rape of the natural world." (Also, Goldblum has a major "cover of a romance novel" moment that is 100% necessary). Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler serve as reminders that there is an intimate beauty in these prehistoric creatures, one that comes across vividly in Laura Dern and Alan Grant's performances, particularly when they see the dinosaurs for the first time. And then, of course, there's Lex, who is your reminder that dinosaurs are scary as hell, and they will eat you, so you better start running for your life.

Let's Not Forget That Iconic Final Shot

In the film's climax, our team of experts are desperately trying to outrun some hungry raptors when they are rescued by none other than the T-Rex himself. The film's iconic theme song begins to soar as the Rex snatches the raptor up in its mouth as Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, and the kids watch in stunned disbelief before scrambling away. They dash outside where Hammond and Dr. Malcolm pull up just in time, and Alan says, "Mr. Hammond, after careful consideration, I've decided not to endorse your park!" Inside the lobby, the T-Rex lets out a ferocious roar as the lobby banner ("When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth!") flutters to the ground. It is, in every way, a perfect ending, from the cheesiness of Alan's line to Hammond to the epic symbolism and visual feast of T-Rex's final moment in the spotlight.

Jurassic Park is a masterpiece with visuals that stand the test of time, an impressive feat during a time where almost anything can be shown on screen with the right technology. With its sweeping score and intricate, unparalleled practical effects that brought dinosaurs to life, Jurassic Park is more than just a summer blockbuster – it's a cultural milestone in its own right.

Movie Reviews

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When young Steven Spielberg was first offered the screenplay for " Jaws ," he said he would direct the movie on one condition: That he didn't have to show the shark for the first hour. By slowly building the audience's apprehension, he felt, the shark would be much more impressive when it finally arrived.

He was right. I wish he had remembered that lesson when he was preparing "Jurassic Park," his new thriller set in a remote island theme park where real dinosaurs have been grown from long-dormant DNA molecules. The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values.

It's clear, seeing this long-awaited project, that Spielberg devoted most of his effort to creating the dinosaurs. The human characters are a ragtag bunch of half-realized, sketched-in personalities, who exist primarily to scream, utter dire warnings, and outwit the monsters.

Richard Attenborough , as the millionaire who builds the park, is given a few small dimensions - he loves his grandchildren, he's basically a good soul, he realizes the error of tampering with nature. But there was an opportunity here to make his character grand and original, colorful and oversize, and instead he comes across as unfocused and benign.

As the film opens, two dinosaur experts ( Sam Neill and Laura Dern ) arrive at the park, along with a mathematician played by Jeff Goldblum whose function in the story is to lounge about uttering vague philosophical imprecations. Also along are Attenborough's grandchildren, and a lawyer, who is the first to be eaten by a dinosaur.

Attenborough wants the visitors to have a preview of his new park, where actual living prehistoric animals live in enclosures behind tall steel fences, helpfully labeled "10,000 volts." The visitors set off on a tour in remote-controlled utility vehicles, which stall when an unscrupulous employee ( Wayne Knight ) shuts down the park's computer program so he can smuggle out some dinosaur embryos. Meanwhile, a tropical storm hits the island, the beasts knock over the fences, and Neill is left to shepherd the kids back to safety while they're hunted by towering meat-eaters.

The plot to steal the embryos is handled on the level of a TV sitcom. The Knight character, an overwritten and overplayed blubbering fool, drives his Jeep madly through the storm and thrashes about in the forest. If this subplot had been handled cleverly - with skill and subtlety, as in a caper movie - it might have added to the film's effect. Instead, it's as if one of the Three Stooges wandered into the story.

The subsequent events - after the creatures get loose - follow an absolutely standard outline, similar in bits and pieces to all the earlier films in this genre, from "The Lost World" and "King Kong" right up to the upcoming "Carnosaur." True, because the director is Spielberg, there is a high technical level to the execution of the cliches. Two set-pieces are especially effective: A scene where a beast mauls a car with screaming kids inside, and another where the kids play hide and seek with two creatures in the park's kitchen.

But consider what could have been. There is a scene very early in the film where Neill and Dern, who have studied dinosaurs all of their lives, see living ones for the first time. The creatures they see are tall, majestic leaf-eaters, grazing placidly in the treetops. There is a sense of grandeur to them. And that is the sense lacking in the rest of the film, which quickly turns into a standard monster movie, with screaming victims fleeing from roaring dinosaurs.

Think back to another ambitious special effects picture from Spielberg, " Close Encounters of the Third Kind " (1977). That was a movie about the "idea" of visitors from outer space. It inspired us to think what an awesome thing it would be, if earth were visited by living alien beings. You left that movie shaken and a little transformed. It was a movie that had faith in the intelligence and curiosity of its audience.

In the 16 years since it was made, however, big-budget Hollywood seems to have lost its confidence that audiences can share big dreams. "Jurassic Park" throws a lot of dinosaurs at us, and because they look terrific (and indeed they do), we're supposed to be grateful. I have the uneasy feeling that if Spielberg had made "Close Encounters" today, we would have seen the aliens in the first 10 minutes, and by the halfway mark they'd be attacking Manhattan with death rays.

Because the movie delivers on the bottom line, I'm giving it three stars. You want great dinosaurs, you got great dinosaurs.

Spielberg enlivens the action with lots of nice little touches; I especially liked a sequence where a smaller creature leaps suicidally on a larger one, and they battle to the death. On the monster movie level, the movie works and is entertaining. But with its profligate resources, it could have been so much more.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Jurassic Park (1993)

Rated PG-13 For Intense Science Fiction Terror

123 minutes

Laura Dern as Ellie

Jeff Goldblum as Malcolm

Sam Neill as Grant

Richard Attenborough as Hammond

Based On The Novel by

• Michael Crichton

Directed by

• Steven Spielberg

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Jurassic park, common sense media reviewers.

Terrifyingly realistic dinos run amok in sci-fi landmark.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Through teamwork, determination, and intelligence

The two children, Lex and Tim, are smart and brave

Female characters Dr. Ellie and Lex are portrayed

People and animals are eaten and attacked by reali

Women in bikinis are seen on a computer screen. Fl

Infrequent swearing includes "s--t" (one related t

A few brands are seen -- Barbasol, Ford, Apple, Ni

A character smokes cigarettes regularly. Adults dr

Parents need to know that Jurassic Park is a landmark sci-fi adventure film by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel by Michael Crichton, that spawned a franchise including several sequels and videogames. Kids will see people and animals being hunted and eaten by realistic-looking dinosaurs. While there's…

Positive Messages

Through teamwork, determination, and intelligence you can survive the most dangerous situations. It's important to learn and change.

Positive Role Models

The two children, Lex and Tim, are smart and brave; the adults protect them and one another at every turn. Flawed characters seem to learn from their mistakes.

Diverse Representations

Female characters Dr. Ellie and Lex are portrayed as smart, strong, and practical problem solvers. B.D. Wong and Samuel L. Jackson play supporting characters with few scenes, though Jackson gets to deliver one of the most iconic lines in the film ("Hold on to your butts"). The lead characters are all White. Not much body diversity; Wayne Knight's character, who is larger than the others, is used as comic relief.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

People and animals are eaten and attacked by realistic dinos. Multiple deaths. Not too much blood and gore, but the scare factor is high, and one gruesome scene involves a severed arm. Jump-scares. Scenes of the kids being hunted by dinosaurs are particularly intense. Chases, crashes, constant peril.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Women in bikinis are seen on a computer screen. Flirtation between adults.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent swearing includes "s--t" (one related to dinosaur feces), "hell," "crap," "damn," "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "stupid," "butts," and "oh my God." Some potty humor.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A few brands are seen -- Barbasol, Ford, Apple, Nike, Reese's. The Jurassic Park franchise includes video games, toys, and lots of other merchandise.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A character smokes cigarettes regularly. Adults drink in a few scenes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Jurassic Park is a landmark sci-fi adventure film by Steven Spielberg , based on the novel by Michael Crichton , that spawned a franchise including several sequels and videogames. Kids will see people and animals being hunted and eaten by realistic-looking dinosaurs. While there's little blood and gore (although one scene gruesomely involves a severed arm), there's tons of suspense, many "jump-scare" scenes, and some chases/crashes. Expect a bit of swearing (including a few instances of "s--t"). Adults smoke and drink. The film shows how teamwork, determination, and intelligence can help you survive the most dangerous situations. Female characters are shown as strong and capable problem-solvers, but all of the lead characters are White and the only one who isn't thin is used as comic relief. Younger tweens may be able to handle the fright factor with an adult at hand, but sensitive children should wait a bit longer. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (88)
• Kids say (425)

Based on 88 parent reviews

A classic film...

What's the story.

Brought to a secluded island, three scientists discover a wondrous jungle paradise called JURASSIC PARK where dinosaurs again walk the Earth. Dr. Ian Malcolm ( Jeff Goldblum ) warns the creator of the preserve that nature won't be corralled into a theme park, and things go terribly wrong when a tropical storm strikes and a corrupt computer programmer shuts down crucial security systems. During a night of terror, Dr. Grant ( Sam Neil ), Dr. Ellie ( Laura Dern ), and two children ( Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards) are pursued by an escaped Tyrannosaurus Rex and several other dinos (including vicious velociraptors). After many devourings and frightening chases, a showdown ensues.

Is It Any Good?

This film boasts Academy Award-winning special effects, lots of frightful moments, and some good laughs. In Jurassic Park , director Steven Spielberg and his effects team deliver stunningly realistic dinosaurs. The movie also has a superb soundscape; hear it with a top-notch sound system to get all the thrills. Of course, actually seeing the monster isn't always the best thing. In Jaws , Spielberg's early masterpiece, viewers didn't get to see the shark until well into the movie -- and the suspense was excruciating. That kind of storytelling elegance is missing here. And for all of its technical achievements, Spielberg occasionally sacrifices three-dimensional characters and real human drama for the thrill of the effects.

Jurassic Park 's terrifying realism is something to take seriously. Sensitive younger kids may want to avoid this one, and parents may want to watch ahead of time and gauge their children's likely response. It's worth noting that, amid all the thrills, the movie has some very funny moments, including a scene where a T. Rex runs toward a vehicle and you can read: "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" in a side mirror. It's just one of many iconic moments that ensured this film's place in cinema history.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how movies like Jurassic Park blur the line between science and science fiction, sometimes giving out misinformation in the process. Since it's not really possible to clone dinosaurs, why use cloning as a plot device?

Does the use of headline-grabbing scientific concerns make a story more believable -- and thus more thrilling? How can you find out which parts of a story are really based on science and which are made up? How can children learn about media literacy?

What makes Jurassic Park scary? What's the difference between horror and suspense? Which has more impact on you, and why?

How do the characters in Jurassic Park demonstrate perseverance and teamwork ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 11, 1993
• On DVD or streaming : April 23, 2013
• Cast : Jeff Goldblum , Laura Dern , Sam Neill
• Director : Steven Spielberg
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Topics : STEM , Dinosaurs
• Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 127 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense science fiction terror
• Last updated : March 15, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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'Gripping' Sunday Express ' Action-packed' New York Daily News 'Another monster hit by a giant of a writer' The Daily Express 'First-rate entertainment' The Spectator _____________________ The bestselling sequel to Jurassic Park. Something has survived. Six years have passed since the secret disaster at Jurassic Park. In the years since the extraordinary dream of science and imagination came to a crashing end, the island has been indefinitely closed to the public, its park dismantled, the dinosaurs themselves destroyed. Or so it was thought. . . . But something has survived. And when a team led by maverick scientist Ian Malcolm enters the mysterious 'Site B' to investigate, they are determined that this, at last, will be the end of the dinosaurs. _____________________ Praise for The Lost World: ' Harrowing thrills. . . fast-paced and engaging.' People 'Fast and gripping.' The Washington Post 'A very scary read.' Entertainment Weekly 'An edge-of-the-seat tale.' St. Petersburg Times

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MICHAEL CRICHTON the author of the groundbreaking novels Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Disclosure, Prey, State of Fear, Sphere, Congo, Next and Micro among many others. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide, have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and have provided the basis for fifteen feature films, most notably Jurassic Park. He directed Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery and Looker, and also created the hit television series ER. Crichton remains the only writer to have a number one book, movie, and TV show in the same year.

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