Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993 TAG: 9306120021
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is, unquestionably, the most spectacular dinosaur film anyone has ever made. With its PG-13 rating, it's really too intense for younger viewers. This one could generate nightmares that might last for years. Parents unsure about the movie's suitability for their kids should check it out first. Then if it's not too strong for the rest of the family, they can see it again. They won't be the only ones buying multiple tickets.
"Jurassic Park" is the kind of adventure that fans will want to see more than once.
It's a textbook example of that elusive Hollywood "chemistry" mixed to perfection. Well . . . near perfection.
Director Steven Spielberg returns to the escapism that he handled so well in "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Close Encounters" to tell an ambitious science-fiction tale. At the same time, he pokes some fun at himself and the saturation merchandizing that surrounds "event" movies.
The premise itself is a wry comment on our times. If a procedure were developed to re-create dinosaurs from remnants of their DNA, someone would use it to build a theme park, and everybody knows that theme parks have problems.
That's the situation facing billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). On the eve of the opening of his Jurassic Park on an island near Costa Rica, the insurance people are getting nervous. Is it really as safe as Hammond claims? To convince them, he brings in three scientists to tour the place and back him up.
Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) are real dinosaur pros who have to be flown in from a dig in Montana. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is a hot shot celebrity mathematician. Joining them to see how the park works on its target audience are Hammond's grandchildren Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello).
The group has hardly finished lunch before things begin to go wrong, but the less said about the plot, the better. The script by novelist Michael Crichton and David Koepp ("Apartment Zero") provides plenty of surprises, and it moves with the breakneck pace that made the original "Raiders" so much fun. Spielberg builds suspense through a series of out-of-the-frying- pan-into-the-fire episodes. Some are traditional; others are inventive. They're all tightly choreographed to keep viewers' adrenalin pumping.
It's difficult to imagine more effective casting. Placing actor/director Attenborough at the center of the story was inspired. Remember that back in 1982, his "Gandhi" won the Best Picture Oscar over Spielberg's "E.T." When Hammond goes into a soliloquy about illusion, reality and the real worth of "entertainment," it's easy to imagine the character is speaking for both Attenborough and Spielberg.
But most of the physical action is handled by the other actors, and there's not a single false step. Goldblum is his usual fast-talking, engaging self, so the audience's real empathy is with Neill and Dern. Their reactions of astonishment, amazement, fear and surprise mirror the viewers'. Laura Dern is particularly good, giving the role much more depth than heroines in this genre often have. Their younger co-stars manage to be obnoxious, smart-alecky, brave and lovable in the right measures, too.
Of course, the humans share the screen with critters, and these are truly astonishing. They were created by three teams of special effects people using live action, stop motion animation and computer-generated digital images. The main saurian players are a huge Tyrannosaurus rex and a trio of smaller but just as frightening Velociraptors.
These creatures are so realistic with such strong individual personalities, that it's easy to succumb to the filmmakers' magic. You believe that you're seeing living animals; living, hungry, meat-eating animals.
On the minus side, Spielberg's tendency toward over-sweetness bubbles close to the surface a time or two, and it becomes obvious that some key plot elements are going to be used in the sequel. Moviegoers don't mind being manipulated, but some of the manipulation is too blatant.
But, so what? Those are meaningless quibbles. "Jurassic Park" is American commercial moviemaking at its best. Polished and just a little cynical but still involving on a visceral, pulse-quickening level.
Again, WOW!
`Jurassic Park': Wow!
Jurassic Park: ***1/2
An MCA/Universal release playing at the Tanglewood Mall Cinema and Salem Valley 8. 120 min. Rated PG-13 for graphic special effects, violence and several intense scenes.
by CNB