#JurassicParkTurns30—a delightful and ambitious film that continues to be a visual spectacle

We weren’t there at the time dinosaurs didn’t just roam, but ruled the planet. But thanks to the legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, we got to witness them—the good, as well as the bad over six spectacular films, what the world fondly knows and loves as the Jurassic Park franchise. With the first film, Jurassic Park turning 30 today, we tell you about the big stars, big carnivores, big action scenes, and big adventures over the years. 

Jurassic Park (1993)

 

The very first movie in the franchise was and will always be a masterpiece. It’s one that will continue to leave the viewer in awe—whether they watch it for the first time or enjoy it over and over again. When you see the direction, writing, casting, visual effects and background score to only realise all of this was 30 years old, you marvel at the fact that the movie hasn’t lost its charm one bit. This blockbuster revolves around paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) who along with mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs, created from prehistoric DNA. While the park's mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when these ferocious creatures escape. 

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Taking into account the spectacular success of the first film, the fact that Spielberg was able to make a sequel that featured a stellar ensemble cast, some great action sequences, and a gripping story is a worthy feat, to say the least. Hammond summons Malcolm to his home with some startling information—the Jurassic Park may have turned to dust but his engineers do have a second site, where other dinosaurs were kept in hiding. Malcolm is given the task of observing the reptiles and that’s certainly not a feat for the faint-hearted. There were a bunch of scenes that stood out in this film—the one where two T-Rex parents attack a trailer where their hurt child is being held and when a T-Rex goes on a rampage in San Francisco. No prizes for guessing that there’s a lot to love about this movie. 

Jurassic Park III (2001)

This film was the first to not be directed by Spielberg and did not hit the heights one would have expected. With Sam Neill absent from the sequel, the actor made a return as Dr. Alan Grant to engage with the deadly dinosaurs one more time. He’s tricked into accompanying a pair of divorced parents to Isla Sorna so that he can help them look for their missing son. While the other characters weren’t as convincing as Grant, it was perhaps a raptor who speaks to Grant, that remains one of the most iconic scenes in the Jurassic Park franchise. 

Jurassic World (2015)

Here was a movie that felt less like a movie and more like a kid getting all excited at a theme park. With highly-advanced special effects, and well executed action scenes, all that one had to do was buckle up and hop onto this thrilling ride. But despite a fully operational dinosaur-based theme park, it didn’t have the script to do the talking despite having the likes of Chris Pratt (Owen Grady) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing) as leads. What’s more, it also introduced fans to the enormous water creature called the Mosasaurus, which would be used to great effect both here and in Fallen Kingdom. 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

With Jurassic World being a smash hit, it was only natural for this new and revamped version of the Jurassic Park franchise to get a revamp. Very much like what happened in 1993 and 1997 (with Jurassic Park and The Lost World). While it had a ton of action that would have you at the edge of your seat, it came as no surprise to see the plot very similar to The Lost World—making one feel that they’ve seen this earlier! However, thanks to better effects, things do seem larger than life and that’s what makes the film work really well. Plus, it was the perfect pre-cursor for fans before the park became the world in Jurassic World: Dominion. 

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Was this film a fitting conclusion to the Jurassic World Trilogy? Not exactly. But it did have some stunning visuals—that ensured the dinosaurs looks dangerous and authentic in the real world, as well as brought the old trio (Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill) of the Jurassic Park back to show us their much-missed chemistry and charisma to make up for it. Speaking about the characters, if there’s one whose character arc over the three Jurassic World films has been nothing but remarkable, it is Claire Dearing as Bryce Dallas Howard. From starting off as the all-business operations manager with no understanding of the creatures in her park, she comes a long way to understand her errors and goes about changing and inspiring others to do the same. 

This final dinosaur-filled adventure wasn’t a bad movie at the end of the day, it just failed to live up to the hype ahead of its release. Even more so when one considers the fact that it was a celebration and a grand conclusion to a franchise spanning over three decades.