Hold onto your butts.
I'm simply going to assume that you've seen Jurassic Park the original 1993 release on DVD or Blu-ray or whatever. The 3D version is now in theaters to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this iconic summer popcorn flick (has it really been 20 years?!), and while it will undoubtedly be new to a fresh generation of moviegoers, I'm writing for the crew that has cheerfully enjoyed this film for years. Personally I remember going to see it in the theater back in '93 when I was just a young thing and absolutely loving it even as I was shrieking and jumping.
Look, why am I even bothering to write a full review? As an experience of nostalgia mingled with great moviemaking, Jurassic Park 3D is fantastic. Seeing the flick again on the big screen is a joy, the soundtrack is great, and the dinosaurs look as awesome as ever. Those groundbreaking 1993 special effects were breathtaking 20 years ago, and they're still breathtaking now. The new 3D is actually subtle and mostly effectively done. Besides, you haven't been to the movies until you've seen that T-Rex charging right at you. Must go faster!
I'll tell you something else too: it was movie magic. For two hours I was lost in the movie adaptation of the late Michael Crichton's sci fi thriller novel, and it was just pure unadulterated rip-roaring FUN. Look, a movie doesn't have to be Oscar bait or "serious" in order to possess that unmistakable spark of magic, because real magic is fantastical pleasure, transporting you to another world of imagination. You walk out of that cinema giddy with delight. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars, for two more examples, had that magic in spades. There's a reason why movies like these have such enduring popular appeal and why they become pop culture icons that we watch over and over and over.
Besides, Sam Neill is still delightful, the velociraptors ("Clever girl!") still terrifying; I still laughed when Gennaro met his comeuppance, and Jeff Goldblum's hilariously puckish Dr. Ian Malcolm is still my favorite character. Sure, the film has its flaws, but it is one of the best summer blockbusters ever made in the 1990s (along with 1996's Independence Day and 1995's Apollo 13), and when I saw it again on the big screen I remember thinking (a) This is AWESOME! and (b) This is so much better than 90% of the garbage that Hollywood is currently churning out!
PS: Yes, it's also a great little fable about the dangers of messing with Nature and playing God in the lab, but it didn't preach tediously and piously and annoyingly about that. Instead it made its point by giving you a glorious flick and scaring you silly with dinosaurs, and you loved it.
Mad Minerva gives Jurassic Park 3D a grade of A.
Rotten Tomatoes gives this a Fresh rating of 91%.
The official website is here.
Jurassic Park 3D runs 127 minutes and is rated PG-13 for OHMYGODDINOSAURS!
OK, I can't help it. Here's something fun (it also assumes that you've seen the movie):
3 comments:
Or they could use some actual creativity and write a new story.
The sequels were horrible and proved that we would stick with the original. Jurassic Park 3D is about nostalgia, not trying much new. As for writing new stories, I've said before that Hollywood hasn't been too great about that in general.
"Personally I remember going to see it in the theater back in '93 when I was just a young thing and absolutely loving it"
Presumably accompanied by an adult, MM would never sneak into a PG-13 movie...
- wodun
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