Jurassic Park

What’s striking about this movie is how much it looks like an 80s movie.

Oh, hi — I bought a Jurassic Park 4K box set, because I think I’ve only seen the first one (or possibly two of them). I don’t really want to re-watch this movie, but I thought I should if I’m gonna watch the rest of them…

I guess this is the final… “Spielberg movie” Spielberg initiated. I mean, he did the second movie, too, but…

I mean, Jaws, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, ET… and now Jurassic Park. But he was transitioning to a “serious director” (the awful Schindler’s List was released the same year), and I think this is like his final 80s movie? Just a bit late.

That is, I think there was a very distinct 80s sci-fi/action movie thing (Gremlins, etc) going on with Spielberg and his compatriots — it’s what we think of when we think of “80s movies” (except for the John Hughes stuff, of course). And this is where it ended. Sassy kids and all.

I just love that somebody in the props dept spent so much time paper towels around this set.

Finally.

Wow. When they switch to the CGI shots in this 4K version, it’s a bit fuzzy, but it holds up. This 30 year old CGI is better than most of what they do today.

(Or is it all practical? I guess it could be practical? A lot of rubber.)

Ah, this is where all the memes come from.

Whee!

Sassy.

What’s fascinating about this movie is that it’s barely a movie at all: We get the premise presented in the first half hour, and then we get 90 minutes of people being being terrorised by dinosaurs. In one extended scene after another.

And the weird thing is that is works. We’ve barely been introduced to the characters, which is something you’d think matters if we’re gonna be invested in them being terrorised, but nope.