DVD Review: Jurassic Park
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that kids will see lots of folks -- and a few innocent animals -- being eaten by realistic dinosaurs, but there's little actual blood and gore. In the less intense environment of home, kids as young as 9 may be able to handle the fright factor with an adult at hand, but sensitive kids should skip this one. Kids will hear a few mild profanities.
- Families can talk about how movies blur the line between science and science fiction, sometimes dispensing misinformation in the process. Since it's not really possible to clone dinosaurs, why use cloning as a plot device?
- Does using headline-grabbing scientific concerns make the story more plausible and thus more thrilling?
- Can you think of other movies that stretch current science to create a plot, for example the possibility of asteroids hitting the earth or a sudden shift in the earth's climate?
- How can you find out which parts of a story are really based in science and which are made up?
Brought to a secluded island, three scientists discover a wondrous jungle paradise where dinosaurs again walk the earth. Dr. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) warns the creator of the preserve that nature will not be corralled into a theme park. Things go terribly wrong when a tropical storm strikes and a corrupt computer programmer shuts down crucial security systems. In a night of terror, Dr. Grant (Sam Neil), Ellie (Laura Dern), and two children are pursued by an escaped Tyrannosaurus Rex and several other violent dinos. After many devourings and frightening chases, a showdown ensues in the island's main building.
JURASSIC PARK boasts Academy Award-winning special effects, lots of frightful moments, and some good laughs. Director Steven Spielberg and his effects team deliver some stunningly realistic dinosaurs. Gone are the days of stop-motion lizards and jerking beasts of vastly varying sizes, replaced by animitronics and digital effects. 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 is not always the best thing. In Jaws, Spielberg's early masterpiece, the audience 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. But for all its technical achievements, a lack of character development weakens this thriller. Spielberg occasionally sacrifices three-dimensional characters and real human drama to the thrill of the effects.
The movie's terrifying realism earned it a PG-13 rating. Seen in the theater, children and adults alike turned away from the screen, particulary during the young-children-in-peril sections. Viewed at home, the effect is somewhat less fearful. Still, sensitive pre-teens may want to avoid this one, and parents may want to watch and gauge the response of their children. With all the thrills, the movie has some very funny touches. The animated film detailing the genetic engineering of the dinosaurs resembles a grammar school educational movie from the '70s. Even funnier: "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" glimpsed in a side mirror as a huge T. Rex chases a fleeing jeep.
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