Who didn’t sit awestruck, mouth agape, popcorn consumption temporarily suspended, as Spielberg’s magic camera revealed Jurassic Park’s majestic giant dinos for the first time? This flick was chock full of talent, fronted by the magnetic twosome who provided the true glue that held the story together: Sam Neil and the luminous Laura Dern. Sure, the kids were annoying; good call by the S-Man in keeping their screen time to a minimum. But who could forget the pivotal turns by heavyweight thespian Samuel L. Jackson and that Newman guy from Seinfeld? These fellas helped to elevate a blockbuster to an actual film of substance with their nuanced performances. Then there were the props backing them up… lethally intelligent velociraptors. A menacing T. Rex in the rain. An utterly convincing baby dinosaur hatching from an egg. That thing that spit venom in Newman’s face. I could go on. In other words, this movie had it all. Excepting the throwaway kids and that insufferable Jeff Goldblum (who, if not for tidy editing, could have easily driving JP off the rails completely. Don’t get me started. Twitchy, quirky and eminently cutting-room-floor worthy, his character mercifully got the business end of a T. Rex’s tooth—a fitting criticism of his performance that, had it not been scripted in the book already, could have read as a jab from the director. But the film excelled despite the Fly guy. Boy, did it.
Now we hear tell that a new Jurassic Park is on its way to the cinema. And if Spielberg plays his cards right, we’re in for an entire goat of a treat in one big bite. Think about it: The original Park has been shuttered, the creations destroyed (mostly). In the name of science, Alan and Ellie revisit the scene, discover stragglers and—yikes—youngsters that have begun to repopulated the island. John Hammond is long dead, the place is mercifully kid free, and Ian Malcolm is nowhere to be found. What’s gonna happen? The best we can hope for is a more measured pace, with less of a focus on the whiz-bang creatures and more character interaction, you know, to make the scenario more believable. Stan Winston, puppet Svengali though he may be, can’t carry a whole movie. And really, who even pays attention to the sick Triceratops when Dern is clearly carrying the poop scene on her back in the first JP? Just turning these two actors loose on the island once more is worth a sequel. And I’m sure that Spielberg, having satisfied his monster-movie sweet tooth decades ago, won’t fall for the old King Kong trope and bring the dinos to the mainland for by-the-numbers havoc. He’s far too savvy to go there. A more cerebral Jurassic Park? Laura Dern lighting up the screen once again? This is gonna be Cretaciously awesome.
tigbawesome 