Jurassic Park

Even after 20 years," Jurassic Park" still fills you with awe and terror thanks to its cutting-edge special effects. The plot? Eccentric billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) achieves the seemingly impossible and brought dinosaurs back to life using cloning technology. Creating an amusement park to hold them in, he needs to call in a group of experts to approve it before he can open "Jurassic Park" to the public. Technical problems soon plunge them all into a world of terror.

The movie starts off just right, wetting your appetite without showing any dinosaurs but showing that there is danger ahead. It then proceeds to introduce the human characters, which are all distinct and entertaining in their own way. Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are each efficiently developed with the limited screen time that they're given. Everyone gets that one defining moment, that one scene that will really stick with you and make you remember him or her through the way they react to the park and John Hammond's grandchildren, Tim (Joseph Mazzello) and lex (Ariana Richards) The humans don’t get as much screen time as they should, but you get a good feel for who they are and care about them. Let’s face it, you want to see the dinosaurs as soon as possible so it’s ok. Most of the characters' stand-out moments are during scenes where they interact not with each other, but with some of the many dinosaurs. These moments become icons thanks to the dialogue and the action (think of Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon and his moments with the Velociraptors), as well as Spielberg's expert direction. You'll never look at a glass of water the same way again. Helping ground what could've been a preposterous film is the attention to detail, not only in the sets but in the characters. Check out Tim and Lex's choices when they run into the cafeteria: Lex the more mature one, goes straight for the vegetables while young Tim fills his plate with sugary desserts.

The movie convincingly creates a place where dinosaurs have been brought back to life. The murals, the sculpted pillars in the buildings and the ready-made products just waiting to be sold to tourists. Even the coverings for the light fixtures, (which have little holes shaped like the letters of genetic coding) make Jurassic Park feel real, which brings us to the dinosaurs themselves, and the effects used to create them: a perfect mix of practical animatronics and computer graphics. The dinosaur designs are realistic and the liberties taken serve the film well. Modern research has changed our theories on what dinosaurs look like but the creatures in this film are accurate to the scientific discoveries of the time, which I think helps sell Malcolm's point that this whole place was a bad idea. These are genetic aberrations, not mankind saving creatures from an unintentional extinction. You'd never guess how old the film is by looking at it.

The newly released 3D conversion contains several scenes that lend themselves very well to the “jumping towards the screen” effects that make 3D worth the money and subtle depth effects throughout help further immerse you in the spectacle. On a big theatrical screen, it’s even better. You haven’t seen “Jurassic Park” until you’ve seen the Tyrannosaurus on this scale. You’ll also get to experience the growls, thundering footsteps, and roars at a volume you can’t get at home. It's like discovering the picture all over again. All of the little details you might've missed, down to the brilliance of John Williams' score, pop out, quite literally.

It's not that the film is without its problems; some of the character development is lacking and there are a few scenes that feel like they are inserted because cinematically they work, even if logically they do not. Ultimately, however, those flaws are irrelevant. It isn't as serious or as dark (and in some way it's not as thrilling) as Michael Crighton's novel, but delivers a spectacle that just can't be done. For this reason, the film is superior to the book."Jurassic Park" is a must-see. (3D theatrical version on the big screen, April 16, 2013)