Review - Jurassic Park 3D

Jurassic Park (1993), PG-13, 127 minutes - I am having a really hard time believing that it has been twenty years since Jurassic Park first hit theaters.  I remember reading the book.  I remember hearing the news that it was going to be made into a movie.  I remember freaking out because I was the kid with books upon books about dinosaurs.  I also remember having to wait to see it until after it got my parents' approval.  Much to my relief, they decided that it wasn't too scary or violent for their squirt of a fourteen year old son.  What I can't remember is whether or not I actually experienced Jurassic Park on the big screen the first time I saw it.  I'm pretty sure that I saw it as part of a double feature at a drive in after the fact, but I want to say that my first viewing was at home thanks to the good old VCR.

Now I'm not real big on 3D films.  In general, they tend to be dark and messing with the glasses is kind of a pain.  I'm even less of a fan of post conversion 3D films.  They were not intended to be made in 3D and are generally not very well done.  Can you say studio money grabs?  So when I first heard that they were re-releasing Jurassic Park in 3D, my initial reaction was 'is that really necessary?'  Well, it may not have been necessary, but it was every penny.  Sure there's a certain nostalgia factor that this film has for someone my age, but the fact of the matter is that twenty years later, Jurassic Park is still an excellent movie.  On top of that, the 3D conversion was really well done.  It didn't look dark like lots of 3D films tend to and the depth was amazing.  The greatest thing about this post conversion is that Jurassic Park has quite a few scenes that seem ready made for 3D.  Steven Spielberg did some great things with different shots and the depth was already there.  He was twenty years ahead of his time.

It has been a couple of years since I have watched Jurassic Park in its entirety.  When I do see it, it always seems to be in parts as I run across it while flipping channels.  It's a two hour movie that movies along pretty well.  The acting is excellent across the board (Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight) and there are more comedic moments than I remembered.  Some films' effects look dated after this much time (even after remastering) but that's not the case with Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs still all look amazing.  There is just one scene that looked a little bit odd and that was the raptor jumping on the counter in the kitchen scene towards the end.  And that still looked really good to have been done twenty years ago.

Some films are just better in theaters because of their size and scope and Jurassic Park is certainly one of them.  The fact that the 3D is well done is just an added bonus that makes this a very enjoyable watch.  If you have fond memories of this film like I did, then be sure to try and catch this re-release.  Heck, for some, it may even be the perfect opportunity to expose the next generation to the awe and wonder that we experienced when it was first released.  I still can't believe it has been twenty years...

Comments

  1. When we saw they were making this 3D, I told Chris that if ever there was a movie made for it, it was "Jurassic Park." It really is as if Spielberg was planning it that way.

    That being said, we'll probably skip seeing it that way. Both Tucker and I have minimal binocular eye problems; we can both see 3D, but anything more than a 15 minute theme-park show will give us a smashing headache and motion sickness.

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    Replies
    1. It's cool, but definitely not worth getting sick over!

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