Jurassic Park, Worth the Re-Watch?

I can remember the first time I watched ‘Jurassic Park.’ I was about thirteen, and I had finally got my hands on an old V.H.S. copy: I can even remember the old, dusty player we had at the time. I loved the movie then. So, I wanted to see if it was still worth watching, or did it deserve a trip to the local dump? 

The science fiction story, based on the best selling book by Michael Crichton, focuses on a paleontologist, someone who studies dinosaurs,  who is required to inspect a park by a rather intrusive funder. While  on a tour for the doctor, his peer who studies paleobiology, and the funder’s grandchildren is going on: a corrupted programer shuts down the fences keeping the predatory dinosaur in. Most of the rest of the movie is about this cast of characters running away from the predatory dinosaurs. It makes for a suspenseful watch, even the second time. 

The special effects were, actually, still well done. There are certain moments when the dinosaurs are clearly computer generated, but for the most part they look convincing. My guess is because a lot of the scenes were done in the dark, or they were large suites of metal and rubber, which are convincing all on their own. As far as the dinosaurs went, it didn’t feel outdated at all to me. The only real part that you could tell that this movie was made in 1993 was the big boxed white computers. 

The theme of the film is the philosophy of naturalism. It means that there is nothing outside of nature, and that nature is, as the film itself puts it “the most powerful force in the universe.” This not only gets put into the dialogue itself with lines like “Nature finds a way.” It also makes its way into the plot. The dinosaurs that represent nature, in this context, break down all the tools that man has built up over the centuries. These tools can easily represent social constructs. Social constructs are rules or conventions that societies creates in order to be able to live as a group. This may seem a little far fetched, but this is one among many implications for the claim that nature is all. 

The story to this movie was good. It was worth the second watch. The special effects still hold up, even after 19 years. The theme is well conveyed, and clear. All in all an amazing movie, and definitely worth the re-watch.