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When young Steven Spielberg was first offered the screenplay for " Jaws ," he said he would direct the movie on one condition: That he didn't have to show the shark for the first hour. By slowly building the audience's apprehension, he felt, the shark would be much more impressive when it finally arrived.

He was right. I wish he had remembered that lesson when he was preparing "Jurassic Park," his new thriller set in a remote island theme park where real dinosaurs have been grown from long-dormant DNA molecules. The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values.

It's clear, seeing this long-awaited project, that Spielberg devoted most of his effort to creating the dinosaurs. The human characters are a ragtag bunch of half-realized, sketched-in personalities, who exist primarily to scream, utter dire warnings, and outwit the monsters.

Richard Attenborough , as the millionaire who builds the park, is given a few small dimensions - he loves his grandchildren, he's basically a good soul, he realizes the error of tampering with nature. But there was an opportunity here to make his character grand and original, colorful and oversize, and instead he comes across as unfocused and benign.

As the film opens, two dinosaur experts ( Sam Neill and Laura Dern ) arrive at the park, along with a mathematician played by Jeff Goldblum whose function in the story is to lounge about uttering vague philosophical imprecations. Also along are Attenborough's grandchildren, and a lawyer, who is the first to be eaten by a dinosaur.

Attenborough wants the visitors to have a preview of his new park, where actual living prehistoric animals live in enclosures behind tall steel fences, helpfully labeled "10,000 volts." The visitors set off on a tour in remote-controlled utility vehicles, which stall when an unscrupulous employee ( Wayne Knight ) shuts down the park's computer program so he can smuggle out some dinosaur embryos. Meanwhile, a tropical storm hits the island, the beasts knock over the fences, and Neill is left to shepherd the kids back to safety while they're hunted by towering meat-eaters.

The plot to steal the embryos is handled on the level of a TV sitcom. The Knight character, an overwritten and overplayed blubbering fool, drives his Jeep madly through the storm and thrashes about in the forest. If this subplot had been handled cleverly - with skill and subtlety, as in a caper movie - it might have added to the film's effect. Instead, it's as if one of the Three Stooges wandered into the story.

The subsequent events - after the creatures get loose - follow an absolutely standard outline, similar in bits and pieces to all the earlier films in this genre, from "The Lost World" and "King Kong" right up to the upcoming "Carnosaur." True, because the director is Spielberg, there is a high technical level to the execution of the cliches. Two set-pieces are especially effective: A scene where a beast mauls a car with screaming kids inside, and another where the kids play hide and seek with two creatures in the park's kitchen.

But consider what could have been. There is a scene very early in the film where Neill and Dern, who have studied dinosaurs all of their lives, see living ones for the first time. The creatures they see are tall, majestic leaf-eaters, grazing placidly in the treetops. There is a sense of grandeur to them. And that is the sense lacking in the rest of the film, which quickly turns into a standard monster movie, with screaming victims fleeing from roaring dinosaurs.

Think back to another ambitious special effects picture from Spielberg, " Close Encounters of the Third Kind " (1977). That was a movie about the "idea" of visitors from outer space. It inspired us to think what an awesome thing it would be, if earth were visited by living alien beings. You left that movie shaken and a little transformed. It was a movie that had faith in the intelligence and curiosity of its audience.

In the 16 years since it was made, however, big-budget Hollywood seems to have lost its confidence that audiences can share big dreams. "Jurassic Park" throws a lot of dinosaurs at us, and because they look terrific (and indeed they do), we're supposed to be grateful. I have the uneasy feeling that if Spielberg had made "Close Encounters" today, we would have seen the aliens in the first 10 minutes, and by the halfway mark they'd be attacking Manhattan with death rays.

Because the movie delivers on the bottom line, I'm giving it three stars. You want great dinosaurs, you got great dinosaurs.

Spielberg enlivens the action with lots of nice little touches; I especially liked a sequence where a smaller creature leaps suicidally on a larger one, and they battle to the death. On the monster movie level, the movie works and is entertaining. But with its profligate resources, it could have been so much more.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Jurassic Park (1993)

Rated PG-13 For Intense Science Fiction Terror

123 minutes

Sam Neill as Grant

Laura Dern as Ellie

Jeff Goldblum as Malcolm

Richard Attenborough as Hammond

Directed by

Steven Spielberg

Based On The Novel by

Michael Crichton

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All Jurassic Park and World Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Jurassic Park celebrates its 30th anniversary: Buy tickets for its 3D theatrical re-release this weekend !

Jurassic Park was a next-gen leap in the evolution of the Hollywood blockbuster, combining the high concept of man versus dinosaur with CGI, practical effects, and Steven Spielberg’s unmatched yet still growing directing prowess. Throw in some fleshed-out characters and a clever script dipped in the amber of moral and ethical quandary, and no wonder Jurassic Park became the highest-grossing film ever upon release in 1993.

Spielberg returned for sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park , and Sam Neill’s chracter Dr. Alan Grant came back for 2001’s Jurassic Park III . The franchise lay dormant until 2015’s Jurassic World , and its sequel Fallen Kingdom , which go all-in on theme park spectacle. World stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard join OG JP crew Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum for the finale, Dominion .

Now see all Jurassic Park and World movies ranked by Tomatometer! — Alex Vo

Jurassic Park (1993) 92%

Jurassic World (2015) 71%

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) 53%

Jurassic Park III (2001) 49%

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) 46%

Jurassic World Dominion (2022) 29%

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Jurassic Park Reviews

Jurassic Park gives everything you could ask of a blockbuster adventure movie, and much of what you might ask of a horror movie. The thrills are executed sharply, and strike the perfect tone when juxtaposed against moments of wonder and true movie magic.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 8, 2024

Jurassic Park remains timeless because the issues it chose to explore are universal, while Alan, Ian, Ellie and the other heroes remain relatable, despite their extraordinary circumstances.

Full Review | Feb 24, 2024

An amazing ride.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 31, 2023

Even with sequels of debatable merit weighing it down, Spielberg's original 1993 movie can't be stopped.

Full Review | Jun 23, 2023

A magical marvel of blockbuster cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 13, 2023

Watching the film in 2023 brings with it some unusual baggage. Questions about control, computer hacking, and what to do with the power you’ve discovered seem more relevant than ever.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Jun 11, 2023

Groundbreaking FX, an all star cast, some of the most iconic action/horror sequences ever filmed, and just the right amount of critique of traditional gender roles & capitalism. Jurassic Park truly is a four quadrant blockbuster

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 9, 2023

Jurassic Park is a legendary film full of a number of scary set pieces, but its most frightening sequence is one without dinosaurs.

Full Review | Jan 9, 2023

It has a thrill or two, and a chill or three, but it has no poetry, little sense of wonder, no resonant subtext, no art.

Full Review | Dec 7, 2022

“Jurassic Park” turned out to be an incredible visual achievement and a groundbreaking step forward for movie technology.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 22, 2022

'Jurassic Park' has staying power because it is not afraid to be about something while also maintaining its sense of the spectacular, that is, the sensory aspects of drama and filmmaking.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 27, 2022

Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park uses marvelous visuals to suspend its audience and characters in awe and revelation.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 14, 2022

The film set a strong tone for modern summer blockbuster films in 1993 and continues to be one of the most iconic movies ever to hit a silver screen in the summer months.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2022

This is a classic movie. The entire cast was great and Spielberg was in the zone on this one.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 25, 2021

This is a classic for good reason. It was a groundbreaking film that has magic that they haven't been able to recreate in this franchise.

A great blend of CG and gargantuan animatronic puppets breathes life into some of the most mortifying and convincing dinosaurs in the history of cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Sep 14, 2020

Almost 30 years since it was released, Jurassic Park remains one of the quintessential blockbuster films of all time. One of Steven Spielberg's best movies, gives us the perfect mix of wonder and terror. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 24, 2020

It perfectly translates the sense of wonder that derives from the presentation of the dinosaurs, exploding with full force after the "Welcome to Jurassic Park" spelled by Richard Attenborough. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | May 7, 2020

The finer points of Michael Crichton's sci-fi plot may be absent, but none of that would have delivered the iconic scenes that have lingered in the collective cinema consciousness for nearly 20 years.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

Just as magical now as it was 20 years ago.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 8, 2019

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‘jurassic park’: thr’s 1993 review.

On June 11, 1993, Steven Spielberg ushered in a new franchise with the launch of Jurassic Park.

By Duane Byrge

Duane Byrge

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On June 11, 1993, Steven Spielberg ushered in a new franchise with the launch of Jurassic Park. The 126-minute film, which set fire to the summer box office that year (“ dino-mite ,” as a Hollywood Reporter headline blared), would spawn a series of tentpole films for Universal over the course of the next two decades. THR’s original review is below:

Chaos theory, a new form of mathematics, studies unpredictable systems — weather, the stock market, rioting crowds — any system that will eventually show unpredictable behavior, such as a theme park filled with dinosaurs or, for instance, how many people will come to a movie.

While chaos theory in Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel correctly predicts that a modern-day system containing dinosaurs will result in unimaginable catastrophe, you don’t need chaos theory to predict this jaw-dropping, palm-sweating, eye-popping entertainment will become the Blockbustersaurus rex , the king of all blockbusters. In theme parke-ese , it’s an EEEEEE ride.

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DVD & Streaming

Jurassic Park

Action/Adventure , Drama , Horror , Mystery/Suspense , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

June 11, 1993
Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant; Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler; Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm; Richard Attenborough as John Hammond; Samuel L. Jackson as Ray Arnold; Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry; Joseph Mazzello as Tim Murphy; Ariana Richards as Lex Murphy

Home Release Date

October 4, 1994
Steven Spielberg

Distributor

Universal Pictures

Movie Review

Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler make a pretty good team. In the field, they’re considered to be at the top of their game. And even in their private moments they work very well together. They’ve actually thought about settling down and tying the knot someday. Maybe having some kids. Well, Ellie’s thought of that, at least. Alan isn’t so fond of small humans.

He’s fine with small dinosaurs, though! Both he and Ellie have spent their whole lives in pursuit of the fossilized remains of those splendid creatures.

Cue the entrance of eccentric multimillionaire John Hammond.

The man’s been building a theme park on a Costa Rican island. It’s something a little different. A little dangerous. And he needs some specialists like Grant and Sattler to give their thumbs-up to the park and put his anxious investors’ minds to rest.

You see, the ambitious entrepreneur has built a dinosaur park. That’s right, his scientists figured out how to harvest dino DNA from prehistoric insects. And he’s filled an entire island with Brachiosaurs and Triceratops, Dilophosaurs and even a Tyrannosaurus rex.

So he wants Alan and Ellie to join him, his grandchildren and a cynical mathematician named Ian Malcolm for a weekend tour of this marvelous park. After they all see how wonderful the place is and give it their stamp of approval, the investors and lawyers and insurance people will all calm down and stop worrying.

It’s a theme park, for crying out loud! A fabulous place with all the latest technological advancements and security. They’ll see that it’s really quite a miracle too. And with their help, millions of people will share in the excitement.

After all, what could possibly go wrong on an island brimming with enormous, bloodthirsty monsters … in a Steven Spielberg film?

Positive Elements

Things do go wrong. Of course. In spite of very perilous circumstances and impossible odds, however, nearly all the trapped humans in the park respond with bravery—risking life and limb to help one another. Several even sacrifice their lives.

In the course of things, Alan steps up to be something of a father figure to Hammond’s two grandchildren, Tim and Lex. He rescues them, protects them, calms their fears and in the end forms a lasting bond with the kids.

Ellie expresses her conviction that in times of disaster and tumult, “the only things that matter are the people we love.”

Spiritual Elements

Cutting a bit across the grain of the evolutionary angles inherent in dino destiny, Ian Malcolm sort of sums up the movie’s spiritual side when he worries over the idea of cloning dinosaurs, saying, “God creates dinosaurs, God destroys dinosaurs, God creates man, man destroys God, man creates dinosaurs.”

Sexual Content

A technician’s computer monitor sports a bikini-clad woman screen saver. A lawyer mistakenly asks if a park tour uses “autoerotica” figures (instead of animatronic figures).

Violent Content

Trembling rings of water in a cup speak to the terror that descends upon our heroes. But the movie doesn’t content itself with just visual symbolism. Early on, a man is dragged partway into an animal pen, and his lower extremities are obviously savaged by the screaming creature on the other side of the container’s wall. A bit later we see a full-sized bull lowered into a dinosaur den … and only a bloodied, broken harness pulled back out.

In neither case do we actually see the creatures attacking. We’re left to squirm instead while listening to the horrible sounds and watching the terrified human reactions. These intense moments—and many like them—are prime examples of how the movie makes what we don’t see as scary as what we do.

A T. rex munches a live goat, and the animal’s severed and bloody leg falls down on the sunroof of a vehicle parked nearby. That same dino chases after several people while roaring fearfully. It gobbles one guy up and systematically crushes a small truck holding Lex and Tim. It pushes the vehicle over a high ledge with one of the kids still inside. We later see the huge dinosaur snatch up several other smaller dinos, shaking and snapping their bodies. It plucks up a running dino and rips a chunk of flesh from its side. (To which Tim murmurs, “So much blood!”)

Grant helps Tim climb down from a dangerous perch in a tall tree while a car crashes down through the branches above them. Tim is also caught climbing on an electrified fence when the 10,000 volts of power are rebooted. The boy is thrown off the wires with an electrical jolt and lies temporarily dead until Alan applies CPR. A Dilophosaurus spits in a man’s face—blinding him—then attacks him in his vehicle. (We see the small SUV from the outside as it shakes.)

Velociraptors give hunt to adults and children in a number of very tense scenes. Their snapping jaws and sharp claws claim one victim. And we see the severed remains of another’s arm. Alan narrates and illustrates how a raptor will track and dismember its prey.

Crude or Profane Language

An s-word is accompanied by five or six uses each of “h‑‑‑” and “d‑‑n.” We hear “son of a b‑‑ch.” And Jesus’ and God’s names are abused two or three times each; God’s is linked to “d‑‑n.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

One park worker is a chain-smoker who always has a lit cigarette perched on his lower lip.

Other Negative Elements

Malcolm cavalierly talks of having several kids and numerous ex-wives. “I’m always on the lookout for the future ex-Mrs. Malcolm,” he chortles. He makes several other lightly crude jokes, including one about “lifting a dinosaur’s skirts” to see which sex it is.

Dino dung plays a big role in one scene.

Jokes are made about body parts littering the site of a T. rex attack. One casualty comes when a dino demolishes a park restroom, then plucks a man off the toilet and starts chewing.

Jurassic Park is, quite simply, Hollywood doing what it does best. Under the watchful eye of director Steven Spielberg, the film features tight storytelling, edge-of-your-seat tension, perfectly orchestrated camera angles, incredible CGI and mechanical realism, and a sweeping score. It takes the concept of Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel and keeps pounding its audience with horrible—but relatively bloodless—terrors right up to its deus ex machina finale where everyone can finally sit back with a sigh and a happy ending.

There’s even a pro-family message packed in amidst the slashing raptors and other bellowing malevolents. I can see the trailer tagline now: “It took a T. rex to convince Alan Grant to give kids a chance. For you it only takes a movie!” Either that or, “Scientists learn not to mess with Mother Nature.” But I kinda prefer the dad-in-the-making take.

Now, remember what I said about that relatively bloodless monster mayhem? Well, for all of this flick’s wonder and spectacle, parents should realize that a gigantic roaring dinosaur can be a pretty intense thing for kids of a certain size.

Not convinced? Well, the director is. Mr. Spielberg himself said of his own young brood (in Newsweek ), “I’m not going to let my kids see it for a couple of years.”

A 3-D UPDATE: The 2013 theatrical re-release of this film—in full IMAX 3-D splendor—makes that last little warning all the more pressing. True, most of the dinosaurs’ grisly bone-crunching mouthfuls are either hidden behind jungle foliage or caught in brief glimpses. But in IMAX form, just the prolonged screeches and thunderous roars alone can be enough to make a grown man grimace. (And the grown man I reference is me.)

We’ve gotten so comfortable with Jurassic Park’ s growling and gnashing on our small screens that we may have forgotten just how nerve-racking and flat-out scary it can be in all its big-screen glory. Some of the enlarged, 20-year-old special effects can come off as a bit blurry or fuzzy, but the well-designed three-dimensional effects help turn jumps into leaps. It’s exactly like we wrote in our 1993 magazine cover story: “By scripting enough carnage to earn the film a PG-13 rating, Jurassic Park resemble Jaws more than it does E.T. or Hook .”

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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It Sounds Like the ‘Jurassic Park’ Franchise Is Returning to Its Roots

Wait, did we just see an 'alien' character in 'alien: romulus', we have an error to thank for one of lord of the rings' most powerful elves.

I think it’s fair to say that everyone has their franchise. Jurassic Park is mine. ( And Scream , of course .) But even coming from that adoring perspective, I never thought that the Jurassic movies would come roaring back to theaters quite like they have. (And streaming services, too! Camp Cretaceous is a Netflix must-watch if you haven't checked it out yet.)

The first film hit it big in 1993, becoming the highest-grossing movie ever at the time with a grand total of over $914 million from the worldwide box office. The Lost World: Jurassic Park made a pretty penny in 1997 as well, but then the franchise fizzled out with the 2001 installment, Jurassic Park III . The series made its big return to theaters 14 years later and re-solidified itself as one of the most beloved and profitable franchises out there. Not only did Jurassic World pass the $1 billion mark, but so did the next installment, 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom .

Now on the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park 's release, it's time to rank the Jurassic franchise. Of course, all ranked lists are subjective so read on to check out mine but do share your own, too!

RELATED: How to Watch 'Jurassic Park' and 'Jurassic World' Movies in Order (Chronologically or by Release Date)

6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

While I do grow fonder of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom the more I watch it, it lands at the bottom of the list because it’s got two very distinct halves that could have warranted their own films -- the dino rescue on Isla Nublar and the mainland mansion auction. Initially, I much preferred the former because it felt most connected to the previous installments, and also because the mission to save the dinosaurs made far more sense than the idea of bringing dangerous creatures into a mansion packed with people and auctioning them off at a starting price of $4 million. However, the more I watch the film, the more I appreciate the style and tonal shift. As a horror lover, how can you say no to a spooky house filled with dinosaurs?

But what wound up really cementing my love of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was the realization that Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom essentially follow the blueprint of Jurassic Park and The Lost World . Jurassic Park shows you the incredible potential of a dinosaur theme park and then the whole thing crashes and burns, proving Malcolm’s ( Jeff Goldblum ) point; they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they never stopped to think if they should. Then, in The Lost World , Malcolm must travel back to the region to try and stop others from making similar mistakes. He doesn’t fully succeed and dinosaurs wind up making it back to the mainland. The Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom combination basically follow that same exact path but on a larger scale, and that’s what makes the franchise as a whole work quite well.

Yes, the Jurassic movies are about what happens when humans bring dinosaurs back to life, but it’s also about man’s tendency to make the same mistakes over and over again, even when they know the consequences. And now we’ve got Jurassic Park , Lost World , Jurassic World, and Fallen Kingdom all stacked on top of each other, further hammering in that point. The two Jurassic World movies can’t match the 1993 original as far as character development, tight storytelling, and the combination of CG and animatronics go, but they are big winners in the world-building department, which is key to the building intensity of the franchise overall. Colin Trevorrow 's Jurassic World adds the idea of designer dinosaurs and trainable raptors. Then, director J.A. Bayona 's Fallen Kingdom throws in even more extreme genetic manipulation and also dinosaurs running loose in populated areas. It's the perfect tee-up for when the park becomes the world in Jurassic World: Dominion .

5. Jurassic Park III

Sam Neill as Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III

Surprise! The third film is not in the bottom spot of this list. I do tend to flip-flop Jurassic Park III and Fallen Kingdom , but at the moment, Jurassic Park III has the edge for being a more consistent film and one that features one of my favorite characters of the franchise. Yes, it does feel a bit like an entertaining side adventure due to the tone and focus on a small group of characters, but the movie still contributes quite significantly to a number of the franchise's key concepts and themes.

There is some goofier material in the mix like the over-the-top Kirbys ( William H. Macy and Téa Leoni ) and, most notoriously, Alan’s ( Sam Neill ) raptor dream, but we are talking about a scenario where dinosaurs exist. Alan is about to get close to the island for the very first time since the traumatic accident. Can you blame him for having a warped nightmare involving a raptor? And yes, parasailing near Isla Sorna may seem like the worst idea in the world, but as you'll read repeatedly throughout this piece, the Jurassic franchise is filled with people making poor decisions even with the knowledge of past horrors.

Now for that favorite character. It's Alessandro Nivola who plays Alan’s assistant, Billy. While Jurassic Park and The Lost World show how this magical idea of a dinosaur park could get the better of people on a larger scale, Jurassic Park III basically gives that whole idea to Billy. Billy isn’t a bad guy; he knows stealing the raptor eggs is wrong. But, taking the eggs is a quick and tempting fix to their funding problem. Like many characters in the previous films, Billy learns that taking something someone else created just because it’s there is a dangerous thing and pays the price in one of the movie’s best set pieces. If only more characters in this series would take a cue from him!

Sure, Jurassic Park III is a bit of a tonal anomaly compared to the other films, but it does offer a quick 90-minute adventure with thematic resonance.

4. Jurassic World: Dominion

Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt and DeWanda Wise in Jurassic World: Dominion

Is Dominion the conclusion to the Jurassic World trilogy I hoped for? Far from it, but Colin Trevorrow ’s final Jurassic film is still brimming with stellar visuals, cast chemistry, and worthwhile ideas.

When the franchise started to lean more heavily into the action genre, it necessitated the use of more digital effects. The effects in Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom are solid, but not only does Dominion show off an especially effective balance between the use of digital and practical, but Trevorrow seems to know precisely how to frame those digital-heavy moments to ensure the creatures are believable in their real-world settings.

As for the return of Jurassic Park ’s big three, their storylines are a bit on the thin side, but what the film lacks in depth and new layers Laura Dern , Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum make up for in chemistry and charisma. Dominion is packed with echos of unforgettable moments from the 1993 original, beats the trio seems to enjoy recreating to great effect.

But ultimately, it’s Bryce Dallas Howard who not only runs away with this particular movie, but with the new trilogy overall. Claire Dearing experiences a significant arc that essentially mirrors the core themes of the franchise and the lessons one would hope viewers take from it, and Howard is able to make the most of every single ounce of that journey. Claire begins the trilogy as an all-business operations manager with no understanding of the creatures in her park only to realize the error of her ways, she makes an effort to change and winds up inspiring others to do the same all along the way.

But, of course, as it’s a tad lower down on the list, Dominion isn’t without its faults and most fall in the “missed opportunity” department, like when it comes to making the most of Biosyn. Biosyn is an extremely important element of the Jurassic source material and it’s only been teased in the very first film. After all these years, it’s finally time for Biosyn to take the spotlight and function as a key part of the storyline, but it’s done with absolutely no mention of the company’s history with InGen. So ultimately, not only does the addition of Biosyn fail to spark excitement with fans of the source material, but it’ll also likely feel like a random, insignificant addition to those who have never read the books or don’t know who sent Dodgson to give the Barbasol can to Nedry ( Wayne Knight ) in that first film.

The biggest missed opportunity of the bunch, however, is Dominion ’s failure to lean into precisely what the franchise has been building towards all along — when the problem spirals out of control so significantly that there really is no ignoring mankind’s mistakes anymore because the park has now become the world. Trevorrow does that quite effectively in his Jurassic short film Battle at Big Rock , but Dominion is so focused on locusts and what’s happening in Biosyn Valley that very little screen time is dedicated to an ingenious wish fulfillment-type question this franchise has very much earned the right to explore; what if we lived side-by-side with dinosaurs?

3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Dr. Sarah Harding petting a dinosaur in The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Here's another pair that tends to swap places on my list depending on the day - The Lost World : Jurassic Park and Jurassic World . Right now, the thrill of seeing John Hammond's dream fully operational (for a short period of time) is winning out.

No, The Lost World: Jurassic Park doesn’t come close to matching the 1993 original, but Jurassic Park did set the bar astronomically high. The fact that Steven Spielberg managed to deliver a sequel film with another great ensemble of characters, unforgettable set pieces, and a story that significantly broadens the world of the franchise is quite the accomplishment.

As inspired by Michael Crichton ’s sequel book, The Lost World boasts a great set-up by introducing Site B on Isla Sorna -- because of course InGen had a production facility hidden away from the crowds that would have flocked to Jurassic Park. Not only does the new location give The Lost World the opportunity to deliver new dinos, set pieces and locations that still feel connected to the original film, but it also gives the story a major thematic boost as well.

Depending on how you interpret the final moment of Jurassic Park , that film essentially left the park and the dinosaurs behind. But as we all well know, you can’t just brush a problem under the rug and forget about it, especially something that significant. As Ian Malcolm says in the first film to John Hammond, “You didn't earn the knowledge yourselves, so you don't take the responsibility for it.” In The Lost World , that responsibility is shifting. In a similar sense, Peter Ludlow ( Arliss Howard ) is standing on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as he can; taking the dinosaurs that were created by the Site B staff and bringing them to a park on the mainland.

I'm well aware of the criticisms of the gymnastics scene and the Rex's San Diego romp, but a case can be made for both. Not only is the former a meaningful step forward for Kelly after she's cut from the team, but it's also an inspirational beat for any young Jurassic fan (like yours truly) who was eager to see a young girl step up and kick some butt. And when it comes to the Rex making it to the mainland, it's a franchise necessity. That's the moment that signals to the world that these dinosaurs can't just be cut off and forgotten. They share this planet with us now, there are many individuals eager to exploit them, and should we cross paths again in an uncontrolled setting, this is a preview of what it might look like. And now, sure enough, despite that warning, we see how that plays out on a much larger scale in Dominion .

2. Jurassic World

When you’ve been waiting for 22 years to see John Hammond’s ( Richard Attenborough ) original vision up and running, Jurassic World does get the benefit of coasting on the inherent thrill of finally seeing the park operational. But, I'm a big believer that leaning into that and following the Jurassic Park blueprint was the most effective way to tell this story.

This franchise is all about people making the same mistakes on larger and larger scales. Sure, it's easy to say, 'Look what happened at Jurassic Park! Why would you ever do that again?' But then, just like the wonder of seeing Ellie and Alan catch their first glimpse of that Brachiosaurus in the first film, you get chills all over again when Gray ( Ty Simpkins ) opens his hotel room window revealing a fully functioning Jurassic World.

And this park isn’t just John Hammond’s idea made a reality; it’s John Hammond’s idea times ten. It’s not just about going on a Jeep tour and hoping to catch a glimpse of a dinosaur behind an electric fence anymore. It’s taking a tram into a park that’s the size of a small city that gives you the opportunity to run alongside dinosaurs in a gyrosphere, to actually touch a dinosaur at the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo, and so much more. Perhaps this makes me part of the problem, but even after seeing all the dino destruction in these movies, if a park like this really existed, I'd be first in line to get a ticket.

Trevorrow's vision for Jurassic World may not match the first film in establishing a connection to an unforgettable, layered cast of characters, but it does catch the thematic wave that the first film kicked off and it’s also hugely successful when it comes to embracing the magic and terror of humanity’s need to make everything bigger, scarier and cooler without factoring in the potential consequences. Jurassic World may be missing some of the grounded realism that gave Jurassic Park that “reach out and touch it” vibe, but highly advanced visual effects, very creative park advancements, and well-executed action scenes essentially turn the film into an experience that truly offers the thrill of a theme park ride.

1. Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park isn’t just my favorite movie of the franchise; it’s my favorite movie of all time. On first viewing, back when I was a teeny tiny budding movie-lover, I was completely swept away by the magic of John Hammond’s dream, and then riveted by the nightmarish chaos of the park’s collapse. Not only did Jurassic Park mark my very first vivid memory of being wowed by movie magic, but it’s also the first time I remember fully grasping the power of science, the irresistible urge to do something incredible because you can, and then the wallop of realizing that that power comes with great responsibility.

I adore every single stitch of Jurassic Park from the horrific opening scene that isn’t talked about nearly enough, to Lex’s ( Ariana Richards ) Unix system triumph to some of the most widely beloved scenes of all time -- the Rex breakout, Nedry ( Wayne Knight ) versus the Dilophosaurus, the Velociraptor kitchen scene, and then some. Jurassic Park is packed to the brim with brilliant filmmaking whether we’re talking about cast chemistry, details like how the crew used a guitar string to create the ripple in the glasses of water, or the game-changing combination of CGI and animatronics.

There’s a reason why Jurassic Park is my one and only movie tattoo . (For now. A Scream tattoo is in consideration.) From my first viewing back in the summer of 1993 to my most recent watch mere days ago, Jurassic Park has never lost a single ounce of its magic. In a sense, Jurassic Park has become a safety blanket. Bad day? Turn on Jurassic Park ! Caught a disappointing movie and need a reminder of what can be achieved through cinema? Watch Jurassic Park ! Don’t have access to the full feature? Just put on the iconic John Williams score and you’re immediately transported back into the film.

I am forever grateful to the folks behind Jurassic Park for launching this franchise, for inspiring filmmakers for decades, and for playing a huge part in making me the movie lover I am today.

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All the Jurassic Park films, ranked from worst to best

Dr. Grant distracts the T-Rex in Jurassic Park.

With 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion , the Jurassic Park franchise is at an end as we know it. However, knowing the cyclical nature of Hollywood, there’s sure to be a reboot or reprisal, of sorts, somewhere down the line. Still, Dominion effectively capped off a three-decade-long journey that placed prehistoric creatures in the modern age. When the Steven Spielberg -directed Jurassic Park hit theaters in 1993, audiences were mesmerized by both the sheer grandeur and hypothetical terror of the semi-scientific thesis behind resurrecting a species that’s been long extinct.

6. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

5. jurassic park iii (2001), 4. jurassic world: fallen kingdom (2018), 3. the lost world: jurassic park (1997), 2. jurassic world (2015), 1. jurassic park (1993).

Despite the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s popular novel of the same name which toyed with the philosophies of natural law, chaos, and the ambition of mankind, Jurassic Park entered the halls of cinematic glory for what it truly was – a masterfully entertaining sci-fi extravaganza. The amalgamation of practical and modern CGI effects created a visual delight scientists like the fictional Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) could only dream of. And it turns out, dinosaurs that amaze and terrify were just what audiences wanted. The film raked in the dough, and nearly 30 years later, Universal distributed the sixth film in the Jurassic franchise. Now the question becomes: how does each Jurassic film stack up against the rest?

Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and the Giganatosaurus couldn’t save this fizzling closer to the Jurassic World trilogy. Despite the filmmakers literally “going big” with this action adventure, Dominion left plenty to be desired when it came to its hollow story. That’s not to say that it’s not entertaining, though . But there are two elements that ultimately make the Jurassic franchise the winning saga that it is: dinosaurs and thought-provoking science or ethical philosophy. Most of the films’ story arcs were heavily invested in these two pillars of the franchise. Dominion left both by the wayside.

Make no mistake, dinosaurs are everywhere in Dominion . The problem is that the narrative hardly concerns them. Instead of taking the most sensible route of showing audiences the calamity that’d ensue in the modern world with dinosaurs flourishing as an invasive species, the writers chose to inject a cliché villain bent on greed who oversaw the genetic engineering of monstrous locusts that he uses to ravage the world’s crops with the intent on holding the world’s food supply hostage. It was a sinister plot that Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler pieced together in the space of five minutes at the start of the film just by investigating a farm afflicted by the beastly locusts and asking a few questions. Dominion is, unfortunately, a waste of an all-star cast and the groundwork laid before it.

This 2001 film saw the return of Dr. Alan Grant after being absent from the original sequel, The Lost World . The story of Jurassic Park III almost fills like a filler episode in a TV series. The film follows a young boy by the name of Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) who goes missing on Isla Sorna after a parasailing excursion gone wrong. While in the air and traveling through fog, the crew of the boat are seemingly killed by an unseen force causing Eric and his mother’s boyfriend, to detach from the line and glide ashore. Already, we’re entering preposterous territory with implied ninja-like dinosaurs that boarded the boat, killed the crew, and disembarked before Eric and his pal could see what was happening.

Eric’s parents, Paul (William H. Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Tea Leoni), con Dr. Grant into taking them on a tour of the island strictly from the safety of an airplane. Of course, they lied. The pair land the airplane to search for their son, dinosaurs attack, and all hell breaks loose. As the crew travels the island, the disposable security detail gets picked off one by one. The real threat is a Spinosaurus which handily defeats a T-Rex in the first moments on the island, highly intelligent raptors, and pterodactyls. The entire affair is simply a bid for survival among a group of humans making extremely poor choices. Dr. Grant is literally the only individual with any sense. If you want to see Dr. Grant talk to raptors with a 3D-printed mold of a raptor’s larynx, witness a raptor actually speak to Grant in his dreams, or come to grips with the idea that carnivorous dinos snap more necks than a burly hero in an ‘ 80s action film , Jurassic Park III might be for you.

Years after the massacre at Jurassic World on Isla Nublar, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) has shifted from an eccentric capitalist to a wildlife activist. A volcano on Isla Nublar has become active and threatens to re-extinct the remaining dinosaurs on the island. And if you’re wondering about Isla Sorna, the major island from The Lost World and Jurassic Park III , you’d have to read online marketing materials for Fallen Kingdom to learn that the dinosaurs were removed from the island to populate the Jurassic World park on Isla Nublar. We also learn that John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) apparently had a partner in crime when resurrecting dinosaurs from the dead. Benjamin Lockwood ( Succession ‘s James Cromwell) invites Claire and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to help rescue the dinosaurs from becoming extinct once again.

Of course, there’s another conspiring actor in their midst who is actually using Lockwood’s resources to obtain the dinosaurs and auction them off to the highest bidder. The film does tackle a few interesting topics. In particular, Fallen Kingdom depicts a very public debate over whether the federal government should expend resources to save a species that was already extinct once due to natural selection. Furthermore, Lockwood was cast aside by Hammond because he cloned his own deceased daughter. Whatever you might think concerning these topics, Fallen Kingdom does challenge these ideas from multiple angles. Even still, the bulk of the storyline is riddled with glaring plot holes. Mostly, it’s a wonder that local and state resources couldn’t be deployed to hunt or detain the escaped dinosaurs. After all, they’d be a threat to the public.

Spielberg returned to direct the sequel to the original film. Crichton, an author not typically big on writing sequels, penned a sequel novel for the sake of another film adaptation. Despite his efforts, however, Spielberg and the screenwriters only used some elements of the book while largely chartering their own course with this film. The Lost World takes place four years after the events of the original film in which Dr. Ian Malcom ( Jeff Goldblum ) returns in an effort to retrieve his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), from a second island filled with dinosaurs living free of fences or containment. She’s set on documenting the animals while Ian is focused on surviving the same horror he experienced years ago. Meanwhile, John Hammond’s (Richard Attenborough) nephew, Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) has wrestled control of Ingen from him and is set on capturing dinos to bring to a mainland theme park. Clearly, he learned nothing from his uncle’s experience and is focused on those dollar signs.

The film’s science-based theme shifted from the already-tread territory of genetic recreation of prehistoric creatures to a study of how the animals may have behaved in a natural setting. Extra attention was given to the Tyrannosaurs and their plight as protective parents. Of course, this invading human element stirred up plenty of trouble on screen. However, there was plenty of opportunity for competing theories in the paleontology community to be shoe-horned into the film’s dialogue. The film, of course, ends in a bombastic way as the T-Rex rampages through San Diego like Godzilla. Ultimately, The Lost World made big money at the box office but wasn’t received as from a critical perspective as its predecessor.

Over a decade after the release of Jurassic Park III in theaters, Director Colin Trevorrow’s vision for a return to the franchise is fully realized with the blessing of Steven Spielberg. Jurassic World acted as a soft reboot to the narrative. While the narrative kept the original film top of mind, it focused on a new park created in the wake of the original park’s failure. John Hammond has since passed away, but his vision has now truly come to pass. A theme park featuring dinosaurs as the main attraction is open to the public and operating smoothly – that is, until commercial interests and reckless, ego-driven science collide. Owen Grady ( Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ‘s Chris Pratt), a raptor handler, and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), the operations manager of the park, are newcomers to the franchise. They ultimately find themselves scrambling to survive the day when the Indominus Rex, a terrifying genetic concoction cooked up by geneticist Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), threatens to bring the park to its knees and eat its patrons for lunch.

Ultimately, the film acted as a cautionary tale emblematic of overzealous corporate ambition. Claire Dearing indicates that the public simply isn’t fascinated by ordinary dinosaurs any longer and the demand for something fresh is what drives their operation. It’s a stark reminder that humans often take the natural world for granted in the pursuit of more. Furthermore, the devastation wreaked by the Indominus Rex is not just a product of its creation, but also its captivity – a life that has destroyed its natural instincts. The film is rife with subtext and commentary that ultimately buoy the action and spectacle unfolding on screen. Jurassic World was a true return to form for the franchise.

It goes without saying that the original 1993 film that started it all is the pinnacle of dinosaur media entertainment. This is, in large part, due to the fact that the concept was unique and the movie magic behind the dinosaurs’ creation was top-notch and still holds up to this day. Jurassic Park is, essentially, lightning in a bottle, and they say that lightning never strikes the same place twice. While the Jurassic series enjoyed good fortune for six films monetarily, no continuance of the property will ever reach the level of adoration the public and critics alike have for Jurassic Park.

Crichton’s novel and, subsequently, the film adaptation wasn’t just an exploration of the scientific possibility of resurrecting extinct creatures from the dead, it also probed mankind’s drive for control in the face of the natural world – a truly overwhelming force. “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” Ian Malcolm poignantly suggests. It’s a line that ultimately encompasses the theme of the entire narrative. Jurassic Park wasn’t just a creature feature for children and families, it was a thought experiment. While it entertained, its propositions continue to live in our heads long after the credits roll.

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There aren’t many filmmakers alive who have built as impressive of a filmography as David Fincher. After making a name for himself with his music video work, Fincher slowly but surely emerged over the course of the 1990s as one of the most promising directors of his generation. In the decades that have followed, he’s only continued to garner more respect and fans, helming some of the most acclaimed films of the past 30 years. Now, 3 years after his last film, Fincher is returning this fall with The Killer.

The movie, an assassin thriller starring Michael Fassbender, marks Fincher’s return to the same world of darkly perverse crime stories that he’s spent many years of his career operating in. With that in mind, now seems like as good a time as any to look back at all of the movies that the filmmaker has made throughout his career -- and rank them from worst to best. 11. Alien 3 (1992)

When John Carpenter and Debra Hill created Halloween in 1978, they could never have anticipated that their low-budget independent horror movie would become one of the most long-lived film franchises in Hollywood. As a matter of fact, if had been up to them, Michael Myers would never have been seen again after tumbling out of the second-story window of his childhood home and vanishing into the night. However, executive producer Moustapha Akkad, who put up the film’s modest $300,000 budget, wasn’t about to leave money on the table, and he and his son Malek have kept the series alive via sequels, remakes, and reboots for over 40 years, with and without Carpenter and Hill’s blessing. Halloween has become, like its villainous Shape, virtually unkillable and difficult to define. Its timeline is messy and its quality varies wildly between entries, but it nevertheless remains the gold standard in slasher franchises. Editor's note: There are plot spoilers for each Halloween movie below.

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Ten years ago this year, The Conjuring hit theaters and unexpectedly launched one of the most successful horror franchises in cinema history. A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Friday the 13th franchises may have more movies, but The Conjuring Universe's eight films to date have earned $2.1 billion worldwide. That's why there's no stopping this franchise any time soon.

The most recent film in The Conjuring Universe was The Nun II, which is still haunting theaters before its inevitable streaming debut on Max later this year. Since we're celebrating horror films this month on DT, we've decided to revisit all of The Conjuring Universe horror movies and rank them from worst to first. 8. The Nun (2018)

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Jurassic park.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 91 Reviews
Kids Say 429 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Randy White , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Terrifyingly realistic dinos run amok in sci-fi landmark.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 12+?

People and animals are eaten and attacked by realistic dinos. Multiple deaths. N

Infrequent swearing includes "s--t" (one related to dinosaur feces), "hell," "cr

A few brands are seen -- Barbasol, Ford, Apple, Nike, Reese's. The Jurassic Park

Women in bikinis are seen on a computer screen. Flirtation between adults.

A character smokes cigarettes regularly. Adults drink in a few scenes.

Any Positive Content?

Through teamwork, determination, and intelligence you can survive the most dange

The two children, Lex and Tim, are smart and brave; the adults protect them and

Female characters Dr. Ellie and Lex are portrayed as smart, strong, and practica

Violence & Scariness

People and animals are eaten and attacked by realistic dinos. Multiple deaths. Not too much blood and gore, but the scare factor is high, and one gruesome scene involves a severed arm. Jump-scares. Scenes of the kids being hunted by dinosaurs are particularly intense. Chases, crashes, constant peril.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent swearing includes "s--t" (one related to dinosaur feces), "hell," "crap," "damn," "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "stupid," "butts," and "oh my God." Some potty humor.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

A few brands are seen -- Barbasol, Ford, Apple, Nike, Reese's. The Jurassic Park franchise includes video games, toys, and lots of other merchandise.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Through teamwork, determination, and intelligence you can survive the most dangerous situations. It's important to learn and change.

Positive Role Models

The two children, Lex and Tim, are smart and brave; the adults protect them and one another at every turn. Flawed characters seem to learn from their mistakes.

Diverse Representations

Female characters Dr. Ellie and Lex are portrayed as smart, strong, and practical problem solvers. B.D. Wong and Samuel L. Jackson play supporting characters with few scenes, though Jackson gets to deliver one of the most iconic lines in the film ("Hold on to your butts"). The lead characters are all White. Not much body diversity; Wayne Knight's character, who is larger than the others, is used as comic relief.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Jurassic Park is a landmark sci-fi adventure film by Steven Spielberg , based on the novel by Michael Crichton , that spawned a franchise including several sequels and videogames. Kids will see people and animals being hunted and eaten by realistic-looking dinosaurs. While there's little blood and gore (although one scene gruesomely involves a severed arm), there's tons of suspense, many "jump-scare" scenes, and some chases/crashes. Expect a bit of swearing (including a few instances of "s--t"). Adults smoke and drink. The film shows how teamwork, determination, and intelligence can help you survive the most dangerous situations. Female characters are shown as strong and capable problem-solvers, but all of the lead characters are White and the only one who isn't thin is used as comic relief. Younger tweens may be able to handle the fright factor with an adult at hand, but sensitive children should wait a bit longer. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (91)
Kids say (429)

Based on 91 parent reviews

A classic film...

What's the story.

Brought to a secluded island, three scientists discover a wondrous jungle paradise called JURASSIC PARK where dinosaurs again walk the Earth. Dr. Ian Malcolm ( Jeff Goldblum ) warns the creator of the preserve that nature won't be corralled into a theme park, and things go terribly wrong when a tropical storm strikes and a corrupt computer programmer shuts down crucial security systems. During a night of terror, Dr. Grant ( Sam Neil ), Dr. Ellie ( Laura Dern ), and two children ( Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards) are pursued by an escaped Tyrannosaurus Rex and several other dinos (including vicious velociraptors). After many devourings and frightening chases, a showdown ensues.

Is It Any Good?

This film boasts Academy Award-winning special effects, lots of frightful moments, and some good laughs. In Jurassic Park , director Steven Spielberg and his effects team deliver stunningly realistic dinosaurs. 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 isn't always the best thing. In Jaws , Spielberg's early masterpiece, viewers 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. And for all of its technical achievements, Spielberg occasionally sacrifices three-dimensional characters and real human drama for the thrill of the effects.

Jurassic Park 's terrifying realism is something to take seriously. Sensitive younger kids may want to avoid this one, and parents may want to watch ahead of time and gauge their children's likely response. It's worth noting that, amid all the thrills, the movie has some very funny moments, including a scene where a T. Rex runs toward a vehicle and you can read: "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" in a side mirror. It's just one of many iconic moments that ensured this film's place in cinema history.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how movies like Jurassic Park blur the line between science and science fiction, sometimes giving out misinformation in the process. Since it's not really possible to clone dinosaurs, why use cloning as a plot device?

Does the use of headline-grabbing scientific concerns make a story more believable -- and thus more thrilling? How can you find out which parts of a story are really based on science and which are made up? How can children learn about media literacy?

What makes Jurassic Park scary? What's the difference between horror and suspense? Which has more impact on you, and why?

How do the characters in Jurassic Park demonstrate perseverance and teamwork ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

In theaters : June 11, 1993
On DVD or streaming : April 23, 2013
Cast : Jeff Goldblum , Laura Dern , Sam Neill
Director : Steven Spielberg
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Universal Pictures
Genre : Science Fiction
Topics : STEM , Dinosaurs
Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
Run time : 127 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : intense science fiction terror
Award : Kids' Choice Award
Last updated : August 22, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

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Jurassic Park (1993) Film Review

Jack Walters
June 9, 2022

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park is not only one of the best summer blockbusters of all time, but also a thoughtful examination of our fixation with the past.

There are very few movies that have become as irrevocably entrenched in pop culture as firmly as Steven Spielberg ’s instant classic Jurassic Park , which deserves every ounce of praise it’s received since its release almost thirty years ago. Although the film has spawned a series of sequels that all fail to recapture the magic that Speilberg injected into this timeless classic, the original film remains one of the most revolutionary pieces of blockbuster filmmaking there’s ever been. It represents the heights of Spielberg’s filmmaking talent, blending an insightful story with some unforgettable action set pieces and plenty of fleshed-out characters that bring this story to life on a surprisingly personal level.

For those that are somehow unfamiliar with the film, Jurassic Park tells the story of one wealthy businessman’s (Richard Attenborough) quest to bring dinosaurs back from extinction, opening a wildlife reserve off the coast of Central America where his team of scientists uses advanced technology to breed a new generation of prehistoric creatures. But when the dinosaurs begin to fight against their captivity, a select group of visitors to the island is forced to fight for their survival and find their escape. The film’s story is a fairly simple one, but Spielberg uses this to his advantage by building on his characters and their relationships rather than the intricacies of the plot – which raises the stakes tenfold and really helps get the audience involved in the uncertain fates of the film’s protagonists. It often sacrifices needless spectacle for a gradual build-up of tension , which few movies of this genre had dared to attempt before.

At the heart of Jurassic Park are Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) – three personal friends of the park’s founder John Hammond, invited to the island to help him with his research and understanding of the creatures. The three leads all bring something completely different to their respective roles, complementing each other perfectly and making the whole ordeal feel much more personal and intimate. There had been dinosaur movies before Jurassic Park – but very few that had displayed a cast of characters quite as finely-tuned and well-developed as Spielberg created with his work. It’s this attention to character and relationships that makes the film so universally admired, proving that it’s much less of just an action spectacle and much more of a high-stakes adventure with a weighted family dynamic at its core.

loud and clear reviews Jurassic Park (1993) film

But of course, the dinosaurs still manage to steal the show in the end – mostly due to the outstanding craftsmanship behind the cameras that made them possible in the first place. Looking back at the film from today’s cinematic climate, it’s incredibly refreshing to see such a large-scale adventure that uses minimal CGI , with the film’s practical effects still holding up incredibly well today. The dinosaurs themselves are used expertly throughout the film, not too much and not too little. Just the perfect amount to make the audience aware of their scale and scope without exploiting them for shock value.

It’s something that Spielberg did outstandingly well throughout his career – think of Jaws or Raiders of the Lost Ark – but it’s really at its most impressive in Jurassic Park . It’s no surprise that the film has aged so flawlessly – even in a world where anything can be brought to the screen at the push of a button, Spielberg’s hand-crafted dinosaurs remain incredibly effective because of how precisely and intricately he weaves the film around them. They’re not the main focus of the film, but rather a tool that the story uses to explore its rich and surprisingly mature themes that warn about the dangers of fixating on the past. The film displays an extra layer of thoughtfulness and philosophy that you’d never have expected to find in a family blockbuster before Jurassic Park hit theatres in 1993.

Jurassic Park really is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of movie , and whilst it might not be perfect in every conceivable way, its influence on the progression of filmmaking really can’t be overstated. It’s impossible to imagine what the cinematic landscape would look like today without the influence of Jurassic Park and Spielberg’s bold, courageous direction – but there’s no doubt that many of today’s most acclaimed films owe a good chunk of their existence to this definitive family adventure.

Jurassic World Dominion will be released globally in theaters on June 10, 2022. Read our list of all Jurassic Park films, ranked from worst to best .

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Review/Film; Screen Stars With Teeth To Spare

By Janet Maslin

June 11, 1993

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "Jurassic Park" is a true movie milestone, presenting awe- and fear-inspiring sights never before seen on the screen. The more spectacular of these involve the fierce, lifelike dinosaurs that stalk through the film with astounding ease. Much scarier, however, are those aspects of "Jurassic Park" that establish it as the overnight flagship of a brand-new entertainment empire. Even while capturing the imagination of its audience, this film lays the groundwork for the theme-park rides, sequels and souvenirs that insure the "Jurassic Park" experience will live on. And on. And on.

The timing of this cinematic marketing coup could not be better, since an entire generation of children has fallen in love with dinosaurs, transforming the fossils of yesteryear into the totems of today. On the other hand, "Jurassic Park" has its planning problems, since this PG-13-rated film is clearly too frightening for the young viewers who could have best appreciated its magic, and who will most easily be drawn in by its marketing arm. Parents and guardians, take note: children who think of Tyrannosaurus rex as a huge hunk of friendly, prehistoric exotica will not want to see a T. rex bite a lawyer in half.

Who will? Well, anyone of an age and disposition to appreciate one of Mr. Spielberg's canniest roller-coaster rides and to have read Michael Crichton's novel. "Jurassic Park" is a gripping, seductively scientific account of a top-secret theme park, named for the era during which dinosaurs reigned. Jurassic Park's main attractions are real live dinosaurs, which have been created through the reconstruction of dinosaur DNA. The DNA has been obtained through blood found in prehistoric mosquitoes preserved in amber. (The film, being much more mainstream, explains this process with the help of an animated "Mr. D.N.A.")

Mr. Crichton, who wrote the film with David Koepp, delights in such details and presents his story as a fascinating, obsessively detailed treatise on both the possibilities and the evils of modern science. "Jurassic Park" is that rare high-tech best seller punctuated by occasional computer grids to advance its story.

The savviest character in Mr. Crichton's book, a glamorous mathematician (yes) named Ian Malcolm, is among several scientists taken to Jurassic Park to inspect the place before it opens. Confronted with the apparent glitch-free nature of this computerized Eden, Malcolm is skeptical. He frequently cites chaos theory as a way of suggesting that theoretically perfect models have a way of going haywire once they run up against reality. This idea has some bearing on the film version of "Jurassic Park," too.

On paper, this story is tailor-made for Mr. Spielberg's talents, combining the scares of "Jaws" with the high-tech, otherworldly romance of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and of course adding the challenge of creating the dinosaurs themselves. Yet once it meets reality, "Jurassic Park" changes. It becomes less crisp on screen than it was on the page, with much of the enjoyable jargon either mumbled confusingly or otherwise thrown away. Sweetening the human characters, eradicating most of their evil motives and dispensing with a dinosaur-bombing ending (so the material is now sequel-friendly), Mr. Spielberg has taken the bite out of this story. Luckily, this film's most interesting characters have teeth to spare.

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Jurassic Park (United States, 1993)

On a small island off the coast of Costa Rica exists a most unusual animal preserve by the name of Jurassic Park. Operated by dinosaur lover John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), Jurassic Park is the first of its kind. Its population of creatures includes brachiosaurs, dilophosaurs, tricerotops, velociraptors, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex, each of which has been cloned using the latest technology that takes DNA from dinosaur-biting prehistoric insects preserved in amber, and uses that DNA for the re-creation. When the consortium funding Jurassic Park become concerned that all is not as it should be, Hammond is forced to call in three experts: paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), his partner, paleo-botanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and the brilliant-but-cynical mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). When the trio arrives at Jurassic Park, they are astonished by what it represents. It doesn't take long, however, for astonishment to turn to horror.

First of all, for anyone who's wondering, given the current state of technology, the situation postulated in Jurassic Park cannot happen. Not only do the necessary cloning techniques not exist, but the likelihood of retrieving dinosaur DNA from an amber-encased prehistoric mosquito is extremely small. While insect specimens have been unearthed, for there to be dinosaur DNA, circumstances demand that the mosquito had bitten a dinosaur shortly before its fatal imprisonment, and the chance of that is slim, at best.

Nevertheless, the enjoyment of any movie is hardly predicated by a factual premise. The apparent realism of some of Crichton's pseudo-science imbues Jurassic Park with a grounding that is acceptable in our high-tech world. After all, to weave a dinosaur fable in this day and age, it helps if science, not fantasy, is the driving force.

Of course, the special effects help immensely. They are so good, in fact, and the dinosaurs look so real, that I half expected to see "dinosaur trainer" during the closing credits. Instead, however, plaudits go to the creators of Jurassic Park 's primary screen presences (all apologies to the actors). Stan Winston, definitely no stranger to this sort of film (his recent credits include Aliens and Terminator 2 ), is credited with the live-action creatures. Dennis Muren gets his due for the full motion monsters. Phil Tippett is the "dinosaur supervisor" and Michael Lantieri presides over the creature effects. All-in-all, the wizards at ILM have done an outstanding job, giving us by far the most impressive and believable monster movie of all time. Nothing compares.

Unfortunately, the story isn't the equal of its execution. To begin with, Crichton's book, while filled with fascinating ideas and entertaining moments, doesn't hold together as a top-of-the-line adventure story. The ending is especially problematic, resulting in a long-winded denouement that drags to an anticlimactic conclusion. Despite numerous small changes and omissions, the movie Jurassic Park is very much faithful to its printed inspiration. Perhaps Michael Crichton's involvement in the screenplay has something to do with this.

The biggest weakness of the novel is characterization, and the same flaw is fully evident in the screen adaptation. There are a few exceptions. The scenes between Alan and Ellie at the beginning are well-done, with the affection between them evident from the start (a change from the book, where the two were never a couple). Also noteworthy is a scene where Ellie confronts Hammond, who's eating a dish of ice cream in the midst of the crisis. Here, we get a sense of what's going on inside the old man's head. In the book, he's a mixed-up fanatic, but in the film, he's made into a sympathetic, albeit eccentric, figure. Interestingly, some transposition has gone on between Hammond's two grandchildren. Tim (Joseph Mazzello) is still the dinosaur-lover, but the screen's version of the boy is younger than his sister Alexis (Ariana Richards). The flip-flop in age creates a difference in their relationship and they come across as closer and less-adversarial on screen. Also, here it's Alexis, not Tim, who's the computer whiz.

The plot is little more than a cleverly jumbled-together batch of formulas. As I mentioned before, Jurassic Park is, reduced to its most basic level, a monster movie. Thrown in for good measure is the human interest story - the growing relationship between self-confessed child-hater Grant and his two youthful charges - but this part of the film works least successfully.

Nevertheless, I doubt that there are many who will go to Jurassic Park for its characters or story. Rightly so, crowds will flock to the theaters screening this movie so they can ooh and aah, jump in their seats, and root for the overmatched humans against the big, bad dinosaurs. Even those familiar with the written work can't help being drawn in to the pulse-pounding exhilaration of the chase as the Tyrannosaurus menaces two powerless electric cars and the trapped humans inside. In the end, Jurassic Park succeeds because it's good entertainment.

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Every Jurassic Park Movie, Ranked

Steven Spielberg once said that making the original Jurassic Park made him “angry.” That might seem strange, but remember: While he was wrapping up production and supervising the complicated (and groundbreaking) special-effects shots on that film, he was also shooting Schindler’s List. “When I finally started shooting … in Poland, I had to go home about two or three times a week and get on a very crude satellite feed to Northern California … to be able to approve T-Rex shots,” he said to Entertainment Weekly in 2018 . “And it built a tremendous amount of resentment and anger that I had to do this, that I had to actually go from [the emotional weight of Schindler’s List ] to dinosaurs chasing jeeps, and all I could express was how angry that made me at the time. I was grateful later in June, though, but until then it was a burden.”

That burden would end up being the highest-grossing film ever made by the director who is thought by many to have invented the very idea of a blockbuster. And it would launch a franchise that has now made more than $5 billion worldwide, with this weekend’s Jurassic World Dominion expected to help increase that haul significantly.

For such a massive franchise, the films themselves often seem oddly dashed off. That first film was edited while Spielberg was making his Best Picture masterpiece; the second film, the final one directed by Spielberg, is one he admits he “didn’t bring my level of craft” to ; the third didn’t have a finished script before it started shooting . And the new films of the past decade are often known more for Bryce Dallas Howard’s footwear than for wonder and awe.

This has not stopped the film series from being one of the biggest in the world. Turns out people just really, really like dinosaurs. How do these films stack up against one another? Here’s our ranking of the six Jurassic Park films. One big takeaway: You really shouldn’t take a job at InGen.

6. Jurassic Park III (2001)

No one was happy with the script for the third Jurassic Park movie, but perhaps because of the tepid reviews for Spielberg’s second segment, they kept trying to crack it and get it right. They even turned to Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, who had just written Election , to work on the script. (They’d later say all their jokes were taken out.) Eventually, director Joe Johnston, who took over from Spielberg because Spielberg wanted nothing more to do with the franchise, just went with what they had, which was a stripped-bare, nonsensical story in which Dr. Alan Grant (with Sam Neill returning in dispiriting fashion) agrees to return to Isla Nublar for … well, we’re still not sure why. The effects here seem to have aged worse than they did in the first two films, and Johnston doesn’t have anything close to Spielberg’s touch or wit. Everyone looks a little lost in Jurassic Park III , and the ending is so rushed and absurd it’s no wonder they didn’t make another one of these for 14 years.

5. Jurassic World (2015)

Do you remember who helped start the whole obsession with Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire’s footwear? Would you believe it was Joss Whedon ? (He, of all people, tweeted that it was “70’s era sexist.”) The movie’s problems hardly end with Howard’s high heels, though. Director Colin Trevorrow was so obsessed with attempting to recapture the original film’s wonder that he ended up just knowing the words but not the music. Jurassic World is, in many ways, the reboot phenomenon at its worst: cynical, cheap, sort of ugly, and dumbed down in a way that had to have made Spielberg secretly groan. And we’ll always blame this movie for what has happened to Chris Pratt, transforming him from one of the internet’s favorite Chrises into a bland, replacement-level action hero without the charisma or easygoing swagger. People lined up around the block to see Jurassic World , but imagining what this could have been is an exercise in frustration.

4. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

The final film in the new trilogy has gotten the worst reviews of any of the six installments, so it probably says a lot about the general mediocrity of the franchise that we actually think there are inferior Jurassic movies. Pratt and Howard are still drab, but the (totally forced) reunion of the three stars from the original film at least gives the proceedings some spark. Campbell Scott is delightful as an evil tech genius who is most certainly going to get eaten by dinosaurs in a very satisfying way. DeWanda Wise and Mamoudou Athie are very welcome additions to the ensemble, playing (respectively) a smart-ass pilot who grows a conscience and a PR man at Scott’s biotech company who ends up helping the good guys. As for the reasons why others hate Jurassic World Dominion — namely, that it doesn’t feel much like a Jurassic Park movie —well, they don’t bother us so much. (The Fast and Furious– style motorcycle cycle chase through Malta is kind of a hoot, albeit totally derivative.) That said, like the later Terminator sequels, this movie is what happens when a franchise runs out of ideas, spinning its wheels and hoping audiences won’t mind. (Spoiler alert: They won’t. This is gonna make so much damn money.)

3. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

When Fallen Kingdom came out, it felt like a slight improvement on Jurassic World — even if the whole “auction” sequence at the end is idiotic. (Seriously, this has to be the worst performance Toby Jones has ever given and will ever give.) In this sequel, the Pratt-Howard dynamic isn’t all that better (and her character’s sudden turn to dinosaur advocate is ridiculous), but there are some fun action sequences, including an impressively apocalyptic volcanic eruption of Isla Nublar. Once the story shifts to the Lockwood estate and his cloned granddaughter (don’t ask), it falls apart, but director J.A. Bayona still gives the movie a spooky haunted-house vibe that is more fundamentally honest than the repackaged thrills of Trevorrow’s film. Still, by the end, you’re ready for the raptors to eat as many of these people as possible.

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

All right, so Spielberg’s a little embarrassed by this one, and there’s some reason to be: The movie lacks the invention of the original and feels particularly perfunctory, with even Spielberg’s usual themes (the wonder of childhood, the cowardice of authority figures) coming across as half-baked. Most of the scenes on Isla Nublar are dull and repetitive and serve no purpose other than to give Spielberg a set piece to film. Not even Julianne Moore and an impossibly young Vince Vaughn can liven this up much. But then the action shifts to a T. rex rampaging through the streets of San Diego, and Spielberg finally begins to enjoy himself: He even lets a dog get eaten! The last half-hour of The Lost World is Spielberg just making a good old-fashioned monster movie, and that, on its own, is enough to put this at No. 2 on this list. Spielberg is still Spielberg, after all.

1. Jurassic Park (1993)

The original is still head and shoulders above any film on this list in large part because Spielberg — perhaps looking forward to making Schindler’s List — isn’t taking himself, or his film, too seriously. Really, he’s just flexing his muscles, effortlessly providing some of the most terrific action sequences in his entire canon. We’ll never see a ripple in a water glass the same way again, but our favorite bit in the whole T. rex chase sequence is when Spielberg, amid a terrifyingly intense scene, is so confident that he tosses in an “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” joke just to show off. This isn’t the deepest or the smartest or the most keenly felt of Spielberg’s movies; it’s probably not even in his top ten. But Spielberg, particularly later in his career, often benefitted by just working fast and instinctively, trusting his otherworldly skills at building tension and wowing an audience. Jurassic Park is mass-market popcorn entertainment. But what incredible mass-market popcorn entertainment it is.

Grierson & Leitch write regularly about the movies and host a podcast about film . Follow them on Twitter or visit their site .

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Jurassic Park Review

01 Jan 1993

127 minutes

Jurassic Park

With Jurassic Park, the man who invented the summer event movie took Michael Crichton's tome and transformed it into an awe-inspiring blockbuster using every inch of screen.

Richard Attenborough is billionaire boffin John Hammond who plans to open a theme park on a remote Costa Rican island featuring dinosaurs genetically modelled from fossil DNA. Sneak preview visitors include palaeontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Satler (Neill and Dern), chaos theory expert Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) but the park goes off-line, the dinos escape and prehysteria breaks loose.

Spielberg treads gradually, building up an impending sense of menace over the first hour with evolutionary arguments hammering home the theory that dino-recreation is a Really Bad Thing. Then he lets rip on an unforgettable second half, with set piece after set piece. So the script and the performances aren't exactly Oscar material, but it scarcely matters given that the real stars here are the ILM-created dinosaurs, a miracle of modern moviemaking...

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5 lightweight operating systems i run on my old laptops, star wars outlaws may break ubisoft out of its open-world funk, quick links, jurassic park movie order: every movie in chronological order, spoiler-free version: the complete jurassic park chronological timeline at a glance.

It's been nearly 30 years since Jurassic Park debuted, with Stephen Spielberg's original Jurassic Park in 1993.

That film both terrified and delighted audiences, and one could argue it made multiple generations of children want to become archeologists. Of course, there's also a whole new set of films that have been released now, starting with 2015's Jurassic World. None of the later movies in the series have lived up to the quality of the original, but they're all still great fun.

The most recent film, Jurassic World: Dominion , hit theatres in 2022. It sees the return of much of the 1993 cast, making it a fitting conclusion to the franchise. Here's where that film fits into the Jurassic Park universe. We've gathered all the movies to date and laid them out as best as possible in chronological order for you to follow in your next re-watch.

Note: There may be spoilers below.

Skip to the bottom of our guide for the spoiler-free, bulleted-list version.

Jurassic Park (1993 - movie)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Based on the novel by Michael Crichton and directed by Stephen Spielberg, Jurassic Park was released in 1993 and became the highest-grossing film of all time until Titanic took its spot. It sees the owner of Jurassic Park, John Hammond (played by Richard Attenborough), forced to recruit a team of scientists and specialists to evaluate his new theme park and ensure that it is truly safe before it is officially opened to the public.

The team includes archeologists Dr. Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill) and, Dr Elliot Sattler (played by Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (played by Jeff Goldblum). One interesting internet theory we'll mention before we move on: Remember the child that Dr Grant traumatizes with the story of how velociraptors would hunt him? Well, maybe he wasn't so traumatized because Jurassic theorists believe he's Chris Pratt's Jurassic World character all grown up.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997 - movie)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

The second entry in the series picks up four years after the first film and sees Spielberg return as the director.

Hammond has lost control of his company InGen but managed to keep the existence of a second island, which was used for the breeding of the dinosaurs, a secret. It was part of a coverup that stopped the entire world from knowing about the first film's events. Following an accident on the second island, Hammond recruits Ian Malcolm (again played by Jeff Goldblum) to visit it with a new team. While Malcolm has his own reasons for going, they're quickly changed when the new leadership of InGen arrives on the island and begins to capture dinosaurs for a new Jurassic Park in San Diego.

Jurassic Park III (2001 - movie)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 3

Jurassic Park III (2001)

Jurassic Park III has Sam Neill come back as Dr Alan Grant. He has been busy researching the intelligence of Velociraptors but has been unable to find funding for his new project until he meets Paul and Amanda Kirby (played by William H. Macy and Tea Leoni). The couple promises to completely fund Grant's research if he gives them an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Unbeknownst to Grant, the Kirbys want to land in order to search for their son, who has gone missing on the island.

Jurassic World (2015 - movie)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 7

Jurassic World (2015)

Jurassic World revived the franchise after it sat dormant for 14 years. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World reveals that Simon Masrani, CEO of the Masrani Global Corporation, bought InGen in 1997 to create his own theme park, Jurassic World, which has operated for almost 10 years at the film's opening.

The film sees what begins as a normal day, with brothers Zach and Gray visiting the theme park, where their aunt, Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), is in charge. Things begin to go haywire when the park's newest attraction, a genetically engineered hybrid known as Indominus Rex, escapes from its enclosure. As the park is falling apart, Claire is forced to turn to the park's Velociraptor specialist, Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt), in order to help save her nephews.

As we mentioned earlier, one thing to note about this film: A popular internet theory suggests that Pratt's character, Owen Grady, is the grown-up version of the child that Alan Grant terrifies at the beginning of the first Jurassic Park film. He was reportedly inspired by Grant's breakdown of their hunting style to study Velociraptors.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 to present - animated TV series)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 5

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 to 2022)

Camp Cretaceous is an animated Netflix series set at the same time as Jurassic World. It centres around a teenager named Darius (voiced by Paul-Mikel Williams), who wins a contest that lets him visit Jurassic World the same day that the park happens to fall apart. Together with a group of other teens who also won the contest, he must figure out how to escape an island with dinosaurs running rampant. The series has five seasons, with the final season being released in July 2022.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018 - movie)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 8

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Fallen Kingdom picks up four years after Jurassic World. Directed by JA Bayona, the film sees the dinosaurs have once again regained control of Isla Nubar. They have spent the previous four years living peacefully without humans on the island, but an impending volcanic eruption will wipe them out if they stay there.

Claire Dearing (again played by Bryce Dallas Howard) has taken up the cause of saving the dinosaurs from the island with the help of one of John Hammond's former partners, Sir Benjamin Lockwood (played by James Cromwell). Claire recruits Owen Grady (again played by Chris Pratt) to return and help save his Velociraptor, Blue.

Battle at Big Rock (2019 - short film)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 1

Battle at Big Rock (2019)

Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow directed this short film. It takes place after the events of Fallen Kingdom, which sees the dinosaurs released worldwide. The film focuses on a family camping at a park known as Big Rock. They're surprised by a couple of Nasutoceratops. The awe-inspiring meeting between the family and the dinosaurs is spoiled by an Allosaurusm, who wants the baby for lunch. Suddenly, the family is stuck inside their camper as the dinosaurs battle.

The short film is available on YouTube.

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022 - movie)

What's the best order to watch the Jurassic Park movies and TV show? photo 6

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)

The next film in the series, and the final in the Jurassic World trilogy, sees Colin Trevorrow return as writer and director, along with a host of old favourites. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return as their characters from the previous Jurassic World films, and Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern have even brought back their characters from the original film.

The world is now filled with dinosaurs after the events of Fallen Kingdom, and each of the former Jurassic Park characters works to lessen the harm that humans and dinosaurs inflict on one another. When a company called Biosyn opens a preserve for the dinosaurs hidden away in the Italian Dolemite mountains, signs quickly point to the company using genetic engineering to harm not only dinosaurs but the global food chain.

The casts of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World are the only hopes of stopping Biosyn's plans.

Here is the same guide as above, only spoiler-free and in bulleted list form.

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Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies

6. Jurassic World Dominion

Jurassic World Dominion might look like an improvement compared to its predecessor, but this movie is just as trash. Between some entertaining action, it shows that Jurassic Park needs a rest. | © Universal Pictures

Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was one of the more interesting reboots to fail. Dinos, who once commanded awe and fear, look bored, and actors lack shock and awe. | © Universal Pictures

Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies Jurassic Park III

4. Jurassic Park III

Jurassic Park III marked the franchise's creative decline. The movie is faster and darker than its predecessors, and it's perfectly enjoyable as a monster movie in its own right. But expect nothing more. | © Universal Pictures

Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies Jurassic World

3. Jurassic World

Jurassic World is a visually striking thrill that delivers exactly what fans of dinosaur action need. While it doesn't bring anything new to the franchise, Jurassic World offers a satisfying experience that even the most cynical viewers will appreciate. | © Universal Pictures

Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies The Lost World Jurassic Park

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Lost World: Jurassic Park can't match the sheer of the original movie, but it's a great sequel that balances nostalgia and innovation to remain entertaining and visually stunning. | © Universal Pictures

Ranking All Jurassic Park Movies Jurassic Park

1. Jurassic Park

The original Jurassic Park has set the standard for dinosaurs with its groundbreaking special effects and life-like animatronics. It's a classic in the franchise and one of Spielberg's greatest works. | © Universal Pictures

Jurassic Park is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time, so we've decided to watch it back and rank all of Jurassic Park from worst to best. Of course, our ranking is subjective so don't mind sharing your opinion in the comments section!

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Home » Horror News » New Jurassic World movie is attempting to get back to what the original Jurassic Park achieved

New Jurassic World movie is attempting to get back to what the original Jurassic Park achieved

Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey has a role in the new Jurassic World movie, which he says is trying to get back to what Jurassic Park achieved

Back in January, Universal Pictures made a surprising announcement : not only did they have a new Jurassic World movie in development, but the screenplay – by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, returning to the franchise for the first time since The Lost World: Jurassic Park – had already been written, and the movie was on the fast track to production. Soon after, we learned that it’s aiming for a July 2, 2025 theatrical release. Assembled in a mad scramble, the movie is now filming with Godzilla director Gareth Edwards at the helm… and during an interview with V Magazine, cast member Jonathan Bailey ( Bridgerton ) indicated that this movie is an attempt to bring the franchise back to its roots and get closer to replicating what the original Jurassic Park delivered.

Bailey said (with thanks to Coming Soon for the transcription), “ I’m on a really long holiday in the jungle, pretending to run away from fake dinosaurs… Um, no, I’m filming Jurassic Park . I can say that it’s written by David Koepp, who wrote the original. It feels like it’s in ultimate hands to bring it back to what the original achieved. ( Jurassic Park ) was the first film I went to see with my whole family, and I was way too young, I was terrified. “

Variety has previously reported that Koepp’s script is a completely fresh take, launching a new Jurassic era, following three adults and three teens getting stuck on the Island .

This new Jurassic World movie won’t be featuring any returning lead characters from the previous Jurassic Park / Jurassic World movies. The characters played by Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are out, as are the ones played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The new characters are set to be played by the likes of Bailey, Mahershala Ali (Green Book ), Scarlett Johansson ( Black Widow ), Rupert Friend ( Anatomy of a Scandal ), and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo ( The Lincoln Lawyer ) – all of whom had their roles directly offered to them. Luna Blaise ( Manifest ), on the other hand, had to (according to Deadline) “beat out a number of actors” to land her role. David Iacono of The Summer I Turned Pretty is also in the cast… along with a bunch of hungry dinosaurs.

Glen Powell ( Top Gun: Maverick ) was also offered a role , but he turned it down because he felt his presence in the movie wouldn’t help it. He did say that the script is great, though.

Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley are producing the film for Kennedy/Marshall. Steven Spielberg is executive producing through Amblin Entertainment. Universal’s executive vp of production development Sara Scott and creative executive Jacqueline Garell are overseeing the project for the studio. 

Are you looking forward to the new Jurassic World movie? What do you think of what Jonathan Bailey had to say about getting back to what Jurassic Park achieved? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Cody is a news editor and film critic, focused on the horror arm of JoBlo.com, and writes scripts for videos that are released through the JoBlo Originals and JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channels. In his spare time, he's a globe-trotting digital nomad, runs a personal blog called Life Between Frames, and writes novels and screenplays.

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I loved the first Jurassic World movie and the second one was also decent, but the plot in this one veered too far away from the focus on dinosaurs that makes the Jurassic Park movies so great.

Jurassic Park is a perfect movie. The action scenes are terrifying, but all serve a purpose. Each scene leads into the next, not a second is wasted. Themes that are set up in the first half are paid off in the finale.

Jurassic World: Dominion is like if you asked AI to remake Jurassic Park. All the actors are here, and they say the line about T-Rex vision, and there's clones and action scenes with dinosaurs and stuff, but there's no heart or inspiration or creativity. Also, I put the ask out to the universe to stop giving Chris Pratt jobs.

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Jurassic Park movie review & film summary (1993)
It was a movie that had faith in the intelligence and curiosity of its audience. In the 16 years since it was made, however, big-budget Hollywood seems to have lost its confidence that audiences can share big dreams. "Jurassic Park" throws a lot of dinosaurs at us, and because they look terrific (and indeed they do), we're supposed to be ...
Jurassic Park
Nov 14, 2017 Full Review Brian Bisesi Horror Movie Club Podcast Jurassic Park gives everything you could ask of a blockbuster adventure movie, and much of what you might ask of a horror movie. The ...
All Jurassic Park and World Movies Ranked by Tomatometer
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)53%. #3. Critics Consensus: The Lost World demonstrates how far CG effects have come in the four years since Jurassic Park; unfortunately, it also proves how difficult it can be to put together a truly compelling sequel. Synopsis: John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) summons chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff ...
Jurassic Park
Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 9, 2023. William Jones CBR. Jurassic Park is a legendary film full of a number of scary set pieces, but its most frightening sequence is one without ...
Jurassic Park (1993)
Permalink. 10/10. A Groundbreaking, Heart Stomping, Dino Sized film. FrankBooth_DeLarge 5 September 2005. In the year 1993, Hollywood saw something unlike anything else, the film Jurassic Park. Never before 1993 had dinosaurs been so breathtaking and realistic on the silver screen. The plot is very original.
Jurassic Park Review: Don't Judge Spielberg's Classic By Its Sequels
It's absolute perfection even before the T-Rex graces the screen. In fact, Jurassic Park is 127 minutes long, and yet, there are only about 15 minutes where dinosaurs are actually onscreen. This ...
'Jurassic Park': Where the Wild Things Are
Richard Attenborough, left, Laura Dern and Sam Neill in "Jurassic Park.". Universal Pictures. "Jurassic Park" was the No. 1 movie at the North American box office in summer 1993 — and ...
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park remains the best of the Jurassic Park/World Film Series, and one of the best favorite Sci-Fi movies ever made. It has a really well atmosphere where the dinosaurs felt terrifying (as they should) which is absent in the Jurassic World movies. The animatronics and visual effects are really way ahead of its time for a film made in 1993.
Jurassic Park (1993)
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com. 91. Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman. As a flight of fantasy, Jurassic Park lacks the emotional unity of Spielberg's classics ("Jaws," "Close Encounters," "E.T."), yet it has enough of his innocent, playful virtuosity to send you out of the theater grinning with delight. 90.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park: Directed by Steven Spielberg. With Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough. An industrialist invites some experts to visit his theme park of cloned dinosaurs. After a power failure, the creatures run loose, putting everyone's lives, including his grandchildren's, in danger.
'Jurassic Park' Review: 1993 Movie
On June 11, 1993, Steven Spielberg ushered in a new franchise with the launch of Jurassic Park. The 126-minute film, which set fire to the summer box office that year ("dino-mite," as a ...
Jurassic Park
Movie Review. Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler make a pretty good team. In the field, they're considered to be at the top of their game. And even in their private moments they work very well together. ... Jurassic Park is, quite simply, Hollywood doing what it does best. Under the watchful eye of director Steven Spielberg, the film ...
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction action film [4] directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Gerald R. Molen, and starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough.It is the first installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, and the first film in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, and is based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel of the same ...
Jurassic Park Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
If only more characters in this series would take a cue from him! Sure, Jurassic Park III is a bit of a tonal anomaly compared to the other films, but it does offer a quick 90-minute adventure ...
All the Jurassic Park films, ranked from worst to best
Since we're celebrating horror films this month on DT, we've decided to revisit all of The Conjuring Universe horror movies and rank them from worst to first. 8. The Nun (2018) Jurassic Park is 30 ...
Jurassic Park Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 91 ): Kids say ( 429 ): This film boasts Academy Award-winning special effects, lots of frightful moments, and some good laughs. In Jurassic Park, director Steven Spielberg and his effects team deliver stunningly realistic dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park critic reviews
The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values. Read More.
Jurassic Park (1993) Film Review
There are very few movies that have become as irrevocably entrenched in pop culture as firmly as Steven Spielberg's instant classic Jurassic Park, which deserves every ounce of praise it's received since its release almost thirty years ago.Although the film has spawned a series of sequels that all fail to recapture the magic that Speilberg injected into this timeless classic, the original ...
Review/Film; Screen Stars With Teeth To Spare
Obviously, they rule again. "Jurassic Park" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). That rating appropriately reflects the limited, mostly off-camera violence included here. This film's nerve ...
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (United States, 1993) A movie review by James Berardinelli. On a small island off the coast of Costa Rica exists a most unusual animal preserve by the name of Jurassic Park. Operated by dinosaur lover John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), Jurassic Park is the first of its kind. Its population of creatures includes brachiosaurs ...
Every 'Jurassic Park' Movie, Ranked
4. Jurassic World Dominion (2022) The final film in the new trilogy has gotten the worst reviews of any of the six installments, so it probably says a lot about the general mediocrity of the ...
Jurassic Park Review
31 Dec 1992. Running Time: 127 minutes. Certificate: PG. Original Title: Jurassic Park. With Jurassic Park, the man who invented the summer event movie took Michael Crichton's tome and transformed ...
Jurassic Park movies in order: The full timeline explained
Jurassic Park (1993) Amazon Prime Video Best Buy (Blu-ray) Walmart (6-movie Blu-ray set) Max. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton and directed by Stephen Spielberg, Jurassic Park was released ...
EarlyGame
Jurassic Park is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time, so we've decided to watch it back and rank all of Jurassic Park from worst to best. Of course, our ranking is subjective so don't mind sharing your opinion in the comments section!
New Jurassic World Movie Has Begun Filming, Says Jonathan Bailey
The new Jurassic World movie is written by David Koepp, who wrote Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It will launch a "new Jurassic era" featuring a story that will ...
Jonathan Bailey compares the new Jurassic World to Jurassic Park
Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey has a role in the new Jurassic World movie, which he says is trying to get back to what Jurassic Park achieved By Cody Hamman August 22nd 2024, 11:45am
Jurassic World 4 (2025)
Jurassic World 4: Directed by Gareth Edwards. With Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend.
Jurassic World: Dominion Summary and Synopsis
Four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World: Dominion concludes the Jurassic World trilogy. Dinosaurs once again walk the earth, now alongside humans, and Claire Dearing and Owen Grady live in isolation protecting the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Lockwood, the former partner of John Hammond, the two who started the events that kicked off ...
Untitled Jurassic World film
The untitled Jurassic World film is an upcoming American science fiction action film.The untitled film will be the seventh in the Jurassic Park franchise following Jurassic World Dominion (2022), which was the third to use the Jurassic World branding. The film is directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp, who wrote the first two installments, Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World ...

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