Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster based on Michael Crichton's technothriler about cloned dinosaurs running amok on a Costa Rican island, is still an exciting journey of the imagination, even though it's been 11 years since its theatrical release. Although its computer-generated effects have been surpassed over the past decade, Jurassic Park's tale of a misguided science experiment fueled by one man's ambition to create the ultimate theme park still packs a Jaws-like mixture of chills and thrills.

As in Crichton's novel, the story revolves around eccentric billionaire John Hammond's (Sir Richard Attenborough) plan to convert Isla Nublar into a tourist attraction that would put all the Disney theme parks to shame. With all the resources of his InGen Corporation, a major genetics research company, Hammond has built a huge entertainment complex/luxury resort/wildlife preserve. But unlike similar resorts in Africa where tourists go on ecologically-friendly safaris to see lions and elephants, Hammond's scientific team has done the seemingly impossible...and cloned dinosaurs.

After an incident in which a worker falls prey to a velociraptor (in a sequence that pays homage to Jaws, Spielberg's first megahit), InGen's board of directors gets antsy and demands that the Isla Nublar complex, Jurassic Park, be inspected by a team of experts to ensure the park's viability and safety. Otherwise, says InGen attorney Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) "if I'm not convinced, they're not convinced," and Jurassic Park will be shut down.

Hammond, determined to open his ambitious dream park, recruits paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to assess Jurassic Park's safety and viability. Grant and Sattler are swayed to go by Hammond's offer to fund their Montana dig for another year, but Malcolm is openly skeptical. Hammond's dream, he thinks, is a natural time bomb ticking inexorably away, waiting to explode.

Worse yet, Hammond has invited his grandchildren Tim and Lex (Joseph Mazziello and Ariana Richards) to visit, ostensibly to help them cope with their parents' divorce, but mainly to prove that his confidence in the park's security features.

Little does Hammond know, however, that his dream park is doomed from various threats. Out to sea, a hurricane approaches Isla Nublar from the east. Inside the park itself, greedy computer technician Dennis Nedry (Seinfeld's Wayne "Newman" Knight) plans to shut down the security systems to be able to steal dinosaur embryos at the behest of a rival genetics company. Worse, one of the techniques to enable the cloning of the dinosaurs -- a scientific short cut -- is backfiring badly, even though InGen's top geneticist Dr. Wu (B.D. Wong) is unaware of it.

When all these elements converge, things go dreadfully wrong on Isla Nublar, and when humans and dinosaurs interact, disaster follows, ending Hammond's ambitious and arrogant science experiment to the sounds of roaring T-rexes and hissing velociraptors.

While not Spielberg's finest achievement ever (Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and the Indiana Jones movies are better), this is still a fun movie to watch, especially on a lazy, hot summer evening. It is exciting and suspenseful, and like its close cousin Jaws, is better than the novel that inspired it, thanks to a crisp screenplay by Crichton and David Koepp. Adding to the magic are, as expected, composer John Williams and the techno-wizards at Industrial Light and Magic, Stan Winston's live action dinosaur crew, and all the rest who labored on this film. Even more amazing, Spielberg also gave us Schindler's List later that same year, proving his talents in organization and creativity...and diversity as a director.

The Universal DVD Collector's Edition includes the 1993 blockbuster which was the biggest box office hit until Titanic was released in 1997, various making-of featurettes, exclusive DVD-ROM features, and the usual extra features (theatrical trailers, cast and crew credits, and production notes).

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12