Jurassic Park / The Lost World (Box Set) (Collector's Edition) (DVD)

...characters are less believable, whereas Jurassic Park is a classic, and The Lost World a decent sequel.
If you're a fan and/or a collector, this is definitely worth having. Enjoy.


JURASSIC PARK

BASIC STORYLINE:
Scientists have discovered how to recover dinosaur DNA and subsequently clone them. This allows entrepreneur John Hammond to create a theme park on a remote Costa Rican island, where the ...
...in creating a memorable film…and Jurassic Park achieves that without doubt. The way in which they chose to present the science behind it all is also impressive, as the characters themselves view it like an audience, so you feel like you're learning with them, rather than being overwhelmed by an array of facts and figures.
Overall, an excellent film. It's been 14 years since the first time I saw it, and still manages to entertain me.
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I would recommend buying this box-set as opposed to buying the trilogy, since the third film isn't particularly good [and isn't directed by Spielberg, which could be why] - it's sillier and both dinosaurs and characters are less believable, whereas Jurassic Park is a classic, and The Lost World a decent sequel.
If you're a fan and/or a collector, this is definitely worth having. Enjoy.

JURASSIC PARK

BASIC STORYLINE:
Scientists have discovered how to recover dinosaur DNA and subsequently clone them. This allows entrepreneur John Hammond to create a theme park on a remote Costa Rican island, where the entertainment will be real live dinosaurs.
His investors become anxious about potential dangers of the Park, so Hammond invites a group of experts to spend a weekend touring it, including paleontologist Alan Grant, palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler, mathematician Ian Malcolm and Hammond's two grandchildren Lex and Tim.
Unluckily, this is the same weekend that IT technician Dennis Nedry has decided to cash in on some dinosaur embryos, which results in a security lapse at the park; the electrified fences separating man from 'manmade nature' are temporarily shut down, and the weekend turns into a fight for survival…

WHO IS THIS FILM SUITABLE FOR?
Nearly everyone; it's PG-rated.
I saw this in the cinema at the age of 8 and fell in love with it - but I was also a bit scared, so I think it'll be a judgement call as concerns individual kids, depending on their imagination.
Contains some gore - e.g. severed limbs, man in a T-Rex's mouth - but most of the violence takes place off-screen, and one or two swear words [Samuel L Jackson doesn't say 'motherf*cker at any point of this film].

WILL I LIKE IT IF I'VE READ THE BOOK?
I think it's better than the book - and I can't say that about any other books/films. Naturally, the scientific parts are in less detail but the essential facts are still there. It feels like the film makers took all the best ideas from the book and used them to make as realistic a movie as they could.
Trivia: Spielberg changed the script so that Mozzello could play Tim Murphy [Tim is the older sibling in the book] - it worked well, as neither kid is annoyingly whiny in the film.

BASIC SUMMARY
This film was ground-breaking, in terms of animation; a combination of models and CGI was used to create the dinosaur scenes, and resulted in them being the most realistic dinosaurs Hollywood had ever witnessed.
Compared to other 'fight for survival' type films, a lot of work has gone into making the characters more than 2-D fodder, and the acting by all cast members is good throughout - these two things, script and performance, are important in creating a memorable film…and Jurassic Park achieves that without doubt. The way in which they chose to present the science behind it all is also impressive, as the characters themselves view it like an audience, so you feel like you're learning with them, rather than being overwhelmed by an array of facts and figures.
Overall, an excellent film. It's been 14 years since the first time I saw it, and still manages to entertain me.

CAST

Sam Neill - Dr Alan Grant
Laura Dern - Dr Ellie Sattler
Jeff Goldblum - Dr Ian Malcolm
Dr Richard Attenborough - John Hammond
Ariana Richards - Lex Murphy
Joseph Mazzello - Tim Murphy
Wayne Knight - Dennis Nedry
Bob Peck - Robert Muldoon [Park security]
Martin Ferrero - Donald Gennaro [Hammond's lawyer]
Samuel L Jackson - Ray Arnold [chain-smoking IT technician]
B.D. Wong - Henry Wu

THE LOST WORLD

BASIC STORYLINE
Dr Ian Malcolm is tricked by John Hammond into returning to an island full of dinosaurs as part of a team sent to observe the animals in their natural habitat and report back on how they are interacting and surviving. However, Hammond's nephew has taken over the business and constructs a team of his own, with the intention of capturing specimens and building a new Jurassic Park in San Diego. When the two groups and their different motivations collide, disaster strikes, and it is once again a matter of survival…

WHO IS THIS FILM SUITABLE FOR?
It's PG again, due to containing a similar amount of gore as Jurassic Park. Moderate violence; mostly takes place off-camera, inferred by things like blood staining the water. There is a scene where a man is ripped in half by a pair of dinosaurs, and a few 'jumpy' moments throughout.
Again, there's hardly any swearing, and no sex or nudity.
Suitable for most people over the age of 8 or 9, depending on how sensitive they are.

WILL I LIKE IT IF I READ 'JURASSIC PARK'?
This film is mostly original, with only a few scenes taken from the book, such as the little girl who comes across a pack of 'lizards' [Compsognathus].
The premise is similar to Jurassic Park the film, i.e. T-Rexes and Velociraptors are the main baddies, but there are several twists that stop it from being merely an imitation of the first movie.

BASIC SUMMARY
The storyline is a bit flimsier than Jurassic Park, but executed well enough for the film to be an entertaining watch. Jeff Goldblum's role as the reluctant returnee carries the story, as he remains a likeable cynic. There are several lapses in the reality factor; for example, they had to stretch it a bit for Malcolm's daughter Kelly to accompany the team as a stowaway. Featuring a much bigger cast, there are a lot of '2-D' characters who are merely there to make up numbers and be eaten; this detracts from your involvement in the situation, and makes it more of a 'survival' movie. A few little nods to continuity, such as a brief appearance by Lex and Tim, increase the reality a bit.
The dinosaurs are as cleverly made and believable as they were in Jurassic Park; some of the shock and excitement will have worn off because you've seen it before but an introduction to some new species, and a few twists on the familiar ones, keep it from being dull.
Overall, not quite in the same league as Jurassic Park but still a decent and enjoyable film.

CAST

Jeff Goldblum - Ian Malcolm
Julianne Moore - Sarah Harding
Vince Vaughn - Nick Van Owen
Vanessa Lee Chester - Kelly Malcolm
Richard Schiff - Eddie Carr
Pete Postlethwaite - Roland Tembo
Arliss Howard - Peter Ludlow [Hammond's nephew]
Richard Attenborough - John Hammond
Peter Stormare - Dieter Stark
Thomas F Duffy - Dr Robert Burke
Thomas Rosales Jr - Carter 

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