THE DINOSAURS ARE COMING! THE DINOSAURS ARE COMING!

Wise scientists often have a serious problem with the manipulation of nature. Their (truthful) concern is that Mother Nature will always prevail, and by changing the natural properties of something, there could be detrimental repercussions. This standpoint becomes evident in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, a 1993 classic. Trouble is spelled right from the beginning when a worker is depicted being attacked by a dinosaur. Clearly the beasts are dangerous.

The viewer is introduced to Dr. Grant and his partner Ellie, who are in the middle of an excavating dig. They are stopped by John Hammond, who supports their work. Right away, I noticed his giddy, jolly personality, along with his unbreakable love and excitement for his new park. It is called...Jurassic Park. He literally kept repeating the phrase "spared no expense" when discussing this paleontological attraction. Of course, he could not resist inviting Grant and Ellie to the park. They rode in a helicopter along with a lawyer, who had come to investigate the recent dinosaur attack. Accompanying him was Dr. Malcolm, who loves to joke around in the most serious manner. His concern, however, about the fact that Hammond's scientists have brought dinosaurs back to life is nothing to be toyed with. As Grant said himself, the ferocious species and humans are millions of years apart, and now all of a sudden they've been brought together. Uh oh.

Nonetheless, Spielberg did a fantastic job of foreshadowing in this film. The beginning might have seemed a little boring, but if you truly tune into it, you will find that it is quite the opposite. It sets the scene for the disaster to come:

Put simply, everything begins to fall apart during the visitors' motorized tour of the park. Despite the fact that a tropical storm is on a direct path to the island near South America, Hammond insists that the tour continue. This backfires on him when the high-tech system begins to fail due to a disloyal worker, Dennis. He supposedly did some work on the system, fixing bugs that've been on his to-do list for quite a while. He cautioned about this causing the system to temporarily shut down, and then disappears; he is nowhere to be found. The cars with the tourists in them come to a halt. That's not good. Ray, who I've always called the Black guy, tries to hack the system, but Dennis has set a password that he cannot figure out. HOW SELFISH.

(SPOILER ALERT)
At the end of the film, after several vicious dinosaur attacks and numerous deaths-by-dino, Hammond, Grant, Ellie, Malcolm, and two young kids go home on the helicopter, fleeing the island ruled by these prehistoric creatures. I noticed a change in Hammond's personality: at first, he was more interested in making money and promoting himself than safety, but this mindset did a 180 as disaster unfolded. While this is better than him being a jerk all of the time (like the mayor in Jaws), it was too late to save people. By being stubborn and not heeding Grant, Malcolm, and Ellie's concerns early on, he made the fatal mistake of letting the manipulation of nature perpetuate. His scientists had performed a sort of selective breeding, in which they only allowed female dinosaurs to be born. That was a bad idea.

Speaking of Jaws, Spielberg had made Jurassic Park very similar to this historic film in many ways:

• Both movies start off with a disastrous scene. In Jaws, a teen girl ends up getting unexpectedly attacked by a shark. In Jurassic Park, an adult male ends up getting unexpectedly attacked by a dinosaur. 
• Incorporated into both films is the battle between the wise and the greedy. Mayor Vaughn in Jaws refused to shut down the beaches initially, and restricted the time that they were closed when he had no choice, all in the name of money. With the upcoming 4th of July weekend, he was looking forward to tourists flocking to Amity Island (note: Jurassic Park also takes place on an island) and spending their money. Hammond in Jurassic Park is eager to open his new park to rake in the dough, despite his billions that he already possesses. He risks the safety of his acquaintances by making them guinea pigs for his glitchy automated tour. Both characters' moves end up costing lives, therefore, they end up losing money instead of making it. 
• With that being said, each movie also has characters who sense impending doom. Brody, as well as Hooper in Jaws can tell that the shark is nothing to be taken lightly, and Dr. Malcolm, Dr. Grant, as well as Ellie show their valid concerns about the reincarnation of the dinosaurs. 
• Both films have a signature element: in Jaws the soundtrack is legendary, and the unique vibration of water in a cup, as well as jiggling jell-o when the dinosaurs are near, certainly are memorable aspects. 
• This list is getting long. 

I could go on for pages comparing and contrasting the two films, but that would take too long. Let's just say that I could feel the Spielberg vibe in both of the pieces. Yet, the differences in setting, characters, storyline, and beasts definitely set them apart. I would highly recommend watching both. The beginning may seem slow, but what good movie doesn't start off this way?