10 Best Moments from the Jurassic Park Franchise
8. Raptors in the Grass
(The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
Although many remember very little of The Lost World: Jurassic Park – the 2nd lowest earning film in the franchise – there is no denying that it has its memorable moments. One of the most memorable is the Raptor attack on a group of armed mercenaries in a field of tall grass.
It is a reasonably short scene, only a few minutes long, but it leaves a lasting impact, Spielberg crafting an excellent sense of fear through his use of an eagle eye view to show the raptors closing in on the disorientated mercenaries, showing us the inevitable fate of these men as the vicious predators inch closer and closer, remaining out of the mercenaries’ view almost the entire time.
This is a wonderfully fear inducing moment, and one that drives home the true intelligence of the species that would come to be considered so central to the lore of the Park films; a great moment in an otherwise underwhelming sequel that shows off how great Spielberg can be, even when he’s only paying something half of his attention.
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7. Flatliners
(Jurassic World)
The first of the new Jurassic movies, Jurassic World, had a lot to live up to. Although the two films before it had not been incredibly well received, Colin Trevorrow’s production was bringing back the franchise for the first time in fourteen years and the fans wanted it to be for good reason.
The first sign that the series had been put in safe hands was the attempted ambush on the Indominus Rex in the forest of Isla Nublar.
The sequence follows a task force attempting to capture the recently escaped Indominus Rex, a situation which would cost them their lives. Although this one scene makes up a majority of the film’s death count, it manages to keep its 12A rating through incredibly smart editing, showing the pulses of each task force member flatlining one by one in the control room, their blood trickling down leaves and bodies disappearing into shrubbery time and time again.
This moment is key not only to Jurassic World, but to World separating itself from the films that preceded it, indicating a new direction for the franchise through a more mature and violent moment in an otherwise family friendly picture.
6. “That Is One Big Pile of S**t”
(Jurassic Park)
In a movie as quotable as Jurassic Park it is an impressive feat to stand out as prominently as the famous “that is one big pile of s**t” line from Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcom. Although the line is famous, and hilarious, it signifies the beginning of something much bigger.
This is the moment in Jurassic Park in which the crew find an ill Triceratops, marking the very first time that they (and us) can get so close to a dinosaur that they can physically touch it. It’s a jaw-dropping moment of animatronic magic that engrosses us in the reality of the Jurassic Park universe, selling us on John Hammond’s dream and the threats that lurk just around the corner.
