FILM REVIEW: Jurassic Park 3D

It's a dramatic irony that the 3D release of Spielberg's classic dinosaur chiller is foreshadowed by the death this week of visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L Jackson, Wayne Knight, Bob Peck

Harryhausen, who died aged 92 on Wednesday, was the man who created the stop-motion effects for early film classics such as Jason and the Argonauts and One Million BC and without whom there would be no Star Wars, no Jaws and no Jurassic Park.

Timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the film's original 1993 release and to promote the release next year of Jurassic Park 4 in 3D, the film still stands the test of time as a thrilling, engaging and suspenseful piece of entertainment. The post-production 3D effects don't add so much as emphasise the things that made the original so successful and, in some cases, they supersede the kind of effects used by 3D films today.

I first saw Jurassic Park in a cinema in London in 1993. As a 12-year-old I was suitably terrified and impressed by Spielberg's mastery of good old-fashioned concepts like suspense and use of music to make the experience memorable. Sitting in the cinema 20 years later with my 3D glasses on, even though I knew what to expect, I found myself transported back to that London cinema in 1993. That is a fitting testament to the long-standing popularity of the film across a wide range of formats, and with a range of generations.

I jumped during the T-Rex encounter and turned my eyes away when the cute Dilophosaurus spread its hood and sprayed the feckless Dennis Nedry full of poison. I held my breath as the Velociraptors learnt how to open doors and chased John Hammond's grandchildren through the kitchen.

Spielberg hasn't added any scenes or re-jigged any of the original effects. Rather he and the people at StereoD worked for a year on a post-production rendering of the original 2D film into 3D. His original use of depth in the frame serves to make this a seamless transition that brings the original thrills that much closer to the audience.

Hollywood has made a number of recent attempts to render 20th-century blockbusters into 3D, but not all of them have been successful. The use of the technology here demonstrates the strengths that made the original film the third-highest grossing movie of all time. These have less to do with effects and spectacle than they do with classic storytelling principles.

If you missed Jurassic Park on the big screen the first time round, or have children who have never seen it on anything bigger than a television screen, then this 3D release provides the perfect chance to enjoy a thoroughly entertaining piece of popcorn cinema the way it was meant to be seen.

WHAT CRITICS SAY

''Seen through 3D glasses today, it's still a blast." -The Hollywood Reporter

''What you see now is what you got in 1993, but with glasses. The conversion makes strengths and limitations of the effects more evident." - Time Magazine

''If ever one movie deserved to be re-released in 3D, it's Jurassic Park." - The Guardian

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ADMISSION

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