June 02, 2022 3 min read
The stunning CGI and captivating storytelling have wowed audiences since Steven Spielberg first introduced the Jurassic Park series to the world in 1993, and Jurassic World: Dominion appears to be no exception. Recall the franchise's highlights and return to the Jurassic Park world before seeing the new film.
These are the best moments from the franchise, ranging from awe-inspiring to downright terrifying.
In the Jurassic films, loyalty is honoured, and for the first time in the series, this rule applies to the dinosaurs themselves. Indominus rex is about to destroy a T-Rex — and then every living thing on the island — in the film's climactic scene when Blue, the velociraptor raised from birth by Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), saves the day, jumping onto Indominus' back and distracting her long enough for the T-Rex to rejoin the fight. Blue and the T-Rex force Indominus against the sea wall, where the monster is snatched by the mosasaurus and thrown into the sea. Before trotting off to freedom, Blue gives Grady one last look. Love between two species has never felt this good.
Nothing can compare to the first time we all saw a living dinosaur, despite the franchise's many jaw-dropping moments. As John Hammond introduces his visitors to the reptiles he has brought back from the brink of extinction, they and we gaze up in awe at a towering brachiosaurus and who can forget the now-iconic line that has become a meme "You did it, you crazy son of a bitch, You did it,"
Oh, the sweetness of justice! The bad guys who have the least respect for the animals often get what they deserve — or rather, become desserts — in the Jurassic franchise. Disgruntled computer programmer Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) is the first delicious casualty, sabotaging the park's facilities as part of his plan to steal dinosaur embryos. However, his jeep becomes stuck in a mud bank, and he is confronted by a chirpy little dilophosaurus. "No wonder you're extinct," he barks as he tries to shoo it away. The dilo unfurls its massive cowl, blinds him with poison saliva, and... voila! A delicious sleaze-bag sundae!
The Jurassic movies aren't known for their dialogue, and this scene, which takes place in the first 35 minutes of the first film and doesn't feature a single dinosaur or DNA strand of action, but this scene particularly has shaped the franchise more than any other. When John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) tell chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) that the dinosaurs will never be able to breed because they're all female, and that these prehistoric behemoths can be controlled, he issues a warning that will become the moral and philosophical touchstone of the entire franchise. "Life isn't going to be contained." He says, “Life will not be contained. Life breaks free, “Life, uh, finds a way.” Three decades later its still the most iconic line from the franchise.
Kids-in-danger scenes have become a trademark of the franchise, and it all began here, with siblings Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim fleeing two velociraptors in Jurassic Park's industrial kitchen. The children scamper across the floor as the raptors open doors, knock over pans with their tails, sniff ladles, and generally threaten them, until one of them is fooled by a reflection in a stainless-steel cabinet. The kids hide it in a walk-in cooler before it turns into tartare tapas. The scene's use of reflection, combined with groundbreaking CGI and puppetry, creates something unforgettable. It's the franchise's most suspenseful scene and the closest the film comes to an all-out horror scene.
Moments like these and many more from the Jurassic franchise are captured in amazing details in our officially licensed statues. Check them out here.
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