12 Most Iconic Moments In Jurassic Park Franchise History
"Welcome to Jurassic Park"
Jurassic Park is one of the biggest, and most popular movie franchises in the world. Adapted from Michael Crichton's brilliant 1990 novel, the first installment back in 1993 caught the imagination of the entire world, and has since seen four sequels across the next 30 years, with a fifth currently in development.
The world has been mesmerized by the dinosaurs brought to the big screen, a feeling that didn't even subside through the 14 years between Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World. There is just something about these creatures that will seemingly keep drawing audiences in for years to come.
Though none of the sequels have ever since been able to match the masterpiece that was Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, that doesn't mean that there haven't been incredible moments in each movie that have since become synonymous with the legendary franchise.
Jurassic World: Dominion is set to complete the Jurassic World trilogy, whilst also bringing back the three main characters of Jurassic Park; Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm. With the movie being pushed back to June 2022, what better time is there to look back on some of the best moments the franchise has ever had to offer?
12. Leaving The Dinosaurs Behind - Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom
For the most part, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was something of a disappointment. The fact that there had been yet another genetically modified hybrid dinosaur created seemed almost lazy after the Indominus Rex of Jurassic World, however the movie was not all bad.
There was one scene that stood out in particular. As the volcano that had threatened the entire island erupted, Grady and co. made it onto the boat to escape, but their relief soon turned to anguish as they looked back to see a single Brachiosaurus left behind.
There has been no shortage of dinosaur deaths throughout the franchise, but this one was harder to watch than any other. As the boat sailed away, the gigantic sauropod was left behind to die, engulfed by the flames and the smoke that almost killed the park's visitors.
This scene was shot spectacularly, as the dinosaur was reduced to a silhouette behind the the veil of deadly smoke. This wasn't just any dinosaur however, this has been confirmed by director J.A. Bayona to be the very same Brachiosaurus that Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler first saw when they landed on Isla Nublar in 1993. This represented our attachment to these dinosaurs, and is one of the most heart breaking scenes throughout any of the five movies.
11. The Long Grass - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Though the Tyrannosaurus Rex played a big part in the original Jurassic Park movie, it was the Velociraptors that were the biggest threat to Alan Grant and co. on their trip to Isla Nublar. The pack hunters were the subject of Grant's terrifying lecture to the kid who didn't show them enough respect, and were just as fast and vicious as expected in real life.
The creatures took something of a back seat in the sequel, as the T-Rex itself became the biggest threat to those John Hammond and Peter Ludlow had sent to Isla Sorna, but they weren't left out completely.
While fleeing from the Rex after it attacked the camp in the middle of the night, the company fled in any way they could. Some, despite Ajay's pleas not to, ran into the long grass, out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In all the confusion of the Rex attack, everyone forgot about the threat posed by the raptors. This was one of the movie's best, and most terrifying scenes, as the Velociraptors hunted under the cover of the shoulder length grass, picking off several people before the rest even knew they were there.
10. The Dilophosaurus Attack - Jurassic Park
As the group embarked on their official tour of Jurassic Park and its exhibits, the first dinosaur that they were supposed to see was the Dilophosaurus. This would have been a dinosaur of relative obscurity to the audience, and was unfortunately a no show for Alan, Ellie, and the kids.
Thanks to the voice over in the tour car, we knew that such a dinosaur was dangerous and potentially deadly, thanks to its ability to spit venom at its enemies.
It's not until much later that we actually get to see the Dilophosaurus in the flesh. After Dennis Nedry got lost driving through the park in the rain, he was confronted by the creature, and ultimately got the comeuppance he deserved for putting everyone on the island in danger in the first place.
The dinosaur used its venom to perfection, spitting in Nedry's face to blind him, before somehow making it into his car and finishing the job to the sound of screams. This attack was both unique and horrifying, and proved that it wasn't just the big dinosaurs that the visitors had to worry about.
9. "Mommy's Very Angry" - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Despite hearing stories of the horrors of Jurassic Park from her boyfriend, Sarah Harding traveled to Isla Sorna without even letting Ian Malcolm know. As a paleontologist, she felt that this was an opportunity to learn just too much for her to pass up.
When she first arrived, there was a misconception that the T-Rex was not a particularly maternal creature, and would have abandoned its young at the first opportunity. However, when she and Nick decided to treat a baby Tyrannosaur's broken leg, they found out that this was very wrong.
Malcolm tried to warn them that the infant's mother was on the way, but didn't get there in time, and the following attack was easily the best part of the movie. The two adult T-Rexes coaxed their young from out of the trailer, then began to systematically destroy the vehicle, and push it halfway off a cliff.
Not only did this scene include the stunning visuals of the attack, and of the trailer plummeting around the suspended Sarah, Nick, and Ian, it also saw the death of Eddie. The weapons expert was literally torn in half by the two dinosaurs in what was one of the most horrific deaths in Jurassic history.
8. The Full Park Reveal - Jurassic World
Did we really need another Jurassic Park movie in 2015? Probably not. Jurassic Park III had seen the franchise seemingly limp over the finish line 14 years prior, but nostalgia is a powerful thing, particularly in cinema, and one of the biggest franchises in the world was reborn.
From the very beginning, Jurassic World needed to establish how it would be different from the previous three movies, and almost immediately we were shown how. Whereas Jurassic Park had never truly opened, with several groups finding themselves stranded on the two islands after the initial events, the doors to Jurassic World were truly opened.
As Zach and Gray were let loose, the entire park was revealed like never before - alive and thriving, and full of tourists. This was John Hammond's dream when he purchased Isla Nublar, and it wasn't until all these years later that it finally came true.
From rides, to exhibits, bars and even merchandise stands, Jurassic World was far more advanced than Jurassic Park ever managed to be. On the one hand, we were shocked by how dumb Simon Masrani could be by opening the attractions to the public after all we'd seen, but on the other hand, the completed park was something truly spectacular to behold.
7. The Mosasaurus - Jurassic World
6. Ian Malcolm's Pose - Jurassic Park
When the power went out and everything started going wrong at Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm suffered a serious injury. Trapped under the debris of a fallen building thanks to the T-Rex, the chaotician was lucky to be found alive by Ellie Sattler and Robert Muldoon.
While everyone else was either lost out in the park itself, or trying to figure out any way of preventing further catastrophe, Ian was stuck trying to recover from what really should have been a fatal T-Rex attack.
After a while, he felt well enough to prop himself up and join the conversation. Leaning on one elbow, with his shirt undone and a serious look on his face, this was an image that has since become synonymous with both the movie and the character, and has stuck around long in the memory of the fans.
Back in 2018, there was even a 10 feet tall statue erected of the pose in London, celebrating Jurassic Park's 25th anniversary, and Jeff Goldblum himself has recently recreated the iconic image on his Instagram page on the set of Jurassic World: Dominion.
5. When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth - Jurassic Park
After Ellie is quite miraculously reunited with Alan, Lex, and Tim, they are hunted throughout the Jurassic Park visitors centre by the Velociraptor pack. The huge, museum like room, highlighted by a life size T-Rex skeleton and "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" banner that we had seen earlier in the movie became the stage for its conclusion.
The scene is wonderfully chaotic, as the four visitors are forced to climb on the huge T-Rex bones, and are ultimately scattered each on a different part of the skeleton, before finding themselves surrounded by the most dangerous creatures on the entire island.
In what was nothing short of a miracle, literally a fraction of a second before the raptors sunk their teeth into their prey, they were saved by their old adversary, the T-Rex, who elected to target the pack of smaller dinosaurs rather than the humans.
Though this was something of a deus ex machina that came out of absolutely nowhere, it is one of the most memorable moments from the entire movie, and the wonderful irony of being saved by the same T-Rex that nearly killed them all earlier is certainly not lost on anyone.
4. Owen Training The Raptors - Jurassic World
Though they were made to look something of a joke in Jurassic Park III, John Hammond's Velociraptors were among the deadliest animals throughout the first three movies. The pack hunters communicated with each other, and strategised on how to make their kills, making them absolutely lethal.
In the gap between the end of the Jurassic Park franchise and the beginning of the Jurassic World franchise, Owen Grady was able to actually train and almost domesticate a group of these deadly creatures, so well that they were wanted in the military.
This was something that we never thought would be possible, but seeing the relationship Owen had with them, in particular Blue, and how he saved the park worker who fell in the enclosure with them, was amazing. Immediately, Chris Pratt's character confirmed his status as an ultimate badass, and protagonist worthy of continuing the Jurassic franchise.
Not only was he able to act as their alpha, Owen was able to utilise their hunting abilities, using them to track the Indominus Rex. Human tracking through the jungle side by side with dinosaur has been one of the highlights of the Jurassic World franchise so far.
3. "Life... Uh... Finds A Way" - Jurassic Park
After a worker at Jurassic Park was attacked by one of the dinosaurs, John Hammond needed the signatures of a couple of experts to sign off on the stability of the island. The owner of InGen brought along Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, while his lawyer brought the rock star chaotician, Ian Malcolm.
From the very beginning, Malcolm doubted the park, and was never shy about giving his opinion. Though he found time to take constant jabs at Hammond and his latest venture, he didn't get a chance to fully articulate his thoughts until after they saw the birth of the baby Velociraptor.
This was the first time the character truly took centre stage in the movie, and the monologue was simply captivating. Jeff Goldblum portrayed Ian Malcolm wonderfully, lending the character a certain authority when speaking, with his speech about life not being contained being one of the best examples of this.
We could listen to Ian Malcolm talk about literally anything, and he was ultimately correct. Life found a way, as he foretold in what is one of the franchise's most notable, most well known quotes.
2. The T-Rex Attack - Jurassic Park
Before the Tyrannosaurus Rex inadvertently saved the lives of Grant and co. from the raptors, her attack on the two tour cars almost killed everyone involved. The power went from the park just as the group were stuck outside the T-Rex paddock, giving her something to hunt.
Donald Gennaro bit the dust while sitting on the toilet after abandoning the kids in the first car, Tim found himself stuck in a tree, and Ian Malcolm suffered the brutal attack that saw him crushed under building debris. This was the first calamity for the visitors of Jurassic Park.
From the vibrating cups of water, to the carcass of the goat landing on the roof of the car, and Alan and Ian trying to get the dinosaur away from the kids with a flare, the entire scene was both captivating and incredibly tense. We simply couldn't look away.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was hinted at when the group first arrived at the park, but this was our proper introduction to the greatest predator in the history of the world, and it lived up to every expectation possible.
1. The Brachiosaurus Is Revealed - Jurassic Park
Not only is this the most iconic moment from any of the five Jurassic movies, it is one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. An island full of dinosaurs is something truly terrifying, but there is a certain wonderment about seeing these creatures brought back to life.
In the build up to seeing the island for the first time, naturally the excitement surrounded the likes of the T-Rex, and the Velociraptors, but it was the humble Brachiosaurus that welcomed us to the world of Jurassic Park.
When Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler see the majestic sauropod for the first time in the flesh, it is something truly moving. At the time in 1993, this was simply groundbreaking in terms of special effects, and still holds up to this day almost 30 years later.
Using the Brachiosaurus as the first dinosaur was a fantastic decision, as it showed exactly what John Hammond had in mind for his park, transporting everyone watching back to childhood, as it's the closest we'll ever get to the real thing. To the backdrop of one of the most recognisable scores John Williams has ever put together, this moment never, ever gets old.
Source: https://whatculture.com/
