The Jurassic Park 4K Blu-ray Is A Great Way To Experience An Underrated Trilogy
With a new Steelbook edition of the Jurassic Park Trilogy, it’s time to revisit the classic movies.
Calling the Jurassic Park films “underrated” is like calling oxygen “underused.” You can’t throw a rock without hitting someone who has a nostalgic opinion about them. While the first film has gone down as a cinematic classic, The Lost World and III are, at the very least, enjoyable plays on the core idea of revived dinosaurs running amok. And with a new Steelbook edition of the Jurassic Park trilogy newly released on 4K Ultra HD (and a new film coming to theaters in early July,) the time is ripe to revisit the films and see what they offer beyond scenes of mankind becoming reptile dinner.
How Was The Jurassic Park Trilogy Received Upon Release?
When the original film debuted in theaters in the summer of 1993, it quickly became (at the time) the highest-grossing film ever made. Some critiques were aimed at the thinner characterizations, but they were drowned out by the awe over the intense, frequently scary, spectacle. Special effects seemed like they’d leapt forward an era with Jurassic Park and Hollywood itself would have to struggle to evolve with it. It also appeared on the pinnacle of a wave of dinosaur fascination that had been developing since the ‘70s. For many, THIS was how the dinosaur had always been meant to be portrayed. (Even with the creative liberties taken. A Velociraptor probably couldn’t open your door!)
Like Jurassic Park, The Lost World emerged during a merchandising bonanza that drew in everything from tea bags to Giga Pets. It also took the special effects developed during the first film into overdrive, operating on a sort of slasher movie sequel formula of “More set pieces, more murders, more creatively.” In the end, it felt a little hollower than the first film — mostly because the dinosaurs were out of the cages and you couldn’t surprise people the same way twice. Jurassic Park III seemed like an attempt to rectify this and turned the series into a straightforward, 90-minute adventure film. But by that point, the universal agreement of “Well, it’s just not as good as the first one” overshadowed the franchise like the broad wingspan of a Pteranodon.
Why Is The Jurassic Park Trilogy Important To See Now?
Richard Schiff, Julianne Moore, Jeff Goldblum, and Vince Vaughn in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
If you try to frame the original Jurassic Park trilogy as a “simpler” time, it’s a futile gesture. Jurassic Park, even before the publication of the original Michael Crichton novel, was primed to be a big deal and make folks a lot of money. However, the original is one of the most well-constructed thrill ride flicks ever made. The way that Spielberg blends and frames his various special effects techniques, from life-size animatronics to CGI to even people in Velociraptor costumes, gives the prehistoric animals a feeling of life and vibrancy that only few prior films had been able to capture. The fun cast (including Jeff Goldblum in a star-making turn as “chaotician” Ian Malcolm), a well-paced, economical script, and a dynamite score from John Williams, allows Jurassic Park to feel just as vital in 2025 as it did in 1993.
The Lost World, in a sense, understands that it won’t be able to outperform the first movie in quality. And so, even as the director suffered from dinosaur-sized malaise, he opted to supercharge it. One adult Tyrannosaurus became two, there were now multiple vehicle chasing scenes, and the finale involved the T. rex stomping through downtown San Diego, Gorgo-style, looking for its young. It’s similar to the transformation between Ridley Scott’s atmospheric Alien and James Cameron’s more action packed Aliens. Jurassic Park III, even as it leaned the series out narratively and thematically, added new staples to the franchise like making the Spinosaurus the “final boss” dinosaur (each film after would pull a new giant beast from fact or fiction) and implementing the winged Pteranodons as a dynamic threat.
Many franchises change, but few have installments that feel as distinct from one another as the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each one has different aims and is working with a different range of comfortability with both dinosaurs and the trademark technologies that create them. Even if you have no interest in rampaging dinosaurs (and their seemingly endless appetites), it’s a crash course in a decade’s worth of visual effects achievements.
What New Features and Upgrades Does The Jurassic Park Trilogy 4K Ultra HD Have?
Michael Jeter, Alessandro Nivola, Tea Leoni, Sam Neill, and William H. Macy in Jurassic Park III.
Along with some new “The gang’s all here!” cover art and photo album-esue interior design, the Jurassic Park Trilogy 4K Ultra HD edition has both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, adding a visual and sound bonus to a package that’s no stranger to getting upgrades over the past few years. The special features, having accrued over numerous prior home video releases and anniversary editions, are no slouch — there are hours of behind the scenes content devoted to each film, ranging from documentaries to simple compilations of odds and ends.
Just as it’s hard to call the Jurassic Park films “underrated,” it’s also hard to believe that any diehard fan of them doesn’t own at least one of the sets put out over the years. However, if you know someone who doesn’t that might be tired of trying to follow their preferred dinosaur films in a game of streaming service BINGO (they’re on Peacock now. No telling where they’ll be in a few months), grab this for them. That way, even if Jurassic World: Rebirth disappoints, they’ll find solace in this trilogy of adventures.
