BENNETT INVENTORY : That Moment

Jurassic Park -- The Rape of the Natural World

The T-Rex attack on the Jeep doesn't occur until 70 minutes into the movie. I mention this because it's arguably the most memorable scene in the film, one of the most memorable in the director's career, hence one of the most memorable in Cinema. But in the structure of the story, it's the first real set piece - and yet I'm never in a race to get there.

There's nothing artsy or innovative about utilizing the first act for exposition and character development, but the irony is that critics largely dismissed the entire feature as a vehicle for special effects without any real heart or substance. Time has devalued their initial reaction and validated what the rest of us already knew: that it was as much about memorable characters and dialogue as it was about dinosaurs - maybe more so.

I used to not really like the lunch scene - at least I thought I didn't. It's only about 4 minutes long, but by this point we'd already seen the towering brachiosauruses and the ominous baby raptors and I was ready for the monster momentum to pick up considerably. But over time and after countless video and HBO viewings, I began to realize that it was the scene I thought of whenever I thought of the movie. I once read something like, "Michael Crichton stories are about smart people trying to convince other smart people to take a risk." That's amusing because it's true, but it threatens plenty of expository dialogue scenes - and this is a big one. But it's written and acted with such a casual finesse that it's not painful or superfluous at all - actually it's a joy; it's got that great argument from Jeff Goldblum about the scientists being "so preoccupied with whether or not they could..." 

Really though, what predictably makes the scene great is Spielberg. This thing with the projectors shining over the actors' shoulders in this structureless black void is artfully sinister, but it's also the visual signpost that I'd nominate to slap on a plastic lunchbox. Dean Cundey certainly deserves some credit for this fancy lightshow, but there's a not-too-subtle subtext in the images being projected all around the room - depicting various charts and graphs estimating different kinds of growth in the future of the park, all while the protagonists are asserting how uncertain its future is. Joke's on them of course - these sequels keep finding a goddamn way.

- Paul