Jurassic World Dominion is out on the 10th June, we have five movies in this franchise now, with a range of different appeal, but most importantly, they all have dinosaurs in and that is the biggest draw to the franchise that launch a million movies fans journey into cinema, including my own.
Today I am going to be looking at the best moments in a franchise that has lasted nearly 30 years. A few of these are my personal favourites, others are the iconic moments in the cinema, some filled with terror, others in awe. The list isn’t in any particular order, with these moments being the best.
Dr Grant First Sees a Dinosaur – Jurassic Park
Nothing in the Jurassic Park series would ever have prepared the audience for the amazing first look at the Brachiosaurus and adding in Dr Grant’s expression of seeing the giant dinosaur harmlessly feeding in front of his very eyes reflected our own disbelief at what a beautiful creature this was. The first proper sight of a dinosaur, the impact it made on the screen, will be one that will never be forgotten.
Brachiosaurus Calls for Help – Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom
When Owen and Claire are trying to save the dinosaurs from the erupting volcano, failing with the hunters taking certain off the island, as they escape, they look back and see a Brachiosaurus calling for help standing up on its back legs, as the smoke covers the area, we hear the cries die down, as the dinosaur is taken back to by the lava. This sequence is the biggest emotional moment the series ever achieved, leaving a tear in your eye, halfway through the movie.
Owen & Blue – Jurassic World & Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom
Owen has been training the raptors, which has given him a unique connection to one, Blue, from the first time we meet him controlling the raptors, to any interaction they pair have in the movie, we see this bond like no other the franchise is able to capture. This feels like a true double act, because Owen isn’t the most interesting character for the rest of the time in the movie. When the pair work together, they are leading an attack on the more dangerous predator that both sides couldn’t handle alone, but together they can get the job done.
T-Rex First Appearance – Jurassic Park
When we first travel through Jurassic Park, the adventure seems like it is going to become tame, with the only dinosaurs we have seen being the herbivores, with any of the carnivores remaining hidden in their enclosures. That changes when the power cut hits, leaving the two vehicles trapped by the T-Rex enclosure. First, we get the shock of the goat leg hitting the car, before we hear the fence getting ripped down and the T-Rex roars through. That first appearance will leave you with goosebumps and the action around what happens is equally as intense. This will create arguable the most memorable scene in the franchise, and one of the most memorable in film history.
The Hunting Sequence – The Lost World
The Lost World will bring us one of the harder scenes to watch, because it shows how the human factor of desire to hunt will take over. We see this with how the team led by Peter Ludlow hunts down the dinosaurs using their advanced weapons, vehicles in a ruthless manner, as Ian Malcolm and his side must watch on helplessly. This scene is a cruel one to watch, but reflects how selfish humans are even with a new species on the planet once again. The scene is shot very well too, showing the panic involved with dealing with certain dinosaurs that attack, unlikely anything the hunters would have dealt with before.
T-Rex Defeated – Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III might well be the one most people like the least in the franchise, it loses the magic of the first one, but is still filled with dinosaur action, mixed with an out and out rescue mission being used to drive the story. Where this movie goes in another big direction, is how the T-Rex is handled, with the previous two movie quite often seeing the T-Rex coming in for a late rescue of our characters, it looks like that is about to happen with an early sequence here, only for the larger predator a Spinosaurus to kill the T-Rex with relative ease. Leaving us without the chance of a big dinosaur T-Rex rescue in the closing sequence.
Cliff Edge Rescue – The Lost World
When Sarah and Nick looks to help an injured baby T-Rex, they returning it to the caravan they have been operating out of, on a cliff edge. As the baby starts to make more calls, it attracts the parents, which will see them not being happy, leading to the vehicle hanging over the cliff, in an intense sequence which will see Sarah, Nick and Ian needing to survive the assault on the vehicle, while Eddie must try to keep them attached before they hit a watery grave. This is an intense sequence, looking to one up the previous big action set piece with T-Rex in Jurassic Park, leading to the moment both sides must learn to work together.
Gyroscopes – Jurassic World
The Gyroscopes that the tourists get to explore the Jurassic World look amazing, seeing how the people would be rolling next to the dinosaurs, going further than the original idea of the driving tour that was put in place for the Jurassic Park. They are also used for an attack sequence, creating even more tension for the characters to go through.
Clever Girl – Jurassic Park
In what is one of the least played down characters in the film Muldoon, the man who keeps the dinosaurs in their enclosures has always been scared of the raptors, he has seen how they studied to escape, knows how intelligent they are and with the power down, it is his worse fears they will escape. In a sequence where he is leading Ellie to the power generators, he finds himself inside the trap set by the raptors, as he looks to get a head of them, he sees how he has been outsmarted, the fear he thought would happen, uttering the chilling line ‘Clever Girl’ before getting attacked.
What are some of your favorite moments in the Jurassic Park Franchise?
