Not a Second Wasted

 As strange as it may seem, I don't think I've ever actually watched Jurassic. If I did, I sure as hell don't remember it. I've always heard great things about it and of course have seen the classic memes and what not that were born from this movie. However, I think the hype was well deserved. And I say this for the simple reason, that there is always something happening on the screen.

Let's start with something simple. When the character Dodgson gets out of the car and leaves it open, the driver comes and starts shaking his fist. This little interaction turned an otherwise, boring though necessary few seconds into something I thought was pretty funny. Another example is the scantily clad women on Nedry's computer. Again, the screens needed to be shown to get across vital information. However, this lewd picture adds something to laugh at, but also gives us insight into Nedry's seedy nature. It's clear that there is always something to look at.

The camera does a lot of legwork with this. There are a number of times the camera zooms in or gives us the viewer a specific angle to view something. The cups of water are a good example of this. All we the viewer sees is cups of water that shake every few seconds, accompanied by an ominous thud. The T-rex's approach could have been made more action packed, perhaps actually showing the dinosaur approaching from afar. However, a closeup on two simple glasses of water adds so much tension and suspense. We all suspect what's coming and we only need a couple cups of water to let us know.

There was even a point where I noticed a sign on a wall start out as unfocused background but came into focus just as the information on it became relevant. It's the little things like this, very much different from the hyperfocus of the cups, that also add a little bit more to an otherwise mundane scene. Things like this have no attention drawn to them, no dialogue, no zoom, no acknowledgement they even exist. First time through, I'm sure most people skipped right over these minor details. Yet they were still added in, giving all the more reason to rewatch the movie over and over again.

And I think it's this rewatch potential that truly makes it a blockbuster movie. The idea that they add things, knowing full well most people won't notice or care, makes it clear they had a great deal of confidence in the movie. But it also means the entire movie is being used. So often we have long, drawn out scenes that take five minutes to get across five seconds worth of information. This movie used every second to get something across about a character, a place, a dinosaur. I felt drawn into the movie because of this and loved every second. 

Overall, I was hyped up about this movie for so long. I was not disappointed with how much detail put into it and look forward to watching it again and again.