Remember where you were when you first watched Jurassic Park as a kid thirty (thirty!) years ago? I remember, and I remember my mind was utterly blown by ALL THOSE DINOSAURS roaming around that badly designed theme park. It was like truly watching pre-history come to life. And now I’m an adult and there are even more films to watch!
But because not all of them were released with a handy “II”, “III”, etc. to denote watch order, you might be a little confused when looking at the DVD shelf. Don’t worry, I’m going to list all six of them chronologically so you can get the most out of all the dino-chomping action.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Knowing Jurassic Park turned thirty this year makes me feel so old. But the franchise is all about the power of old things!
This acclaimed Steven Spielberg film, based on the novel by Michael Crichton but not sticking to it very closely, was the blockbuster to end all blockbusters when it first came out. Stores were stacked top to bottom with Jurassic Park merchandise and you could barely move without stepping on a plastic toy dinosaur. Kids told each other in whispered tones, “Did you know a T-Rex eats someone on the toilet in this movie?” Ah, it was film heaven. And if you watch it now, you’ll see that it still is.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
You’ll hear people sometimes calling this movie Jurassic Park II but nope, it was marketed as The Lost World when it first came out. This one was based on Crichton’s sequel to the first Jurassic Park novel and featured the return of Ian Malcolm. Despite Jeff Goldblum’s energy and more rampaging dinosaurs, The Lost World simply didn’t live up to its predecessor. Spielberg directed again but in 2016 he told The New York Times, “My sequels aren’t as good as my originals … I come in like it’s going to be a slam dunk and I wind up making an inferior movie to the one before. I’m talking about ‘The Lost World’ and ‘Jurassic Park.'”
Jurassic Park III (2001)
Spielberg didn’t return to direct any more of the Jurassic franchise after film number two, so for number three Jumanji director Joe Johnston took the helm. Jurassic Park III was also the first in the franchise not to be based on one of Crichton’s books. And the results were … mixed. It received some poor reviews when it came out, but it’s been re-evaluated in recent years, and most people agree it is at least quite a fun outing for Sam Neill’s Alan Grant even if it’s not much else.
Jurassic World (2015)
Fourteen years after the last Jurassic movie the park finally opened! But if you thought a theme park full of dinosaurs actually wasn’t a terrible idea after all, think again. Jurassic World sees the inevitable happen when rugged outdoorsman Owen (Chris Pratt) and glacial businesswoman Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) have to team up to escape the genetically engineered mega-dino Indominus rex. There’s fun, carnage, and velociraptor fights aplenty, even if the film’s gender politics are extremely dubious, to say the least.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Fallen Kingdom picked up where the first Jurassic World movie left off, and it also called back to the original trilogy with a cameo appearance from Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm. Alas, that cameo might have been the main thing that audiences liked, because reviews were bad. Like, full-on, “Oh please god not another one” bad. Still, it’s really not terrible, I promise (unless you truly dislike Chris Pratt, which is fair) and it did make over a billion dollars at the box office.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Spoiler alert! Thanks to the events of the last two Jurassic World flicks, dinosaurs are now roaming freely about all over the place. Oh no! Such a crisis calls for the reunion of one of the best movie trios ever: Sam Neill’s Alan Grant, Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, and Laura Dern’s Ellie Sattler.
Once again this movie was utterly slammed by critics but did very well indeed at the box office. Watch it and see what you think! I have to say, if there was anyone out there who shipped a certain pair from the original Jurassic Park, a coupling that was seemingly not meant to be, you’ll probably find at least one thing you love about this movie…
(featured image: Universal)
