What kid growing up didn’t, at some point, have a fascination with dinosaurs? I sure did, and apparently many people still do, as evidenced by the success of the Jurassic Park film franchise. Loving a good dinosaur battle, I decided to start one of my own…. Jurassic Park vs Jurassic World.

There are some obvious similarities between these films. Genetic experimentation with dinosaurs plays a major role in both movies. Jurassic Park illustrates the dangers of genetically creating dinosaurs, leading to the repercussion of the park never opening. In Jurassic World, genetically modifying dinosaurs, infusing many different, sometimes unknown, species, erupts in chaos within an already open park.  In both movies everyone discovers the power of genetics and experiences the dangers of tampering with this power.

The original Jurassic Park was released in 1993 (director: Steven Spielberg) and made it nearly impossible for viewers to ever look at a glass of water the same way.  The plot centers around billionaire, John Hammond’s (Richard Attenborough) decision to open a theme park of genetically engineered dinosaurs. Ever the conscientious business owner, John has the foresight to conduct a safety run before opening the gates to the public.  He does this by bringing in a group of scientists, Allen Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldbloom), and even included his own grandchildren (Joseph Mazello and Ariana Richards). They were invited to tour the park for the safety of the facility and the future tourists.  However, things begin to go awry.  An over-aggressive T-Rex and a greedy, disgruntled employee, Dennis Nerdy (Wayne Knight) spell disaster for the group. After Nerdy shuts down the power grid in his attempt to steal dinosaur DNA, the dinosaurs break out and run a muck in the park, especially the T-Rex and the Raptors who are on the hunt for food. By the end of the movie, the surviving group members are able to get the system back up and running, just in time for a raptor attack. In a surprise move, T-Rex defeats the raptors and saves the day. The gang narrowly escapes the island and, as a result of this terrifying ordeal, the park was never opened.

This movie has great special effects for the 90’s, especially the dinosaurs because they look real and not the typical CGI we have today. It also gives me an idea of what genetic engineering could become in the future, and with the machinery we have today or will have in the near future, maybe we will be able to one day create an extent species. The movie enables me to imagine what dinosaurs might act like in modern days. We have probably all loved dinosaurs at one time in our lives, and it shows just how aggressive and dangerous dinosaurs could really be.

Jurassic park has made over one billion dollars since it was released in 1993 according to The Numbers

Jurassic World (director: Steven Spielberg) was released in 2015, more than two decades after the original and was the fourth movie in the Jurassic franchise. Jurassic World is located on the original island, at the site of the original park. After twenty two years, the park is finally ready for the world to see, when Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) decided to open the park in honor of the late, John Hammond. Claire Daring (Bryce Dallas Howard) is in charge of the park’s operation and is tasked with keeping tourists coming back for more. It is determined that said tourists want something bigger and louder, with more teeth, and, thus, the Idominus Rex, a highly intelligent hybrid, was born. When the genetically modified, Indominus Rex, begins to exhibit far higher levels of intelligence and aggression, than thought possible, the park is once again in danger. Ultimately, the dinosaur escapes, and, again, chaos ensues. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), trainer of the raptors, is tasked with the rescue of Daring’s visiting nephews (Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson) and the capture of the Indominus Rex. This proves to be a challenging task for Grady when it is discovered that Indominus Rex has been infused with raptor DNA, resulting in Grady’s raptor companions recognizing a new alpha and joining the attack.  Of course, an epic battle spurs the climax of this film.  Yet again, T-Rex saves the day by battling Indominus Rex over a wall, into the water, where the Mosasaurus drags her down to a watery grave. The movie concludes with tearful reunions, and yet another lesson on the dangers of tampering with genetics.