NOW PLAYING (1993)

JURASSIC PARK (PG-13) The dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg's fantasy are miraculously organic creatures: beady-eyed lizards as realistic as anything you'd see in a zoo. The thrill of the movie, of course, is that they're genuine monsters, too. Created through a blend of computer animation and electronically controlled models, they are so marvelous, and Spielberg choreographs their scenes with such wit, tension, and verve (the T. rex, a primordial killing machine, makes you want to giggle and duck for cover at the same time), that it's easy to overlook the film's obvious weaknesses: a plot that's at once busy and thin, a coy layer of blockbuster self-consciousness. As a flight of fantasy, Jurassic Park lacks the emotional unity of Spielberg's classics (Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T.), yet it has enough of his innocent, playful virtuosity to send you out of the theater grinning with delight. A-

You Might Also Like

• Movie Review Jurassic Park (1993) | Owen Gleiberman
• Trailer Park Jurassic Park (1993) | Michael Sauter
• All About Jurassic Park
• DVD Commentary ''Jurassic Park'' has one of the best CGI scenes (2000)
• Movie Commentary T. Rex made our list of best CG characters (1993)
• Movie Commentary T. Rex made our list of best CG characters (1993)