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Avg. Critic Score: 68 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 Iffy for 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    One great monster movie. [11 June 1993, Daily Notebook, p.C1] Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    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. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Colossal entertainment -- the eye-popping, mind-bending, kick-out-the-jams thrill ride of summer and probably the year. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    Spielberg's must-see is so wondrous at depicting things that go crunch in the night that its human characterizations and pokey exposition seem astonishingly halfhearted… On a "people" level, Park isn't “Jaws,” but on a jolt level - oh, yes, it is. [11 June 1993, Life, p.1D] Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Rita Kempley

    A dumbed-down adaptation of Michael Crichton's techno-novel on the dangers of dinosaur cloning, it's not Spielberg at the top of his game, but it's dino-mite just the same. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    Spielberg's scary and horrific thriller may be one-dimensional and even clunky in story and characterization, but definitely delivers where it counts, in excitement, suspense and the stupendous realization of giant reptiles. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Elvis Mitchell

    It becomes less crisp on screen than it was on the page, with much of the enjoyable jargon either mumbled confusingly or otherwise thrown away. [11 June 1993, p.C1] Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    The suspense and technical wizardry are the only reason to watch Jurassic Park. In a summer movie, that's more than enough, of course. But screenwriter Michael Crichton, adapting his popular novel with David Koepp, slashes almost everything that made the book an entertaining read. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    All the imagination and effort (including 18 months of pre-production) that went into making the dinosaurs state-of-the-art exciting apparently left no time to make the people similarly believable or involving. In fact, when the big guys leave the screen, you'll be tempted to leave the theater with them. [11 June 1993, Calendar, p.F-1] Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 12+ Terrifyingly realistic dinos run amok.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that kids will see lots of folks -- and a few innocent animals -- being eaten by realistic dinosaurs, but there's little actual blood and gore. In the less intense environment of home, kids as young as 9 may be able to handle the fright factor with an adult at hand, but sensitive kids should skip this one. Kids will hear a few mild profanities.
  • Families can talk about how movies blur the line between science and science fiction, sometimes dispensing misinformation in the process. Since it's not really possible to clone dinosaurs, why use cloning as a plot device?
  • Does using headline-grabbing scientific concerns make the story more plausible and thus more thrilling?
  • Can you think of other movies that stretch current science to create a plot, for example the possibility of asteroids hitting the earth or a sudden shift in the earth's climate?
  • How can you find out which parts of a story are really based in science and which are made up?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Just like Frankenstein there is an underlying message about the dangers of playing God but through teamwork, determination and smarts all of the main characters make it out alive.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: The two children are intensely likable, smart and brave while the husband and wife dino team protect them and each other at every turn.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Plenty of people and a few innocent animals are eaten by realistic dinos, but there's little actual blood and gore. Suspenseful scenes of the kids being hunted (but not caught) by dinosaurs are particularly intense.
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false2 Language: Rare swearing includes one "s--t," plus "hell," and "damn."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: This is the first part of a series.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A secondary character smokes regularly. Rare drinking by adults.

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