REVIEW: Jurassic Park 3D (Blu Ray)

I tend not to watch 3D movies at the cinema these days, World War Z (2013) will probably be the last time I do that. But not because I’m a 3D detractor, it’s more that I believe ‘3D’ cinema screens don’t do the format justice and are technically behind home 3D screens, particularly active 1080p screens.  Cinematic 3D screens are passive, the glasses cost almost ten times less than buying a coke and popcorn.  Active glasses cost ten times more.  This suggests an obvious gulf in quality, money talks and batteries are inserted for a reason.  Cinematic 3D screens are also darker, most of them have a bulb designed for one layer of film having two layers of film draped over it, that means an obvious hit in contrast and brightness.  Add to that the fact that the thing is running all week and stressed out already.  So, in short, you lose resolution, brightness and overall quality.  And this is not how I wanted to experience Jurassic Park in 3D, so I held out for the real deal on 3D Blu Ray.

Obviously, the movie itself needs no intro.  It’s Spielberg at his apex, he’ll never top this.  And the only way to beat Juassic Park in 1080p 3D was to have seen it at a certain age on release date.  I’m glad to say I was among that age bracket in 1993, a kid, seeing dinosars come to life but under the direction of a master director.  Kids these days, you have to be serious in saying this, are not getting the same experience with garbage like The Avengers.  It does not compare.  And while it’s Spielberg at his apex, it’s also and ironically CGI at it’s apex barely 5 years into its usage.  Even today, in naked maximum resolution our CGI-savvy eyes must concentrate in Jurassic Park to spot which is real and which is not.  This is because the director used it for purpose, and not to save a million or ten.  This is one of the last truly great blockbusters, shot on-site, by a director in his prime, with excellent material from Crichton and probably best of all,  made because it deserved to be made. 

The 3D conversion, thankfully, is not a cynical hackjob.  It was overseen by Spielberg himself, so there is no half assing here.  It’s not like Top Gun 3D, which is mostly a lazy cash-in with occasionally impressive pop and depth. The best way to describe Jurassic Park in 3D is not to say that it ‘looks’ 3D, rather it feels 3D, which is a compliment and not a criticism, because many 3D movies can feel unnatural, surreal and even creepy.  The conversion is solid and is superior to 1080p 2D.  The T-Rex for example is definitely more imposing, almost like its jawline is more lifelike.  The sound has also been upgraded and remastered, with the T-Rex again being an example, its roar has had several layers of depth added and piped through the 5.1 (or 7.1 if you have it) track from all angles.  Crank the volume up and hit the lights and you’ll probably be closer to 1993 than you ever were.

Another exampe that is particularly effective is the warden preparing to take on the raptors with his spas shotgun (which looks very ‘present’ and beautiful) in the jungle.  The jungle itself, to use a Predator quote, it comes alive and takes us!  That said, there is some facial crosstalk, but it appears less than 5% of the movie and the positives of the conversion far outweigh it.  The experience of this man vs beast shit, under this upgrade, is fucking all encompassing, I don’t think I ever want to watch it in 2D again. Elsewhere on the disc itself is a solitary documentary on the process of conversion with Spielberg and co, I guess at this stage there’s nothing else to say about the movie in terms of extras. This 2013 documentary is in native 3D though, which is a nice addition.

Probably most impressive about all of this is that it’s a conversion, of an old movie.  This gives hope for, say, the upcoming release of Predator 3D.  Mr. Cameron, we’re ready to see the corridors of Aliens in 3D…

10/10