Day 86: Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park is one of those franchises that you've probably already heard all about. If you like dinosaurs, sci-fi, and just desserts, then you'll definitely enjoy the book and should definitely give it a read. It's difficult to find a book that's any easier to review than that. A lot of my expectations going into the book were informed by the movie, one I watched at least twice a year for like 12 years in a row. A faithful adaptation if ever there was one, the themes, message, and atmosphere of the book all come across pretty well, but there were some differences I'd like to talk about today. If you're like me, you've already seen the wildly popular movie before reading the book, and going into the book blind is not possible. Instead of a normal review, which would be two words (go read!), I'm going to take a look at how the movie and the book differ. There are some differences that will stand out, and one big difference that leads me to prefer the book over the movie.

While the movie is an excellent adaptation, it is missing a few key elements, cut so it could fit into the allotted screen time, I would assume. One of those elements is actually a whole character. Ed Regis is the first Jurassic Park employee introduced in the novel. Head of public relations, Ed's job is to produce copy to promote the park (once it is announced to the world) but during the course of the novel Ed is instead forced to babysit Tim and Lex. Normally he would also be working to cover up any issues with the park before launch day, but Ed gets tangled up with the rest of the characters when the power goes out during their fateful tour of the island. You may recall this character, Gennaro, who left the kids and was eaten on the toilet in the movie:

Ed takes his place in the novel, getting eaten not by the big T-Rex, but by a second, juvenile T-Rex, adding insult to injury after he shamefully leaves the kids behind all by themselves. Besides being the first to fall before the might of the Rex, Ed doesn't add all that much to the story. I can see why he was removed, but the unfortunate consequence is that someone else more important had to die instead ...

Gennaro, the blood-sucking lawyer who dies on the toilet, is a lot deeper in the book. He gets more time in the spotlight, and actually decides early on that he is going to pull the plug on the park. A younger man in the book, Gennaro sports an Armani suit, large rimmed sun glasses, and an expensive attitude. He's not the most heroic person, but when things go bad Gennaro ends up doing more for the group than you might expect. He aids the hunter Muldoon for most of the novel, has some redeeming moments along the way, and learns first hand how the reckless use of he and his firm's money has endangered the lives of hundreds, if not the entire human population. If there's anything missing from the movie, it's definitely this more badass version of Gennaro, but I don't think this is the biggest loss of the adaptation.

Another character that gets a painfully small amount of screen time in the movie is Henry Wu. Wu is the scientist behind the genetic manipulation going on at Jurassic Park, but in the movie he does little more than show them around the labs and disappear.

This character serves a key purpose that goes unfulfilled in the movie. While Gennaro might be the biggest difference, the lack of Henry Wu is far and away the most critical. Henry serves to paint John Hammond in a much darker light than the movie dares to show. You may have gotten the perception that Hammond simply bit off more than he could chew with Jurassic Park if you only watched the movie, but this is far from the truth. John Hammond is an evil megalomaniac, someone incapable of taking advice from even his most trusted staff. I didn't realize just how far gone Hammond is until Henry tries to convince him to slow down development of the park. Yes, that's right, the lead geneticist asks the guy in charge to slow down and avert disaster. Here's the response:

“Now, Henry,” Hammond said, putting his arm around Wu’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind my saying so, I think you’re getting cold feet. You’ve been working very hard for a long time, and you’ve done a hell of a job—a hell of a job—and it’s finally time to reveal to some people what you’ve done. It’s natural to be a little nervous. To have some doubts. But I am convinced, Henry, that the world will be entirely satisfied. Entirely satisfied.” As he spoke, Hammond steered him toward the door.

“But, John,” Wu said. “Remember back in ’87, when we started to build the containment devices? We didn’t have any full-grown adults yet, so we had to predict what we’d need. We ordered big taser shockers, cars with cattle prods mounted on them, guns that blow out electric nets. All built specially to our specifications. We’ve got a whole array of devices now and they’re all too slow. We’ve got to make some adjustments. You know that Muldoon wants military equipment: LAW missiles and laser-guided devices?”

“Let’s leave Muldoon out of this,” Hammond said. “I’m not worried. It’s just a zoo, Henry.” The phone rang, and Hammond went to answer it. Wu tried to think of another way to press his case. But the fact was that, after five long years, Jurassic Park was nearing completion, and John Hammond just wasn’t listening to him any more.

If the hunter you hired, that is, a guy who kills the most dangerous animals in the world with nothing but a Jeep and a rifle, tells you to invest in laser guided anti-material ordinance, maybe you should consider pumping the brakes a little. But no, John Hammond can't do that. In fact, it's not even a part of his concern. Here is his main concern about the park:

“But I can’t help but hold some fears about this park, Henry.”

Inwardly, Wu felt relieved. Perhaps the old man was going to face the facts, after all.

“What kind of fears?”

“You know, Jurassic Park’s really made for children. The children of the world love dinosaurs, and the children are going to delight—just delight—in this place. Their little faces will shine with the joy of finally seeing these wonderful animals. But I am afraid … I may not live to see it, Henry. I may not live to see the joy on their faces.”

It's impossible to miss who the real antagonist is in the book. Hammond doesn't respect the power of what he is doing at all, and later Malcolm tries in vain to get across the depth of the atrocities he's committed on the island to no avail. He never sees how he is at fault in any way concerning the failures of the park. By the end, he's pointing fingers at everybody but himself, blaming Henry, the computer engineer Arnold, Muldoon, anybody he can think of. I won't give away the details, but remember how important just desserts are to Jurassic Park, and you'll already know how Hammond's story ends.

The movie fails in one critical way by leaving Wu out. We don't get to see how Hammond interacts with his most knowledgeable subordinate, and so we don't get to see the side of Hammond that makes him truly evil. We don't get to see the real extent of his arrogance. In the movie, the dinosaurs are the antagonist, and the hubris that brought them to be goes unpunished. This is not true of the book. It's very clear who caused the problem, and who needs to pay for it. This is the biggest difference between the book and the movie, and the reason I'm partial to the book after reading it.

Thank you for reading,

Benjamin Hawley