Doctor Allen Grant and Company are dead to rights at the end of Jurassic Park. They are surrounded in the main lobby of the park by three velociraptors and their situation is so hopeless that not even the overwhelming sexuality of Jeff Goldblum can protect them. Mere milliseconds away from being mercilessly ripped to pieces, the resident Tyrannosaurus Rex makes a special appearance and saves the day. The ending is exciting, entertaining, and I find myself unsatisfied with it.
Before I get to my complaint, let me state that the ending to Jurassic Park serves its purpose very well. The film is a summer blockbuster that exists to be a cinematic roller coaster. A good ride has a lot of thrills and unexpected twists, and by that measure Jurassic Park delivers. Moreover, the T-Rex and raptors were well-established menaces, so to deprive the audience of a showdown between the two would be a form of cinematic malpractice. Granted, I believed when I first saw the movie at age 8 (and to this day) that the raptors would have used their superior intellect and hauntingly calm killer instinct to win the battle, but that's getting off topic. The point is that the T-Rex going from menace to hero while posing for an iconic shot is what people paid to see. In that sense the ending is perfect. However, in a more insightful sense, the ending is not perfect. Allow me to explain.
In the absence of parody or hammy self-awareness, deus ex machina endings tend to be sloppy. Jurassic Park is no exception. It's vividly established that the T-Rex makes a lot of noise when it moves. This is iconically illustrated when the glass of water ripples in the car before the T-Rex appears to wreak havoc. The ripples function to create tremendous tension by alerting you of the ravenous prehistoric giant lurking just out of sight. Each ripple and concurrent boom is like the tick of a time bomb you are helpless to disarm. Being big and loud is what the T-Rex is all about, so why is it able to silently sneak into the lobby at the end? My complaint is that the success of the ending hinged on a character becoming something completely different from what it is, in this case an eight ton beast becoming stealth.
This lack consistency with characteristics of the T-Rex is ridiculous and I will not allow it to go unnoticed, hence the post.
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