Question: The second Nedry notices the Dilophosaurus in the jeep with him, why didn't he quickly get out and shut the door, trapping it inside? He had a second or two before the Dilophosaurus started growling and attacking him, plenty of time to get out.
Answer: In addition to what RayWest and LionHead wrote, I would like to point out that it's easy to say what a person should have done. You're watching the situation as an outsider. Granted, this is a fantasy situation in a movie about dinosaurs, but the mentality is realistic: people who are actually in a situation don't always think of something that seems obvious.
Answer: The fact that Nedry was in a car could've been giving him a false sense of security. Yes, he could've gotten out of the car, but then he'd be out in the open, making it easier for him to get attacked by any other dinos that were lurking about. In the car, he probably (incorrectly) assumed that the Dilophosaurus would have restricted movement due to how small cars are, making it harder for it to attack.
Corrected entry: When Alan becomes overwhelmed after seeing the movie's first dinosaur, he staggers and sits down on the ground... But as he is bending over before sitting, there are already grass stains and/or wet spots on the seat of his pants.
Correction: I've watched this scene plenty of times and there are no grass stains on his pants.
There are definitely stains on his pants. Clearly visible in 4K.
Then I suggest submitting a screen shot because in the clearest images I can't see any stains or wet spots.
Question: Why was Dr. Grant so dismissive of Tim when they first met? I can understand Grant being annoyed with the bratty kid at the dig site but Tim showed a genuine interest in dinosaurs and even mentioned he'd read Grant's book.
Answer: Dr. Grant doesn't like kids. Any kids.
That was an issue between him and Ellie Sattler, who wanted to have a family, while he did not. She eventually married someone else and had kids.
Answer: Grant just has a low opinion of kids in general. He probably thinks Tim is too young to really understand or appreciate the research that Grant has dedicated most of his life to. Also, Tim can come across as a little "too much" at times; he talks really fast and barely gives Grant a chance to get a word in edgewise.
Corrected entry: In order to open a park like that to the public (and obviously it's close to the opening date) Hammond would have to convince more people than just his investors. In reality, the park would have to pass a security review, and those auditors would definitely ask questions like "What happens in case of a catastrophic computer failure?" Something tells me the answer "All the fences turn off and you have to run across the compound to turn them back on manually" wouldn't sit too well with them.
Correction: We don't know that Hammond is not going to do that. Having to convince the investors is just the first step. Without financing, nothing else matters because the park will never open.
The park is all but finished. You convince investors at the beginning, inspectors at the end. Convincing investors after the fact is just not how it works. Thinking about what the security inspectors will ask at the end is equally bad practice, although I have seen it done that way, if not quite at that scale.
The whole manual reboot had to be done because Dennis Nedry locked them out of the system, so they had to do a hard reboot. Dennis Nedry's virus and meddling also shut the fences down intentionally. In practice the reboot would be done with more time on their hands and someone at the compound ready to reboot quickly enough that all fences go back online in time. In this situation however, they didn't have those luxuries. No system can be fully made failsafe from industrial sabotage or hacking.
Question: What exactly was Dennis Nedry's plan overall? The shutting down of the command building's doors makes sense but shutting down all the park fences always struck me as a really pointless risk, especially considering he then proceeds to drive through the very areas he just disabled. Was he trying to create a distraction to cover his abrupt departure (in which case are we to infer he was actually willing to leave his boss, his colleagues and several visitors stranded with the dinosaurs?) or did he simply not have a safer means of smuggling the embryos off the island?
Answer: Twofold. He had to shut down the fences because they contained the exit gates so he could leave to get to the docks, presumably because he didn't have the time to override the individual doors as he happened upon them. Secondly, it also serves as a massive distraction so that he's highly unlikely to be chased by anyone from the park (Dinosaurs not withstanding!). He had to shut down security features on the island to access the embryos, to navigate through the park, and cause a distraction. All security ran on the same power. He was meant to only be gone for 5 minutes. That was what he had planned.
I agree with the above explanation. Also, Nedry needed the power off so as to not be seen on surveillance cameras.
Corrected entry: Right before the scientists see the dinosaurs for the first time, Ellie is looking at this plant leaf and saying, "This has been extinct since the ____ period." If it's an extinct plant, how could they duplicate it? Mosquitoes don't drink chlorophyll - there's no way it could have been preserved if everything worked the way they said. No organic material from an extinct plant from either the Jurassic or Cretaceous period has ever been found, and given that plant material decays very quickly, it never will be. The engineers did not use some magical "other method" to clone plants because there aren't any.
Correction: As has been pointed out on this site before, inventing deux ex machina explanations for plot holes and factual errors does not invalidate them. No organic material from an extinct plant from either the Jurassic or Cretaceous period has ever been found, and given that plant material decays very quickly, it never will be. The engineers did not use some magical "other method" to clone plants because there aren't any.
Correction: The video they watch (with Mr. DNA) only explains how they recreated the dinosaurs, which were the main attraction of the park. The engineers used other methods to make the right environment for the animals, but as it's not half as exciting, the viewer never finds out exactly how.
Correction: The simplest and most likely explanation, once you accept the logic of this movie in the first place, is that the engineers are removing Plant DNA directly from the amber.
Amber is fossilized tree sap, anything fossilized doesn't hold any DNA. However, it is possible amber holds trapped plant parts (called 'inclusion'), from which DNA can be extracted. Theoretically.
Question: Is it true that a T-Rex's vision is based on movement?
Answer: According to noted paleontologist Jack Horner, who acted as a consultant on this film, it is not known whether or not a T-Rex's vision was based on movement. However, because some reptiles do have this trait, Horner said it's possible that a T-Rex could have it as well, and he didn't object to it being in the movie. Being as these are not pure dinosaurs, it's plausible.
Kent Stevens conducted an experiment to figure out what kind of vision T-rex had.
There is evidence that T. Rex had excellent binocular vision, and could see you even if you didn't move.
Answer: It's unlikely. As a large and top-heavy predator, the T. Rex would have needed excellent vision to be sure that it didn't fall over and injure itself. As it also had overlapping binocular vision (similar to predatory birds, predatory mammals, and humans), it most likely had very good vision, especially since prey freezing in place (like a deer in headlights) is a common thing. This is a holdover from the first book, which is also lampshaded as a bad theory in the second book.
Kent Stevens determined that T-rex had a depth perception of 55°. That's better than hawks and eagles.
Corrected entry: When the T-Rex moves to Dr. Grant and the boy they hold still because it can't see things that don't move. Unfortunately though, T-Rex's have a highly developed sense of smell and would certainly have known they were there.
Correction: Considering the fact T-Rex's have been extinct for 65 million years, its quite difficult to tell what their sense of smell was like. Also, Grant says quite clearly in the film that sight was the Rex's most powerful sense and if you stayed still, it confuses him.
There is actually evidence that T-Rex had visual clarity 13 times better than a human, and could see objects up to 6 kilometres away. So, T-Rex would have been able to see Dr. Grant and the boy regardless of whether they moved or not.
If a T-Rex is unable to see something when something is standing still, it's not its most powerful sense. Smell makes more sense, but not provable.
Factual error: At the beginning of the film we are shown an amber mine in the Dominican Republic. This amber is only 45 million years old, Hammond would never bother buying the amber from there as dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record 65 million years ago.
Suggested correction: This is assuming that Hammond would restrict himself to a specific period of the earth's history, which makes no sense. Of course Hammond would also be interested in Paleogene or early Tertiary fossil blood! All the proto-birds, giant birds (just think about a Gastornis! What a sensation in a zoo!), not to mention giant mammals like the Megatherion, proto-elephants, proto-rhinoceroses.
There is absolutely no suggestion in Jurassic Park - film or book - that Hammond has any interest in any animals except for dinosaurs. We see no facilities for cloning extinct birds or mammals, nor are they mentioned in his promotional film. The post is correct.
It's specifically mentioned in the book that Hammond was buying huge quantities of amber, even museum-quality jewelry. He was likely getting hold of everything he possibly could to increase chances of finding blood-carrying insects.
There is also absolutely no suggestion that he wouldn't be interested. Surely these would make excellent alternatives / backups in the event he couldn't source enough mosquitos of the era he was most interested in.
As has been pointed out on this site before, inventing deux ex machina explanations for plot holes and factual errors does not invalidate them. Cloning non-egg laying mammals would require vastly different technology to that seen in Jurassic Park. Nowhere in the film is it indicated that Hammond is interested in anything except dinosaurs, nor that he is in any way equipped to clone anything but them.
Hammond buying up any mosquito-containing amber is not a plot hole. He didn't say he wanted exhibits from 45 million years ago, but he also didn't specifically say he wasn't interested. Lack of a statement in a film is not a plot hole.
Corrected entry: When they first arrive at the park, they see a brachiosaur feeding on the leaves of a tree. When the dino gets on its hind legs to get a hold of the top branch, it could've easily reached the top branch without taking the extreme energy to lift itself. This counteracts anything that would naturally happen but is used to make the impressive landing that it makes coming down.
Correction: Unless you'd care to provide full and factual details of your studies into real-life brachiosaur feeding habits, this is based purely on an opinion, which are not considered valid grounds for a mistake.
While rearing up is at least PLAUSIBLE for most sauropods as the majority of their weight was carried on their hind legs. This is not the case for Brachiosaurs, their skeletal anatomy just doesn't support it. The greater length and robust build for the forelimbs indicates that their weight distribution was much further forward than in a sauropod like say Diplodocus. While it cannot be stated 100% that a Brachiosaurus could not rear up, it would be extremely difficult, and likely carry a high risk of injury for the animal. sources: Evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs Cambridge university press Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: Understanding the life of giants Indiana Univerity press.
The book is about studies of real fossils. In JP there were genetically engineered monsters. There could have been differences compared to true dinosaurs.
Well since this movie came out before those books did all this information is irrelevant. It's all artistic license.
Corrected entry: When Muldoon prepares to shoot the raptor he unfolds his rifle butt. However the rifle is already unfolded when he and Ellie are passing the raptor pen.
Correction: Time passed between those points. It is entirely plausible that he folded his stock as he walked into the thick jungle to keep it from getting hung up on the vegetation, only to unfold it again when he has his shot lined up.
An extremely unlikely situation where by he is making it harder for him to defend himself.
The SPAS-12 (a shotgun, not a rifle) can be fired from the hip, as seen in a variety of videos on it. In a dense jungle, being able to swing the gun around to an up-close target without snagging would probably be more important than the shoulder stock. In fact, if you watch Muldoon swing around to try to shoot the "clever girl", the stock is in the way on his shoulder, and he couldn't get the shotgun pulled back far enough to hit her.
Correction: It's actually an Italian shotgun, the Franchi SPAS-12. From the time they pick up the shotgun to the time Muldoon extends the folding stock, you can see the folded shoulder rest still laying atop the shotgun.
Answer: There are some additional factors that would interfere with his ability to move quickly: He was obese (so not very agile) and his vision was impaired (he dropped his glasses and was sprayed with gunk in his eyes).
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