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The T. rex's presence in the visitor center may or may not be unlikely in
and of itself. But no one—not the humans, not the raptors—notices the
five-ton creature until that last second, when he must have been literally
standing right next to them? Earlier in the movie, much drama is made of
the fact that the ground literally trembles with every step the T. rex takes.
That he's now suddenly invisible and silent to everyone around him is
questionable to say the least.
Comes with little or no warning; is not properly set up .
Check. We haven't seen or heard from the T. rex since he was chasing
the Jeep over thirty five minutes earlier on the other side of the island, and
there's no prior indication he's anywhere in the area.
Is noticeable to the audience at the time it happens, or very shortly
thereafter .
This is subjective, of course, but from personal experience I recall rolling
my eyes when I first saw this in the theater. (I am admittedly a tough audi-
ence.)
Is doubted, questioned, second-guessed, or even mocked by the
audience .
An online search for “Jurassic Park deus ex machina” will demonstrate
that I'm not the first or only audience member to notice this concern with
Jurassic Park .
However, the movie was also hugely successful, spawning a series of se-
quels and generating untold millions in ticket and licensing revenue. So, no
harm, no foul?
Perhaps. But for every Jurassic Park that gets away with reliance on
spectacle over story logic, there are a hundred stories that fail to over-
come their own weaknesses and thus don't connect with audiences. In
other words, just because Spielberg managed to get away with it, don't as-
sume you will too.
Writers don't intentionally insert these disasters into their stories; as
mentioned before, they're usually a side effect of the writer trying to do
something else. But being aware of coincidences and figuring out which
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