We Really Need To Talk About This Scene In Jurassic Park…

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]In the Jurassic Park films, a lot of people have talked about the death scenes of memorable characters. And I'd argue that this is one of the main reasons people even show up to see the movies. But one thing I've noticed that we don't talk about too much anymore is the idea of someone being seriously hurt or injured by a dinosaur. From a storytelling perspective and character drama, I think these scenes can actually be used to really build up future installments in the franchise. And one particular moment from the first movie really sells this idea for me with Dr. Malcolm.

[00:00:35]What's going on, guys? Hope you're all doing well. So, I wanted to talk about a specific scene in the first Jurassic Park that I'm a little confused on how it didn't get expanded upon in the other sequels. Because the idea of maming one of your main characters can do an awful lot to build up tension and suspense in a movie, especially when it comes to how they're going to get out of a future situation with wild dinosaurs attacking them. So, in the first film, when Dr. Ian Malcolm leads the T-Rex away from Grant and the kids, there's one shot with a practical effect T-Rex head that you see breaking through the bathroom wall. Now, look guys, if you pay really close attention to that scene, you can actually see Malcolm getting straight up slammed through the building. And if you stop the movie at the perfect time, believe it or not, the Tyrannosaurus prop actually loses a tooth during the scene. Malcolm's leg busted off or something. Like, you can see the tooth falling from its mouth. And while that alone is super cool, you can also see the actor's leg shown inside of the T-Rex's mouth while he's getting shoved into the wall. And look, when Robert Mulon and Dr. Satler find Malcolm on the ground later in the movie, the camera shows his messed up leg and Ellie says that he put a tourniquet on. Keep in mind, this is after we see the T-Rex kill Donald Jinaru and throw him around like a rag doll. So, while all of that crazy stuff had been going on, Jeff Goldblin was just laying there with like a broken leg underneath all the bathroom building stuff falling on top of him.

[00:02:01]He's just kicked the T-Rex in the face, leaving him a receipt, but like he got his leg all messed up. I mean, like I know this is super analytical scene by scene stuff on a basis, but as far as like the storytelling is concerned, I really do want to talk about what the future films could learn from this original one. I mean, in the movie Jurassic Park, you can also see how this dude's survival is like genuinely an impressive one that alters his entire personality and shifts the film into something way more serious. Like from now on in the movie, we get Lost World Malcolm and the whole laughing smiley guy trying to flirt with people. He is like completely gone. Look, Jurassic Park takes one of its most memorable characters, seriously inflicts a crippling wound on him and uses that scene to push the film into more of a serious survival tone and how it all builds up that film and makes it work is just awesome. I really do think newer sequels can look back at what they're doing here and learn from it. Now, of course, for the rest of the movie and a little bit of the Lost World, Dr. Malcolm's leg injury does show up, and it's a big deal because the dude straight up survived this stuff. Just think about this guys. If someone like Dr. Alan Grant, Owen Grady, Claire Daring, or literally anyone else in a returning movie, if someone was given the opportunity to have a serious injury limit their abilities in a future sequel, the audience would be on the edge of their seat, shocked at how someone actually got seriously hurt, and they might even die if they keep up that level of suspense in the film. In the Lost World Jurassic Park, which I always bring up, but I mean like when Dr. Sarah Harding falls through the broken glass.

[00:03:38]That is genuinely one of the most suspenseful moments in the entire franchise. And while she didn't really get seriously injured, that sort of tension and drama buildup is something that I think Jurassic Park should really lean in on, especially with newer Jurassic World movies. And in fact, I've even seen an interview before where Chris Pratt says he really wants to get messed up and hurt by a dinosaur in a future movie. So, why not just do this stuff? especially if you got the actors agreeing that, hey, this could make things really, really cool. And that's because ways in which the Jurassic Park sequels could do this kind of just write themselves and sound obvious. Start a movie off with Owen grabbing his gun and there's a velociaptor that manages to latch onto his hand while he's about to pull the trigger. Then show him barely making an escape by going into a building or maybe a small cave's crevice or somewhere safe and lifting up his hand to the camera to reveal two of his fingers have just been ripped off. Kind of like how Return of the Kings sort of made that injury that Froto gets at the end of the movie super serious and it makes you like take a step back and go, "Whoa, we're getting for real here. This is upping the stakes." You could do this with all of the characters like Alan Grant suffering from a dinosaur bite in his shoulder that maybe that like rips some stuff at him and he can't use his arm, which is like, "Oh my gosh, how's he going to get out of this one?" give Claire a nasty scar across her face from the talons of an animal or even having someone straight up get their leg bitten off by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I mean, even make it be Dr. Malcolm like where they're like, "Oh, it's a call back to Jurassic Park." And the camera moves down. It's like, "Oh, no, son. His leg is gone, bro." Like, this is way more serious of a moment in the franchise. I mean, I know we can talk a lot about death scenes in movies. And I've done it a lot because I think they're important for creature features and science fiction films. They're supposed to be very memorable, so you go, "Oh, yeah. I remember that scene in the movie." They also can build up tension and add something serious if it's a major player in the story. But look, even though I've said all of that, let's not forget that as far as the writing goes for these films, seriously impacting a character with a new obstacle to work around by getting seriously injured can help punch up the script and make it way cooler.

[00:05:45]How is Owen going to shoot a dinosaur if he's missing his fingers, you know, when he got attacked? What about if somebody loses a leg or even gets blinded by a dinosaur but lives? Zora or Duncan surviving a Dilophosaurus attack would spit like that venom in their eyes and maybe even getting maimed by the dinosaur before someone comes in and is able to rescue them. That could make for a very good setup to the actor in the film being handicapped and maybe they're even a liability to everyone else in the surviving ensemble cast. You know, like I don't want to carry you around while we're trying to evade dinosaurs. No, we can't leave them. But, you know, the the possibilities that this could all set up when you seriously injure a character like they did Dr. Malcolm in Jurassic Park are great. And I think that this is something that Jurassic Park could lean more in on instead of just doing callback scenes. And like we go back to that first movie. I just want to say that this injury has always been one that's kind of surprised people who have read the Michael Kiteon book because Dr. Malcolm actually does die from his leg injury in the novel. Now, Kiteon did bring him back for the lost world with a quote that went something like, "Rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated."

[00:06:49]But in the novel, he's getting injected with morphine and pretty much out of commission as soon as this attack goes down. In the movie, it's a blink and you miss it moment. And to be completely real with you, I have no idea how they even accomplished this shot or if anyone got seriously hurt while they were making Jurassic Park. But this is one of those little pieces of trivia from the first film that just blows my mind.

[00:07:08]Especially because I don't understand how we didn't use more stuff like this in future installments in the series. We always talk about how Jurassic Park is this really good science fiction adventure film. And I don't know, I just think implementing some of these ideas that were used in the first movie for a sequel sound like an obvious, it's not even a layup. It's like a free throw for a future film. Like imagine how much more memorable Dominion would have been if Alan Grant was seriously wounded.

[00:07:33]Like maybe the Jiggonatosaurus stepped on his leg or something. No, better yet, if the Demetradon bit him like as soon as he looked over the edge with his torch and saw one in the caves. Like, what if it actually latched out and grabbed onto his arm? I mean, I don't know. I actually have a lot of hope that the future installments of this franchise will listen to their fans and help make some big changes a reality because something does tell me they're actively trying to get this franchise right. I mean, listen to me, guys. You can't stop future Jurassic Park sequels from being made, but maybe we can help nudge them in the right direction with some constructive criticism that is used to kind of elevate the material and help show them, hey, we really like this stuff in the past. I think it can still work in the future. Just try this. In the end, this little bit of trivia in the original Jurassic Park where you can see how Malcolm wrecked his leg and uh even see how he basically sweet chin musics the T-Rex.

[00:08:27]I mean, I think it's fun stuff, but I do seriously believe that if they applied the same sort of writing to future characters and future sequels, we could be in for something really, really cool for this franchise. Also, just want to say glory to God for Sam Neil's recovery from cancer. I saw that in the news that he's in remission now. So, that is by itself amazing. Personally, I think Jurassic Park can brush itself off and actually deliver a solid sequel. But I will also say that if they don't go down this road, the plot armor is a bit too much. I want to throw this back to all of you guys. What do you think about the scene from the original Jurassic Park where Malcolm wrecked his leg? What do you think about what that did to add suspense and tension into the actual plot of Jurassic Park? And do you think that they can pull this off with future movies in the franchise? I will say Billy's survival in Jurassic Park 3I is very unbelievable. But kudos to them for actually seriously injuring a character.

[00:09:25]I think I would have preferred it if he stayed dead, but that's just for storytelling reasons, which is what we're making this whole video for in the first place. So, whatever your own thoughts and opinions happen to be, I'd love to hear all about them in the comments down below. Now, before I go, I want to thank everyone that's helped me build my channel over the years. I'd also like to thank every one of you guys who've watched my stuff. You've all been extremely cool to me. If you enjoyed the video, I'd appreciate a like and hope that you'll consider subscribing. God bless you all. Christ is king. See you guys in the next video. And as always, take it easy.