John Hammond Was a Monster & ‘Jurassic Park’ Was Wrong to Make Us Like Him – Armessa Movie News

On June 11, 1993, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park premiered in theaters and began a cinematic franchise with a cult following to this date. The original movie takes place in an island theme park that houses genetically recreated dinosaurs and is in its final stages before opening. Unfortunately, the park is facing a high-profile lawsuit due to the death of one of its workers which prompts an investigation from the insurance companies and its investors. In order for the park to clear the lawsuit and be granted an opening date, mastermind entrepreneur, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), must seek out the opinion of Paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), as well as Mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), some of the top experts in their fields and can provide the probability of things going array. It seems like a sure-footed plan, but, of course, things don’t go well. The dinosaurs get loose and Hammond’s dream of giving families an amazing theme park goes to shambles.

As movie viewers follow John Hammond’s onscreen progression, it’s not unusual to feel sorry for the poor, old billionaire by the end credits. Especially considering the character’s charismatic nature and Attenborough’s performance, it’s easy to forget everything that led to his transformation and Hammond’s true nature. The source material paints a much clearer picture due to said performance and the character’s personality, but the film lays out clues to pick up on. Either way, John Hammond is a capitalist monster and we shouldn’t like him.

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What Made Us Fall in Love John Hammond in ‘Jurassic Park’?

The character of John Hammond is that of a wealthy entrepreneur who wishes to use advanced genetic science as the main attraction for a theme park he’s building. In the film, he’s portrayed as eccentric and ambitious and someone that the audience feels for as their vision comes crashing down, and how could they not? Hammond simply wanted to give happiness and memories to families from all over the world, and he was portrayed by Sir Richard Attenborough- the very same actor who would deliver an iconic performance as Santa Claus the very next year. But don’t let his jovial nature fool you. Any version of Hammond is one who will do whatever he needs to get what he wants, or will simply assume those involved will roll with anything due to his silver-tongued qualities.

John Hammond is so affable in the film that he’s able to get away with so much based solely on how likable he is. For the best examples of this in the 1993 film, look no further than its first 15 minutes following the opening credits. We’re introduced to Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferraro), the legal representative of the park’s investors who is performing the investigation on Jurassic Park. Upon arrival, Gennaro is greeted by a proxy for Hammond and provided a dismissal explanation that he needs to be present for his daughter’s divorce. Shortly thereafter, sans daughter or any mention of her, John Hammond makes his grand entrance at Ellie and Alan’s dig site via chopper, nearly demolishing their work. He then breaks into their trailer, opens the bottle of champagne the team had been saving in the fridge and, when Grant begins questioning who he is and what he thinks he’s doing, Hammond introduces himself by immediately reminding them of his funding for the excavation they’re currently working on. Although he explains his presence, he does so while downplaying why the attorneys he so dislikes are inspecting the park. He sidesteps the truth and says that it’s just the pesky insurance companies making a fuss since they’d prefer top minds, like Elie and Alan, to sign off on the park’s safety.

To clarify what we’re shown in the film version of John Hammond: He is the charming embodiment of toxic positive manifestation. He brushed off the attorney who holds the fate of the park within his hands with a dismissive half-truth; he’s destroyed a paleontological dig site via helicopter and downplayed the park’s recent tragedies in order to persuade the experts he needs the opinions of to get past the lawsuit. He even counters every rebuttal from Sattler and Grant by practically flinging his money at them and offering to fund their work for the next three years. He does all of this while serving them their own champagne with a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye, and the world’s most reassuring tone that masks the underlying message of “That’s a hefty mess to clean up if you don’t take my deal.”

What Is John Hammond Like in the Original ‘Jurassic Park’ Novel?

The John Hammond we meet in the book vastly differs from who he is in the movie. Instead of an amiable, albeit determined, entrepreneur, he’s a business manager who is generally disliked by those who know him. While Hammon in the movie may experience some denial-influenced tunnel vision when things go wrong, the novel compares him to a project manager who will scream, shout and stomp his foot until he gets his expected result. He’s quoted as believing that “helping mankind is a very risky business.” and makes it clear that the park is intended for “the children of the world…or at least the rich ones” and “to make money. A lot of money.” Those who work for him are in it for the salary and employment opportunity of working at a cutting-edge theme park. Even the geneticist behind the dinosaurs’ creation, Wu, has his criticisms of Hammond despite owing his entire scientific career and successes to him. In the face of the park’s problems, Hammond compares these to the same that are found at any theme park or zoo and will rather focus on his vision and the sheer wonder of it all with an unwavering dismissal of reality.

The most dastardly thing about the novel’s John Hammond, aside from his blinding hubris and his refusal to address the several deaths on the island related to the park which he’s responsible for, involves his grandkids Tim and Lex Murphy. Instead of Hammond providing his “target audience” a convenient distraction, as he does in the film, they’re solely a means to an end, which is mentioned in the book’s final chapters. Hammond informs no one of his inviting them, justifying the decision by restating his ownership of the island and he “can invite whomever” while arguing with Gennaro over it. Hammond also makes it clear that he seeks to prove the park is safe for children, so he’ll risk his own family in order to do so. In reality, it’s shown that he’s cut several corners in building that park, including not building a storm barrier on a tropical island in order to protect the park’s pier, a fact which his chief engineer, John Arnold reminds him of.

John Hammond Was the True Villian in both the ‘Jurassic Park’ Movie & Novel

John Hammond’s quote “spared no expense” is one of the most popular in any movie. This makes sense as Attenborough says the line with such enthusiasm five times throughout the film. While he says it to convey that he spent every penny that was asked of him in building the park, its use and translation should be expanded upon. It shows that there were quite a few expenses spared such as backup gas tanks for the tour vehicles which may have saved the scientists and kids from the T. rex attack in the movie, a storm barrier for the pier in the novel, and Hammond creating a more elaborate backup park master system in both formats. Truthfully, the quote should translate as “spared no opportunity at someone else’s expense.” To paraphrase Ian Malcolm, he stood on the shoulders of giants and geniuses, which he bought, and was so concerned about whether he could do something, he never thought of the consequences and whether he should. In both the movie and the novel Hammond allowed his arrogance and ambition to get in the way of his understanding of the science he employed at the park, which caused a lack of discipline in wielding it.

By the end of Jurassic Park, the film’s John Hammond has survived his tremendous mistake on Isla Nublar and thereby had a change of heart. As he and the rest of the survivors soar off into the end credits, the audience is treated to a remorseful billionaire who’s sorry for what he’s done and learned his lesson in playing God. We can agree that this sounds like a sensible conclusion to the story, but this isn’t how it ends for Hammond’s capitalist counterpart in the novel. As the survivors huddle at the Visitor’s Center and await their rescue, Hammond remains in utter denial of his disastrous failure of a park. Even after putting an entire island’s inhabitants and his own family in danger, he sees it as simply having the wrong team to execute his vision and resolves to try again with a better one. He reasons this by thinking that this is how progress works. With his resources and the backup DNA on other islands at his disposal, he’ll employ a better team that will fix the previous problems and use that knowledge to navigate the future ones. Clearly, Hammond’s steadfastness is once again negating the reality of his actions and saving him from facing it.

If anyone’s looking for justice from him in the novel, don’t worry – the book’s author, Michael Crichton has your back. While going for a walk to clear his head and escape the anxiety being caused by the sight and smell of Malcolm’s brutal injuries, Hammond is caught off-guard by a young Rex and frightened by the park’s audio effects, thinking it’s a larger one nearby. He falls down a hill, landing in mud and breaking his ankle, which prevents him from climbing back up. He dies soon after by the mouths of a pack of Compsognathus, some of the very things he’d funded the creation of. While this version may not be a fulfilling end for the story’s true villain, it can be agreed that it is a very poetic one.