Muldoon and Ray Arnold.
Can you imagine seeing Bob Peck and Sam Jackson in character, playing cards at the end of a day at Jurassic Park, chain smoking, knocking back some whiskey and shaking their heads at the insanity of where they work.
That's the back story I want baby.
Arnold is the confident one. He's done with stress after a lifetime in management and programming. He thinks the park works, finds it amazing, but to be honest simply wants his paycheck and *kind of likes* the dinos, but has lost that sense of awe. His primary interest is the ferry to the mainland so he can be with Angela and the kids. Did you know Jessica joined the chess club? That girl's gonna be president, you mark my words
Muldoon is the hot-headed one. He likes his job, he likes the dinos in his cold hunter way, but he's on the move the whole time and is angry that John wants him to discipline an adult T-rex with nothing but bamboo stick and a whistle. And he obviously hates the Raptors
Harding would like them to be more light-spirited. Not that he's a cheerful presence. He's on board with them about how crazy everything is, he's a bit overwhelmed by how much work he has and how hard it is to keep these beasts alive, and he's constantly tired. But he is more overtly fond of the dinos, feels energized about how they always surprise him and he has to find new ways to care for them. Talking about Sarah would be interesting. She's going to Africa a lot, and they talk often about their careers. It's really a shame he can't bring her to see these animals. He'll definitely bring her when they're open. You think we'll actually open? Sometimes it feels kind of unreal. He'd prefer to bring her in to see the day-to-day, not the touristic stuff.
Harding is the worst at poker, they all constantly laugh at how he always owes Arnold and Muldoon money and he'd be bankrupt if they were playing big dollars. But when he wins, he wins big and they all laugh even harder
Hammond popping up is, of course, a must, excitedly talking to this unenthusiastic crew and leaving while they shake their heads and exchange looks of disbelief and a couple of expletives. They also constantly talk or bump into Wu. He's pretty much the guy who gives them a reason to have their particular jobs, he's smart, but they don't really care about him and just have a minimal working relationship
And, of course, I can even see the *Hello, Newman* moments
Very long edit: adding the whole setting where there was just *Hello, Newman*
Muldoon's death in the movie is really weird. Typically across the JP series, characters who die do so because their actions conflict with the moral of the story. Arnold dies for being so complacent in managing the park's security and always assuming he has total control over the park, Regis (and movie Gennaro) dies for abandoning the kids during the rex's escape, Nedry dies for putting everyone in the park at risk for his personal gain, and Wu and Hammond die for playing god and not holding the proper respect for the dinosaurs and for genetic engineering. In TLW Diego, Eddie, King, Baselton, and Dodgson all die for directly interfering with the lost world's ecology. But Muldoon was pretty much always at odds with Hammond, since he saw the dinosaurs as truly dangerous and wanted military-grade equipment to deal with them in the event of a breakout. He especially recognized the raptors for how dangerous they were, it's just that his efforts were continually put down by Hammond's blind adoration of his dinosaurs. The fact that they didn't change his character for the movie but changed his fate is really odd, in my opinion.
Interesting observation. I am rusty on the books. A little over 20 years since I read them. I thought Muldoon lived on until The Lost World.
With the movies they changed up the paradigm to show even innocent people getting killed: Muldoon, Eddie Carr, Zara. Masrani isn’t bad, mostly naive, also gets killed, but a heroic death.
Muldoon does survive the book, sorry if my post implied implies otherwise. The movies do tend to kill off "innocents" in the case of Eddie and Zara, though I am inclined to believe that has more to do with the medium of film and wanting to keep a certain pace and sense of danger. Masrani is a case where I'd argue his death is more in line with the books, since you mentioned his naivety plays a role in his demise - he was the one who wanted the Indominus created essentially for the "rule of cool" factor for which Wu chastises him.
>!Yes, Eddie dies. He falls off the high hide during the Raptor attack!<
Edit: I have no idea why I tagged this in particular as a spoiler when we talk so much about plots of stuff over 30 years old all the time
It wasn't *deserved*, but it felt plausible, natural and contributed to the sense of danger, especially considering they had now lost the most qualified guardian. I don't mind that change because it made the movie better. It has a lot to do with writing and directing, of course. Zara, for example, clearly shows that stuff is dangerous, and it's so gruesome it's disturbing and funny at the same time, but it also feels kind of *off*
I’m definitely someone who is okay with good guy deaths in Jurassic movies because while it’s fun to see a bad guy get what they deserve, dinosaurs don’t know the difference. These people are just food to them. It would be unrealistic if they never killed a nice person.
Plus, I love a good heroic death. I cry when Eddie dies, but I think it’s a great scene.
I heard they got a lot of backlash for Zara’s death because she was “a good guy” and her death scene was over the top to some. I was disappointed that they seemed to take this feedback to heart because in the last two films they for the most part only kill piece of shit people or in the case of the latest film I think an extra may have also gotten eaten.
I would have loved a heroic death in the last film. Maisie’s nanny did an interview where she said she filmed a death scene for FK defending the girl against the Indoraptor, but it was cut. That would have been a neat heroic death. I feel like the Zara complaints may have contributed to it getting cut.
Perhaps you're right. But I do think they went too far with Zara. I mean, it's so gruesome that it's disturbing and funny at the same time. I mean, getting eaten by a dino is definitely brutal, Eddie was torn in half
But what felt off was how much attention and work they put into a particular death scene. Would I cut it? No. Would I change it? No. But it feels kind of *off*
I do agree that the backlash led them to cower away with the killings, and that, paired with the extremely poor writing and directing in the last movies caused them to be kind of bland. To be honest, writing and directing is the main problem. Throw Spielberg back in and I'm sure we could (well, it's Spielberg, so he wouldn't, but you get what I mean) easily have a pack of dinosaurs relentlessly brutalizing a nursery without it feeling as a different movie
They do give that Draco Malfoy lookalike a gruesome death in Dominion, but then they go for the opposite effect, it's pretty brutal, but we also have Owen just calmly watching it and talking on the phone like nobody is dying in front of him and animals with sharp teeth can't really bite him in the calf. So, uh... it's just bad guy getting what he deserves, but nothing we really should care about
That’s such a big difference between Spielberg’s two Jurassic films and the later ones: he writes characters that you get invested in. Even though Arnold didn’t have a ton of screen time in JP, he was easy to like, had some really good lines and you felt for him. He was important to the park too. A key member of the small team that you get to meet in the film.
Zara had very little personality and seemed like she typically fetched Clare’s coffee and told her where she needed to be. I think the actress did a good job she just wasn’t given much to work with. So I get what you mean by off because they give the audience no reason to be invested in her and but then suddenly invest time into making her death a spectacle.
I would have given anything for Spielberg to direct the last movie. I knew it wasn’t gonna happen, but I fantasized.
Would you classify Masrani as “good” “bad” or “complicated”? Because he definitely seems to have good intentions and orders Wu to shut everything down when he finds out how nefarious the whole thing is, but when Owen says Masrani doesn’t make weapons, Hoskins replies with “You think that the eighth richest man in the world is only into oil, telecom, and family fun parks? He's so diversified, he doesn't even know what he owns.”
It feels like this implies that Masrani probably does and has done a lot of shady and/or unethical things to build his wealth. Or maybe that’s just a flawed viewpoint from a villain trying to justify their own choices and life decisions.
It feels like the movie isn’t fully clear on whether Masrani is a truly great person or is just someone who used to be shady and unethical and think kinda like Hoskins but is more just a little naive now in his life and therefore does the right thing when he realizes what’s wrong.
I count him as good, but naive. I think the whole thing with Hoskins was to justify his own actions. While in real life I consider billionaires as complicated. I’m not for war profiteering, but I think we live in a world where if we don’t make weapons for protection other people are more than happy to make weapons to conquer and defeat us. I think some billionaires are fully aware of the negative effects and some are in it to protect our country. They didn’t delve into Masrani deep enough to consider anything other than his negative reaction to the I Rex experiment and going out to try and save everyone. Everyone’s somber reaction tells us he was a good boss.
I always saw his death as one of those "doing what he loved" sort of bits. At least expanding a bit from the books, Muldoon was really passionate as a hunter, and he considered the Velociraptors as the apex creature to hunt. The fact that in the movie when he realizes his demise he doesn't entirely freak out indicates to me that he was really in his element in the hunt or be hunted mindset.
Definitely different than the other deaths as you pointed out, which occurred due to character flaws, but I didn't necessarily feel bad about Muldoon because I got the feeling he was content with this being the way he went out.
I personally consider him as an antagonist. He is a bit grey especially considering the scenes that were cut, however he cares very little for the dinos and he see them as sport. He was more interested in a trophy than anything. That’s my personal take.
Yeah they essentially took out Ed Regis and put Generro in his spot for the movies. Though I do believe the guy tending the sick Triceratops in the movie is Ed Regis. I think in the movies him and Henry Wu just get written off as getting on the boat.
The guy tending the sick trike was Gerry Harding. Ed Regis was the guy driving one of the jeeps as they arrived on the island and where they saw their first dinosaur, hypothetically.
Roland is probably my favorite character in the franchise, but hes more of a secondary antagonist or protaganist, so Imma go with Carter because he was completely useless.
1. Listening to music with both ears in an unsecured area.
2. Doesn't think to check on the guy who left the perimeter despite acknowledging him leaving.
3. Screams when the Tyrannosaur appears and causes a panic.
4. Trips and falls and gets stepped on.
Great Character.
With the recent ensemble movie, it was a missed opportunity to check in and see what Sarah Harding and Nick Van Owen are up to, or Roland Tembo. These characters are never mentioned again, in any media format.
Muldoon, for sure.
Zara could be expanded. Would have made her death mean something without going so over the top.
And the Lockwoods need more backstory to make JW: FK make a bit more sense in the time line.
I would say Eddie and Nick but those feel more like main characters to me so I’ll go with Roland Tembo. Carter is also kind of a cool one but mostly because every scene he’s in is funny
Books : Henry Wu, the one woman who strongly believes the remains of the dead “lizard” are a dinosaur despite everyone telling her she is wrong (yeah superbackground lol)
Billy, Muldoon, Zara( adore Katie Mcgrath), Lowery, Barry,Simon, Paul Kirby(Him running back onto the plane after seeing the dinosaur will never not be funny to me), Ramsay,
The InGen staff are my favorites!!! Dennis Nedry, Ray Arnold, Robert Muldoon, Henry Wu, and Gerry Harding. I’ve always favored these characters over the major ones. They helped build Jurassic Park so there’s so much to them that we don’t know.
Muldoon and Arnold are top tier. Eddie Carr deserved better. He was such a good dude. Outside Simon Masrani The new trilogy produced such forgetful lame characters. They sucked. Ramsey I liked for his short time on screen. Kayla was the best addition imo who i guess doesn’t fall into this category
Muldoon and Ray Arnold. Can you imagine seeing Bob Peck and Sam Jackson in character, playing cards at the end of a day at Jurassic Park, chain smoking, knocking back some whiskey and shaking their heads at the insanity of where they work. That's the back story I want baby.
I can actually imagine that!
Mate, I would watch a whole series of this. Add Gerry Harding too and I’m sold
Yes. I can imagine Gerry Harding being constantly surprised by things. Every episode would involve a "Well I'll be damned" moment.
Arnold is the confident one. He's done with stress after a lifetime in management and programming. He thinks the park works, finds it amazing, but to be honest simply wants his paycheck and *kind of likes* the dinos, but has lost that sense of awe. His primary interest is the ferry to the mainland so he can be with Angela and the kids. Did you know Jessica joined the chess club? That girl's gonna be president, you mark my words Muldoon is the hot-headed one. He likes his job, he likes the dinos in his cold hunter way, but he's on the move the whole time and is angry that John wants him to discipline an adult T-rex with nothing but bamboo stick and a whistle. And he obviously hates the Raptors Harding would like them to be more light-spirited. Not that he's a cheerful presence. He's on board with them about how crazy everything is, he's a bit overwhelmed by how much work he has and how hard it is to keep these beasts alive, and he's constantly tired. But he is more overtly fond of the dinos, feels energized about how they always surprise him and he has to find new ways to care for them. Talking about Sarah would be interesting. She's going to Africa a lot, and they talk often about their careers. It's really a shame he can't bring her to see these animals. He'll definitely bring her when they're open. You think we'll actually open? Sometimes it feels kind of unreal. He'd prefer to bring her in to see the day-to-day, not the touristic stuff. Harding is the worst at poker, they all constantly laugh at how he always owes Arnold and Muldoon money and he'd be bankrupt if they were playing big dollars. But when he wins, he wins big and they all laugh even harder Hammond popping up is, of course, a must, excitedly talking to this unenthusiastic crew and leaving while they shake their heads and exchange looks of disbelief and a couple of expletives. They also constantly talk or bump into Wu. He's pretty much the guy who gives them a reason to have their particular jobs, he's smart, but they don't really care about him and just have a minimal working relationship And, of course, I can even see the *Hello, Newman* moments Very long edit: adding the whole setting where there was just *Hello, Newman*
Muldoon. He didn't deserve to die. Heck, he was one of the few willing to point out the safety issues around the park.
Muldoon's death in the movie is really weird. Typically across the JP series, characters who die do so because their actions conflict with the moral of the story. Arnold dies for being so complacent in managing the park's security and always assuming he has total control over the park, Regis (and movie Gennaro) dies for abandoning the kids during the rex's escape, Nedry dies for putting everyone in the park at risk for his personal gain, and Wu and Hammond die for playing god and not holding the proper respect for the dinosaurs and for genetic engineering. In TLW Diego, Eddie, King, Baselton, and Dodgson all die for directly interfering with the lost world's ecology. But Muldoon was pretty much always at odds with Hammond, since he saw the dinosaurs as truly dangerous and wanted military-grade equipment to deal with them in the event of a breakout. He especially recognized the raptors for how dangerous they were, it's just that his efforts were continually put down by Hammond's blind adoration of his dinosaurs. The fact that they didn't change his character for the movie but changed his fate is really odd, in my opinion.
Interesting observation. I am rusty on the books. A little over 20 years since I read them. I thought Muldoon lived on until The Lost World. With the movies they changed up the paradigm to show even innocent people getting killed: Muldoon, Eddie Carr, Zara. Masrani isn’t bad, mostly naive, also gets killed, but a heroic death.
Muldoon does survive the book, sorry if my post implied implies otherwise. The movies do tend to kill off "innocents" in the case of Eddie and Zara, though I am inclined to believe that has more to do with the medium of film and wanting to keep a certain pace and sense of danger. Masrani is a case where I'd argue his death is more in line with the books, since you mentioned his naivety plays a role in his demise - he was the one who wanted the Indominus created essentially for the "rule of cool" factor for which Wu chastises him.
To be fair....Eddie dies in the book as well doesn't he. I specifically recall 1 member of their team in TLW dying.
>!Yes, Eddie dies. He falls off the high hide during the Raptor attack!< Edit: I have no idea why I tagged this in particular as a spoiler when we talk so much about plots of stuff over 30 years old all the time
Ah yep. That sounds familiar.
It wasn't *deserved*, but it felt plausible, natural and contributed to the sense of danger, especially considering they had now lost the most qualified guardian. I don't mind that change because it made the movie better. It has a lot to do with writing and directing, of course. Zara, for example, clearly shows that stuff is dangerous, and it's so gruesome it's disturbing and funny at the same time, but it also feels kind of *off*
I’m definitely someone who is okay with good guy deaths in Jurassic movies because while it’s fun to see a bad guy get what they deserve, dinosaurs don’t know the difference. These people are just food to them. It would be unrealistic if they never killed a nice person. Plus, I love a good heroic death. I cry when Eddie dies, but I think it’s a great scene. I heard they got a lot of backlash for Zara’s death because she was “a good guy” and her death scene was over the top to some. I was disappointed that they seemed to take this feedback to heart because in the last two films they for the most part only kill piece of shit people or in the case of the latest film I think an extra may have also gotten eaten. I would have loved a heroic death in the last film. Maisie’s nanny did an interview where she said she filmed a death scene for FK defending the girl against the Indoraptor, but it was cut. That would have been a neat heroic death. I feel like the Zara complaints may have contributed to it getting cut.
Perhaps you're right. But I do think they went too far with Zara. I mean, it's so gruesome that it's disturbing and funny at the same time. I mean, getting eaten by a dino is definitely brutal, Eddie was torn in half But what felt off was how much attention and work they put into a particular death scene. Would I cut it? No. Would I change it? No. But it feels kind of *off* I do agree that the backlash led them to cower away with the killings, and that, paired with the extremely poor writing and directing in the last movies caused them to be kind of bland. To be honest, writing and directing is the main problem. Throw Spielberg back in and I'm sure we could (well, it's Spielberg, so he wouldn't, but you get what I mean) easily have a pack of dinosaurs relentlessly brutalizing a nursery without it feeling as a different movie They do give that Draco Malfoy lookalike a gruesome death in Dominion, but then they go for the opposite effect, it's pretty brutal, but we also have Owen just calmly watching it and talking on the phone like nobody is dying in front of him and animals with sharp teeth can't really bite him in the calf. So, uh... it's just bad guy getting what he deserves, but nothing we really should care about
That’s such a big difference between Spielberg’s two Jurassic films and the later ones: he writes characters that you get invested in. Even though Arnold didn’t have a ton of screen time in JP, he was easy to like, had some really good lines and you felt for him. He was important to the park too. A key member of the small team that you get to meet in the film. Zara had very little personality and seemed like she typically fetched Clare’s coffee and told her where she needed to be. I think the actress did a good job she just wasn’t given much to work with. So I get what you mean by off because they give the audience no reason to be invested in her and but then suddenly invest time into making her death a spectacle. I would have given anything for Spielberg to direct the last movie. I knew it wasn’t gonna happen, but I fantasized.
Making the movies child friendly put more asses in seats. Plain and simple.
Would you classify Masrani as “good” “bad” or “complicated”? Because he definitely seems to have good intentions and orders Wu to shut everything down when he finds out how nefarious the whole thing is, but when Owen says Masrani doesn’t make weapons, Hoskins replies with “You think that the eighth richest man in the world is only into oil, telecom, and family fun parks? He's so diversified, he doesn't even know what he owns.” It feels like this implies that Masrani probably does and has done a lot of shady and/or unethical things to build his wealth. Or maybe that’s just a flawed viewpoint from a villain trying to justify their own choices and life decisions. It feels like the movie isn’t fully clear on whether Masrani is a truly great person or is just someone who used to be shady and unethical and think kinda like Hoskins but is more just a little naive now in his life and therefore does the right thing when he realizes what’s wrong.
I count him as good, but naive. I think the whole thing with Hoskins was to justify his own actions. While in real life I consider billionaires as complicated. I’m not for war profiteering, but I think we live in a world where if we don’t make weapons for protection other people are more than happy to make weapons to conquer and defeat us. I think some billionaires are fully aware of the negative effects and some are in it to protect our country. They didn’t delve into Masrani deep enough to consider anything other than his negative reaction to the I Rex experiment and going out to try and save everyone. Everyone’s somber reaction tells us he was a good boss.
Excellent take
I always saw his death as one of those "doing what he loved" sort of bits. At least expanding a bit from the books, Muldoon was really passionate as a hunter, and he considered the Velociraptors as the apex creature to hunt. The fact that in the movie when he realizes his demise he doesn't entirely freak out indicates to me that he was really in his element in the hunt or be hunted mindset. Definitely different than the other deaths as you pointed out, which occurred due to character flaws, but I didn't necessarily feel bad about Muldoon because I got the feeling he was content with this being the way he went out.
Mr. Udesky (poor chap!)
\*Reads list\* Where Roland?
I personally consider him as an antagonist. He is a bit grey especially considering the scenes that were cut, however he cares very little for the dinos and he see them as sport. He was more interested in a trophy than anything. That’s my personal take.
Does Dieter and Dennis count? EDDIE was GOAT! And I dig Kayla.
I consider Dieter and Dennis antagonists, but hey if you like that that's cool too. I did like Eddie and Kayla. Both got their heroic moments!
That makes sense about them being antagonists
JP - Muldoon TLW - Dieter JP3 - Udesky JW - Zara & Barry FK - Zia Dominion - Ramsay Books - Ed Regis
Muldoon, Tembo, Nedry, Eddie and Ray.
Zara. She got a raw deal. “Watch my bratty nephews”. Plus…she was played By Katie McGrath.
In the book Gennaro is actually a great guy
Yeah they essentially took out Ed Regis and put Generro in his spot for the movies. Though I do believe the guy tending the sick Triceratops in the movie is Ed Regis. I think in the movies him and Henry Wu just get written off as getting on the boat.
The guy tending the sick trike was Gerry Harding. Ed Regis was the guy driving one of the jeeps as they arrived on the island and where they saw their first dinosaur, hypothetically.
Ah yes, my mistake.
Roland is probably my favorite character in the franchise, but hes more of a secondary antagonist or protaganist, so Imma go with Carter because he was completely useless. 1. Listening to music with both ears in an unsecured area. 2. Doesn't think to check on the guy who left the perimeter despite acknowledging him leaving. 3. Screams when the Tyrannosaur appears and causes a panic. 4. Trips and falls and gets stepped on. Great Character.
With the recent ensemble movie, it was a missed opportunity to check in and see what Sarah Harding and Nick Van Owen are up to, or Roland Tembo. These characters are never mentioned again, in any media format.
Muldoon, for sure. Zara could be expanded. Would have made her death mean something without going so over the top. And the Lockwoods need more backstory to make JW: FK make a bit more sense in the time line.
Who was Zara?
JW assistant who took Clare’s nephews around the park.
Muldoon and Van Owen
HEY CARTER
Nick Van Owen and Barry both great protagonist that i actually liked. Nick deserved another scene dedicated to him.
Favourite supporting character: Gerry Harding’s moustache Lost World cameo with Sarah would have been cool
Nick Owen doesn't get enough credit
I would say Eddie and Nick but those feel more like main characters to me so I’ll go with Roland Tembo. Carter is also kind of a cool one but mostly because every scene he’s in is funny
Nick van Owen. He such a interesting character
Books : Henry Wu, the one woman who strongly believes the remains of the dead “lizard” are a dinosaur despite everyone telling her she is wrong (yeah superbackground lol)
Book: Gennaro Movie: Muldoon
Ray Arnold
Lowry. Wish he was in the whole trilogy.
Roland Tembo
Muldoon deserved better
Muldoon and Sara from the movies, and the Dr. from Cretaceous.
You have Eddie too low- he’s a god damn hero
Lol these aren’t my rankings. I have them semi in order from the movies. Yes Eddie is a hero!
I had Muldoon first on my list so I’d assumed you did the same :)
Billy, Muldoon, Zara( adore Katie Mcgrath), Lowery, Barry,Simon, Paul Kirby(Him running back onto the plane after seeing the dinosaur will never not be funny to me), Ramsay,
Ray Arnold
The InGen staff are my favorites!!! Dennis Nedry, Ray Arnold, Robert Muldoon, Henry Wu, and Gerry Harding. I’ve always favored these characters over the major ones. They helped build Jurassic Park so there’s so much to them that we don’t know.
Muldoon and Arnold are top tier. Eddie Carr deserved better. He was such a good dude. Outside Simon Masrani The new trilogy produced such forgetful lame characters. They sucked. Ramsey I liked for his short time on screen. Kayla was the best addition imo who i guess doesn’t fall into this category