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Jurassic Park, Men in Black, and Godzilla (1998) are three fairly popular 90s franchise movies that were revived in the 2010s quite successfully. Jurassic World has just finished filming its third movie, Men in Black: International was released last year with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. Godzilla (2014) starred the soon-to-be Marvel twins, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.
Jurassic World made countless nods towards its predecessor, including the same dinosaurs, the use of old Jeeps, and the mentioning of old characters. Men in Black: International continued with previous side characters and the same tools, like the neuralyzer and noisy cricket, to link back to former movies. Godzilla (2014) followed the scientific and governmental side of the story, along with personal encounters with Godzilla, much like the 1998 version.
These 90s franchise hits really made my childhood, and seeing them brought back to the big screen made my 2010s. The studios updated the characters and brought more female characters to the story, along with complicated storylines. The studios also made sure to give the long-time fans things to get excited about, whether it was characters in a previous movie or fun tools that have been in that universe since the beginning.
Jurassic Park (1993) VS Jurassic World (2015)
In 1993, Jurassic Park was the first of a highly successful 90s franchise. Dinosaurs alive for the first time in 65 million years; how could it not spark people’s interest? Scientists, along with two children and a lawyer, explore the island on an automated tour before the park has opened. As viewers, we learned the science behind the park and saw the dinosaurs and characters interact with each other.
Jurassic World demonstrated that people have become unimpressed with previously thought spectacular things from the 90s franchise movie. Kids now have grown up with technology that no longer makes the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park as fantastical as they once were, resulting in new dinosaurs being created. Jurassic World, in general, is bigger. The death count is higher than Jurassic Park, considering the fact that the park in Jurassic World is actually open when the dinosaurs escape. Also, there is a stronger bond between the dinosaurs and the humans. Owen Grady forms a bond with the four velociraptors in Jurassic World, an idea never considered within the Jurassic Park universe.
Jurassic World also continuously acknowledges Jurassic Park. During the first scene in the control center, one of the workers is wearing a Jurassic Park shirt. Claire, the main female character, tells him never to wear it again since people died in the first park. Additionally, Masrani, the new owner of Jurassic World, is connected to his predecessor, Hammond, through the quote, “Spare no expense.”
Masrani explains that Hammond used to tell him to spare no expense on the park, so this quote can be interpreted as Hammond trusting Masrani to continue his philosophy. There is also a scene in Jurassic World at the petting zoo where a little girl gets snot all over her hands from a baby brontosaurus, mimicking Lexi from Jurassic Park when the brontosaurus sneezes on her. The Jurassic Park Jeep that was used in Jurassic World when the two boys drive back to the park is the same Jeep John Hammond uses to show the main characters of Jurassic Park, the brontosauruses.
Men In Black (1997) VS Men In Black: International (2019)
While these two movies have their similarities, they also have plenty of differences that play to their own strengths. Looking at the differences in the movies, it is evident that each one played to the strengths of the typical type of movie that came out during their times.
In the 90s franchise movie, Men in Black, most of the women agents fade into the background, while in the newest installment, the main character, the chief of the MIB, and many agents around Agent M are women. It is mentioned in Men in Black: International that Agent M found the MIB instead of being recruited, which is a nod to Men in Black when Agent Jay was recruited after chasing down an alien suspect on foot. Men in Black definitely has less of a focus on the interactions with the coworker aliens vs. Men in Black: International, which shows that Agent M’s first friends at the office are aliens. We also learn more about what the Men in Black do in Men in Black: International when Agent M and Agent H keep alien royalty company while also keeping him safe in their region.
Some characters and weapons return from the 90s franchise movie. Frank, the pug, is now guarding the front entrance of the MIB building. Agent O has become chief of Men in Black after being shown as an agent in MIB 3. The infamous neuralyzer used to wipe memories and replace them with new, happier ones is still being used, plus a few upgrades. Finally, the noisy cricket from Men in Black is shown as a weapon choice for Agent M in Men in Black: International. The noisy cricket is the weapon Agent Jay makes fun of throughout the first movie until he shoots it, and it blows a hole through a window, causing him to fly into the opposite wall.
Godzilla (1998) VS Godzilla (2014)
Admittedly, these movies are the most different from each other on this list. My favorite aspect of these movies is the fact that we follow normal people through this surreal situation. Both movies show ordinary people trying to find safety while helping others, along with the scientific/governmental side on how to deal with this anomaly.
The 90s franchise hit, Godzilla (1998), follows a woman trying to film behind the scenes of the breaking news stories and the top scientist studying Godzilla. Unfortunately, Godzilla is looked at as the antagonist of this story, as he destroys the town and the people within it. We later learn that Godzilla isn’t purposely terrorizing the town; he was looking for a place to nest and food for himself and his young. As an aside, the baby Godzillas are adorable and definitely one of the better parts of this 90s franchise movie.
Godzilla (2014) follows the scientists and the military trying to kill both Godzilla and the Muto, a moth-like oversized creature. The military continues this plan until the scientists explain that Godzilla is trying to save everyone, not destroy the world. It also follows a husband and wife that get separated at the beginning of the movie. The husband is in the military while the wife is a nurse, both dealing with different aspects of the unnatural disaster. This movie also introduces the concept that there are more radioactive creatures like Godzilla.
90s Franchises VS New Age Action
These 90s franchise hits were the beginnings of the movies that kick-started their own three movie franchises today. Obviously, we are only talking about popular American films. Godzilla has over 25 foreign films on its own, but the 1998 film gained the popularity of the franchise in America. The best thing about these three 90s franchise movies is that their 2010 reboots are not remakes. While there can be good remakes, getting to watch a favorite character or situation you experienced in a 90s franchise movie with the twist of new age interests can strengthen that bond you had with the original movie.
I will always remember sitting in a theatre chair and seeing the first trailers for Jurassic World, Men in Black: International, and Godzilla (2014) after falling in love with their 90s franchise counterparts. This usually resulted in me smacking the person’s arm next to me and crying silent tears as the trailer ended.