JURASSIC PARK Fan Points Out a Lesser-Known Line in the Film and Now Everyone Hates the Character John Hammond

Jurassic Park is a fan-favorite movie that still stands the test of time. Not many movies from the ‘90s hold up so well, especially when it comes to special effects. This movie and Terminator 2 are ‘90s anomalies that just keep fans coming back to watch over and over because they’re so good! But that doesn’t mean Jurassic Park isn’t immune to scrutiny, or at least its characters are not.

A fan of the film, Reddit user Dlph_311 recently took to the platform to point out a line that not many people talk about from the movie. It happens in the scene where a construction worker reveals to lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) that the park's owner John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) famously hates inspections. "They slow everything down," the foreman says flippantly, shocking Gennaro, who's been sent to Isla Nublar to check the attraction's viability and safety.

"I've seen this movie dozens of times and it's the first time I realized that Hammond's hatred of inspections is one of the major reasons the park failed," Dlph_311 admitted. "It's a subtle bit of foreshadowing that's easy to miss."

GamesRadar provided tons of other responses from fans on this thread, and they said:

"The dirty secret of the narrative which doesn't often go acknowledged enough is that the park's rapid failure was inevitable, because Hammond is nothing but a cheap-skating showboat," said a fellow fan. "Another under-referenced line is when Dennis Nedry utters, 'Don't get cheap on me, Dodgson. That was Hammond's mistake.' This directly contradicts Hammond's continual utterance of, 'Spared no expense.' He says it mostly as a theatrical cover.

"The character is played endearingly by Richard Attenborough, so it's easy to casually overlook, but John Hammond is a very flawed and irresponsible human, and no one like him should ever have been in charge of a project like JP."

Another wrote: "He's very much a villainous character in the original book; the cheap, profit-driven billionaire who cuts corners and sees science as an avenue to further wealth and power.

"Dude, Hammond is the worst. Always cutting corners, expects his scientists to do everything regarding the dinosaurs, but still has to be present at each hatch," said a third. "Hates inspections, because he knows he's cheap and cut corners. Spared no expense, my ass. Also I don't trust a guy who just lets his grandchildren get into these literal life threatening situations, and basically does bare minimum to get them to safety - ie, expecting Dr. Grant and Dr. Statler to go out and save their asses."

Elsewhere, someone else highlighted an unspoken nod to Hammond's love of shortcuts and need for immediate satisfaction: "He also puts champagne in a rocks glass when there are champagne flutes right behind him. I always like this detail because it shows his lack of attention to detail."

"Had he taken the time to do things right, things would've been a lot better," replied another user.

"Things like this are why Jurassic Park is such a perfect screenplay. Every line has a purpose. No scene is wasted. Many scenes are doing multiple things at once," praised one more. 

I mean, how can we get mad at the guy when the whole movie would have been boring if he had followed all the rules? His recklessness is annoying, and a bunch of people died, but we sure had fun watching it all play out, right?

Jurassic Park and it’s sequels are available to watch on Hulu, Prime and Peacock.