Played by Jeff Goldblum in the multi-billion dollar Jurassic Park franchise, Dr. Ian Malcolm is a noted mathematician who is brought in to assess the viability of the dinosaur theme park on the remote Isla Nublar, off the coast of Costa Rica. When things go famously wrong, he’s associated with the issue of dinosaurs living in the modern world and considered an authority on the subject for surviving the first catastrophe. Described by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) as suffering from a “deplorable excess of personality", Malcolm possesses an acerbic wit and overall humorous nature that made him an instant fan-favorite character.
Ian Malcolm stands out as being one of the wisest characters in any of the Jurassic Park movies and the best Ian Malcolm quotes form a large part of some of the memorable quotes from the entire franchise, not just the films he's in. After debuting as a ing character in the original movie, he led the franchise's first sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and would later appear in two of the Jurassic World films, Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. The best Ian Malcolm quotes from each of those movies are reminders of how great characters and snappy dialogue have helped to keep the Jurassic Park franchise feeling timeless.
20 "What Have They Got In There, King Kong?"
Jurassic Park (1993)
As the tour begins for the island's visitors, the automated cars that they're in take them through the iconic wooden gates at the entrance to the park's main attractions. Clearly inspired by Universal's long history with cinematic monsters, Jurassic Park was a landmark for effects-driven blockbusters, and this clear allusion to the original King Kong movie that Dr. Malcolm can't help but notice is more than fitting.
19 “Genetic Power’s The Most Awesome Force The Planet’s Ever Seen, But You Wield It Like A Kid Who’s Found His Dad’s Gun.”
Jurassic Park (1993)
In both the Jurassic Park movies and Michael Crichton’s original novel, Ian Malcolm acts as a kind of voice of reason to the reckless science going on at the heart of the story. Over the course of the films, he fixates particularly on what he calls “genetic power” and its flagrant misuse. Having seen what the park is about and offered his initial misgivings, Malcolm gets into it with the park’s founder, John Hammond, in a scene bursting with memorable quotes. The long and short of it is that Malcolm doesn’t believe that Hammond has truly quantified the unpredictable variables that he's unleashed, and the movie proves him right.
18 “Mommy’s Very Angry.”
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
After the roaring mainstream success of the original Jurassic Park and the previous summer’s equally barnstorming Hollywood spectacle, Independence Day, it was great to see Goldblum taking the reins of an action-adventure blockbuster in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Goldblum has a talent for delivering short and emphatic statements that sound great when put in a trailer and this one is certainly one of the most memorable Ian Malcolm quotes from the Jurassic Park franchise. The line comes at the culmination of a scene where the heroes bandage a baby T. Rex with a wounded leg, which, as Malcolm points out, has angered its parents.
17 “I’m Always On The Lookout For A Future Ex-Mrs. Malcolm.”
Jurassic Park (1993)
As Hammond light-heartedly points out when we’re first introduced to him, Malcolm has somewhat of a “rockstar” persona. His outfit is all black, with shades and boots, and he can’t seem to stop himself from strongly flirting with Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). When the tour of the park stalls, and he's stuck with her partner Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), they get to talking about their love lives, where Malcolm mentions his several children from several past marriages. It's a great Ian Malcolm quote not just for helping to establish his characteristics but also for highlighting how different those characteristics are from Grant's, whose journey is colored by Malcolm's.
16 “Change Is Like Death. You Don’t Know What It Looks Like Until You’re Standing At The Gates.”
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Ian Malcolm returned to the franchise after a two-movie absence in 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Sadly, he only appears in two book-ending scenes set in government hearings regarding the main incident of the movie: the imminent eruption of the volcano on Isla Nublar. True to his character, Malcolm advocates for non-action and the death of the remaining dinosaurs on the island, his belief being that the escape of the animals would cause “man-made, cataclysmic, change.” When asked to elaborate, he freely its that he doesn’t know exactly what would happen, which is precisely why people should be wary.
15 "Boy, Do I Hate Being Right All The Time."
Jurassic Park (1993)
As Jurassic Park begins to kick into its highest gear, the iconic T. Rex emerges out of its paddock to terrorize the visitors to the island who are trapped helplessly in their cars as they look on at this terrifying predator roaming free. In reference to his numerous warnings to Hammond about the uncontrollable nature of the park's attractions, Malcolm reminds the audience and himself that his foresight is really somewhat of a curse with this great quote.
14 “...Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should.”
Jurassic Park (1993)
Towards the end of Malcolm’s diatribe against Hammond and the park, he begins to highlight the source of Hammond’s entire folly and arrogance, which is that it’s entirely motivated by money. Hammond retorts that his scientists have accomplished things that no one has ever accomplished before. This is true enough, but as Malcolm so succinctly points out, without a good reason to do so, the project was doomed from the start.
13 "When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go."
Jurassic Park (1993)
Before Ian Malcolm and Alan Grant fully realize the extent of the danger that they're in as they're stuck next to the T. Rex paddock after the park's security systems had been shut off, the 'blood-sucking lawyer", Gennaro, sees the oncoming monster and instinctively flees from his car, leaving the children still inside for dead. His panicked run towards the restrooms for safety, of course, results in the most memorable death of the whole movie, and one of the grisliest in the whole Jurassic Park franchise, making Malcolm's explanation for his behavior a brilliantly unintentional double entendre.
12 "Uh, The Doomsday Clock Might Be About Out Of Time, But, As They Say, It's Always Darkest Just Before Eternal Nothingness."
Jurassic World: Dominion (2023)
When Ian Malcolm is first introduced in Jurassic World: Dominion, he seems much as he was at the beginning of the first Jurassic Park movie, appearing to be more concerned with coming off as seductive than he is with anything else. However, the longer that the audience spends with him, the more his true self begins to come out. He begins to show shades of his heroic intentions when he reunites with Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant and starts to tell Ellie about his part in the plan to take down the villains. When Ellie talks about the gravity of the world's situation, fans got this pitch-perfect Ian Malcolm quote.
11 “Must Go Faster.”
Jurassic Park (1993)
This iconic Ian Malcolm quote comes from one of Jurassic Park’s many famous action sequences, in which a rescued Malcolm is sped away from a chasing T. Rex in a jeep, with the surprisingly speedy monster is holding its own in the race. The usually-articulate Malcolm is reduced to almost broken English by the sheer terror of a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex running straight for its dinner. The scene and the line became irrevocably associated and would be referenced again by Goldblum in both Independence Day and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
