The Lost World
The Lost World: Jurassic Park, the sequel to the blockbuster hit Jurassic Park, follows along the path of so many sequels: it just doesn't come up to the power of the first one. Watching the previews of The Lost World, I was expecting a scary and exciting time. And for the first two hours, that's pretty much what I got. However, the final twenty minutes of this film are so stupid that the movie almost kills itself. Why give it 3 stars then? Because I enjoyed the first two hours of the film. And many people will enjoy it.
But then again, many people will hate it, and I'll tell you that I was almost one of them. As the movie builds itself up, the audience comes to expect a grand and frightening conclusion. What we got is more ridiculous and extremely disappointing. The movie does a 180-degree turn and changes into something very unexpected: a slapstick spoof. Now, I'm not saying it's like some Leslie Neilson comedy, but for being a mildly serious action picture, the ending spoofs not only it's predecessor, but movies such as Godzilla and King Kong. And to think--this is a Steven Spielberg film!
The main difference between this sequel and its predecessor is that the first film was scarier and had a much more entertaining plot. This film smartly decides to focus more on the living habits of the dinosaurs, and by doing so, holds the audience's attention throughout. In fact, watching the living habits of the dinosaurs was more intriguing than watching dinosaurs chase people. Even the habits of dinosaurs can be scary, especially when you take away one of their children.
The Lost World begins promising enough: a family stumbles upon an island while on their cruise. They decide to have a picnic on the beach, and enjoy the scenery. However, when the little girl wanders off, she is attacked by a dozen small dinosaurs. This attack (which is actually a scene from the first novel) spawns an investigation, and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) summons four people to go to this "site B" and document the dinosaurs. One of them just happens to be Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), the "chaotician" from the first film.
Malcolm, who has been called a liar after going public with his story of what happen on Jurassic Park, is forced to go to rescue his girlfriend, paleontologist Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore). However, while he is there, another team from InGen, the company owned by Hammond, arrives on the island. This other team has been assigned to capture some of the dinosaurs and take them back to San Diego for the mainland "Jurassic Park." The team is led by John Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), and Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), a hunter just looking for the capture of a T-Rex. Hammond realized this and sent Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn), a cocky photographer who also has tools to cut locks and break open cages. The fourth member of Hammon's team is Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff), an equipment specialist whose equipment never seems to work.
Most of the beginning of the film is just for character development, and it is very interesting. But once the dinosaurs start coming, get ready for a tremendously exciting time. The special effects are still the star of this movie. Spielberg commented that it was the story that made him want to make this film. Yeah right. Expect The Lost World to rake in record earnings this Memorial Day weekend. And it's also the special effects that people are going to see, which is why I give it a positive review. If this was a movie for plot, I would give it a 1 star review. But when you go, turn off your brain, and expect thrills and chills, and one genuinely seat-grabbing moment (which is almost worth the price of admission).
For this film to work, you need good actors to make the characters come alive. And The Lost World has many good actors. Jeff Goldblum is good, although his character is always the same through his many different films (from Powder to Independence Day). His cynicism is truly funny and makes the dark mood of the film a shade brighter. Julianne Moore's character is better than Laura Dern's, and she is very good. Pete Postlethwaite gives the best performance in the movie as the hunter who has to deal with the stupidity of his crew, as well as his own stupidity. My favorite character in the film is the photographer, played by Vince Vaughn. His character is pretty complex, and he does a good job of portraying it. The only character put to waste is the daughter of Malcolm, played by Vanessa Lee Chester. It seems like her character is only there to scream, worry about her father, complain a lot, and do one heroic thing (although that heroic deed redeems her character).
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is rated PG-13, although I have doubts about it. For most parents, a PG-13 rating is okay, and they will let even their youngest children go see it. I highly suggest that you keep your kids under 13 home because it is very dark, and very violent with people being torn apart and body parts separated from the rest. There is also a lot of profanities and some vulgarity. The film is too scary and violent for young kids, and yet it is almost too stupid for older people. My suggestion is enjoy the first two hours (especially a terrific and extended rescue scene in a trailer), but expect an inappropriate ending which almost ruins the entire film.