The Lost World - Jurassic Park Reviews
Francisco G.
Super Reviewer
May 21, 2013
Proof of that is the human characters which are just boring beyond belief, it doesn't feel like a Spielberg flick at all. The ideas are there: the mercenaries vs. tree-hugging scientists were a good idea to create some nice grey areas in between but it's all wasted.
The San Diego scene sums up this movie perfectly. It's completly unnecessary and pointless but it's fun as hell nonetheless.
An unnecessary sequel that despite having awesome looking dinossaurs at every turn, doesn't really go anywhere. The plot is non-existant, so all you have left is a bunch of pretty spectacular dinossaur action.
Proof of that is the human characters which are just boring beyond belief, it doesn't feel like a Spielberg flick at all. The ideas are there: the mercenaries vs. tree-hugging scientists were a good idea to create some nice grey areas in between but it's all wasted.
The San Diego scene sums up this movie perfectly. It's completly unnecessary and pointless but it's fun as hell nonetheless.
November 12, 2012
Good sequel, though I felt like Vince Vaughn's character was a complete moron and very unlikeable, especially for being a protagonist.
January 20, 2011
Remember the awesome dinosaur toys and museum exhibitions? Well, you can forget about them. They're movie villains now.
charles s.
May 14, 2013
this movie was actually a pretty good sequel, it has more action, its faster paced and its special effects are really good. Sure, the plots kinda confusing and its no where near as good as the first Jurassic park, but its still a good, worthwhile sequel thats no where near as bad as most people say.
April 4, 2013
This movie is a bullshit follow up to an instant classic. You don't care about the characters and the only good part of the movie is the climax
pinonwood1
April 18, 2013
Though it is not as good as the first one, it is still loaded with lots of dinosaur fun and T Rex attacks. Jeff Goldblum contributes alot to the ratings of this film
May 8, 2011
Despite the occasional inconsistencies between it and the original and moments like the gymnastics scene that are just plain stupid, The Lost World Jurassic Park contains plenty of the awe and splendor that the original had thanks to Spielberg being back on the directorial reigns and David Koepp back at the typewriter.
May 5, 2013
Nothing compared to the original. Pointless tie-ins with the first film, Malcom's daughter is only there to replace Lex and Timmy from the first film. Without Jeff Goldblum, this film would be classed as awful. Just a bit too pointless for my liking.
January 28, 2012
I just caught this one on Encore this morning and I remember how awful this movie really is. Terrible script and a major disappointment. Has to be Spielberg's worst movie.
What the hell happened? Spielberg really mailed this one in.
I just caught this one on Encore this morning and I remember how awful this movie really is. Terrible script and a major disappointment. Has to be Spielberg's worst movie.
President P.
May 5, 2013
In no way lived up to its predecessor, but nevertheless is actually a pretty decent film. The flaws are heavy yes, but the story is fairly well done. The cast this time around is not as good as the first, but those who returned are still good. The writing and direction this time is hit or miss; the film seemed to have an identity crisis between light and dark unlike the first film. There is much more action here and it is done nearly perfect, although the case can be made that wasn't what made the first great, but for what it's worth it works nicely. The Lost World can't live up to the film that revolutionized cinema due to its many flaws, but its many positives make it a decent ride.
June 19, 2007
This movie is a painful mess. What the hell were they thinking?? My guess is Spielberg and co. got lazy after the success of the first film (especially the CGI).
Joshua
September 29, 2012
4 unfortunate souls make the dangerous decision to go to Isla Sorna to observe and document the dinosaurs living on the island. Among those five are Ian Malcolm, who had been to the island before, and had been nearly killed as a result of the reptilian beasts. He's hesitant to return, but his mind is made up when he discovers his girl friend, Sarah, is already at the island. And the plot thickens further when it's discovered thatone of Ian's daughters, Kelly, manages to stow away to the treacherous place. And when the group discovers that a rival team of considerably more people have also shown up on the island (with more greedy plans in mind), it doesn't take long for the dinosaurs to show their faces.
It hardly matters why these individuals have decided to come back to Jurassic Park. The plot is thin, so we're hardly given reasons for why this ill-fated group are choosing to set foot on the island. The obvious lack of story and the forced nature of this sequel is bothersome initially. But once the ball gets rolling, it's nothing but sheer entertainment value.
Like the original, The Lost World has a painfully slow start. Obligatory appearances of cast members from the first film and some echoes of John Williams iconic score is all there is to entertain one during the first while. And an awful lot of talking. Seriously, for a film with so little plot, I'm not sure why so much time had to be spent in discussion.
At any rate, the fun starts much sooner in this film. The pace picks up a bit about 40 minutes in, but right around the 50 minute mark, The Lost World fires all cylinders and doesn't look bad. Utterly terrifying and remarkably suspenseful, I had a big silly grin on my face for a majority of the action.
Admittedly, The Lost World has a few gimmicks. For one, there are two Tyrannosaurs this time around. Twice the dinos means twice the fun, right? Well, not necessarily, but the added dinos were certainly welcome.
Don't like being scared? This film isn't for you. Don't like seeing people in horrifying peril? This film isn't for you. Do you insist on some emotional depth or intellectual stimulation when you watch an action flick? Then once again, this film probably isn't for you. But if you kick back and relax, and just turn off your brain, this is one wild ride.
Still, the run time is a bit excessive. The Lost World lasts 2 hours and 10 minutes, and I was left pretty exhausted after the first 100 minutes. So while the last half hour is perfectly thrilling, and still plenty of fun, it also felt a bit unnecessary, and a bit tacked on.
The characters, like the original, aren't particularly developed. After all, they're not the main attraction here. But for the most part, they're likeable when they need to be, and unlikeable when they need to be (though there are exceptions...).
The acting is unimpressive, but serviceable. The actors only need to use some big words to describe the equipment they're using, and be able to show obvious signs of terror. As a result, the actors easily fit into their roles, though I couldn't help but hope for more impressive performances considering the talented players here; Jeff Goldblum, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, etc. Richard Attenborough brings plenty of charm to his character though, reprising his role as John Hammond from the original. Still, his part he is extremely small.
The special effects has held up well. They look just as good as the ground breaking effects in the original (though they're not quite as innovative the second time around). With more dinosaurs this time around, and more complex action sequences, the special effects team likely had their hands full. It all looks great, though.
John William's score, while lacking the iconic nature and grand scale of the original, is still good enough. It's certainly by-the-numbers Williams (and his new theme is completely forgettable), but it still manages to capture the spirit of the film. And fragments of the original themes do find their way into the film, so listen for them.
This being my second visit to Jurassic Park, I knew what to expect. Lots of dinosaurs, moments of awe at the beginning, moments of terror everywhere after that, and stupid humans thinking they can control it all. I even made a few light-hearted attempts at guessing those who wouldn't live to see the end credits (I actually got most of my guesses right). But that may be the biggest issue for some; The Lost World doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the original. Still, considering how much fun the original was, that didn't bother me too much.
The Lost World, the first sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park is an exhausting, thinly scripted film, that depends entirely on it's action sequences and special effects. Now that I've got the critique out of the way, let me just say that I had a blast watching The Lost World, the rare sequel that improves on the original. The Lost World may be missing some of the majesty and inventiveness of it's predecessor, but The Lost World is more fun, and the dinos are just as thrilling the second time around.
4 unfortunate souls make the dangerous decision to go to Isla Sorna to observe and document the dinosaurs living on the island. Among those five are Ian Malcolm, who had been to the island before, and had been nearly killed as a result of the reptilian beasts. He's hesitant to return, but his mind is made up when he discovers his girl friend, Sarah, is already at the island. And the plot thickens further when it's discovered thatone of Ian's daughters, Kelly, manages to stow away to the treacherous place. And when the group discovers that a rival team of considerably more people have also shown up on the island (with more greedy plans in mind), it doesn't take long for the dinosaurs to show their faces.
It hardly matters why these individuals have decided to come back to Jurassic Park. The plot is thin, so we're hardly given reasons for why this ill-fated group are choosing to set foot on the island. The obvious lack of story and the forced nature of this sequel is bothersome initially. But once the ball gets rolling, it's nothing but sheer entertainment value.
Like the original, The Lost World has a painfully slow start. Obligatory appearances of cast members from the first film and some echoes of John Williams iconic score is all there is to entertain one during the first while. And an awful lot of talking. Seriously, for a film with so little plot, I'm not sure why so much time had to be spent in discussion.
At any rate, the fun starts much sooner in this film. The pace picks up a bit about 40 minutes in, but right around the 50 minute mark, The Lost World fires all cylinders and doesn't look bad. Utterly terrifying and remarkably suspenseful, I had a big silly grin on my face for a majority of the action.
Admittedly, The Lost World has a few gimmicks. For one, there are two Tyrannosaurs this time around. Twice the dinos means twice the fun, right? Well, not necessarily, but the added dinos were certainly welcome.
Don't like being scared? This film isn't for you. Don't like seeing people in horrifying peril? This film isn't for you. Do you insist on some emotional depth or intellectual stimulation when you watch an action flick? Then once again, this film probably isn't for you. But if you kick back and relax, and just turn off your brain, this is one wild ride.
Still, the run time is a bit excessive. The Lost World lasts 2 hours and 10 minutes, and I was left pretty exhausted after the first 100 minutes. So while the last half hour is perfectly thrilling, and still plenty of fun, it also felt a bit unnecessary, and a bit tacked on.
The characters, like the original, aren't particularly developed. After all, they're not the main attraction here. But for the most part, they're likeable when they need to be, and unlikeable when they need to be (though there are exceptions...).
The acting is unimpressive, but serviceable. The actors only need to use some big words to describe the equipment they're using, and be able to show obvious signs of terror. As a result, the actors easily fit into their roles, though I couldn't help but hope for more impressive performances considering the talented players here; Jeff Goldblum, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, etc. Richard Attenborough brings plenty of charm to his character though, reprising his role as John Hammond from the original. Still, his part he is extremely small.
The special effects has held up well. They look just as good as the ground breaking effects in the original (though they're not quite as innovative the second time around). With more dinosaurs this time around, and more complex action sequences, the special effects team likely had their hands full. It all looks great, though.
John William's score, while lacking the iconic nature and grand scale of the original, is still good enough. It's certainly by-the-numbers Williams (and his new theme is completely forgettable), but it still manages to capture the spirit of the film. And fragments of the original themes do find their way into the film, so listen for them.
This being my second visit to Jurassic Park, I knew what to expect. Lots of dinosaurs, moments of awe at the beginning, moments of terror everywhere after that, and stupid humans thinking they can control it all. I even made a few light-hearted attempts at guessing those who wouldn't live to see the end credits (I actually got most of my guesses right). But that may be the biggest issue for some; The Lost World doesn't do much to differentiate itself from the original. Still, considering how much fun the original was, that didn't bother me too much.
April 28, 2013
You may ask why Ian Malcolm would revisit the world of dinosaurs and the answer is quite simple. Hammond's company, InGen wants to go to the island and take an animal back to San Diego and put it in a zoo. Hammond sent Malcolm's girlfriend, who happens to be a paleontologist, to the island alone so Malcolm goes to rescue her. The characters and story could have been terrific. Eddie Carr was a great character, Vince Vaughn is in the movie and he gives a really good performance early in his career, and I especially loved the character of Roland.
Roland is a hunter who is looking for the ultimate bounty. He is an important character that is underrated. His character could have been so much more and every time he was starting to be built up they cut to a dinosaur eating a smaller character. He was a character I wanted to know about. The movie should have focused on characters like him and the guy with the beard and long hair. He is a dinosaur genius and he has such little screen time. That is the huge flaw in the movie, it is focused too much on the dinosaurs eating people and not enough in the story and its characters. Ian Malcolm was one of the best characters in the 90s and in The Lost World he lost his edge. The snarky comments and brilliance he once had was nowhere to be seen. He had moments of brilliance but he was rewritten as a different character in a way. That was really the only thing that hurt the movie and made it worse than the original.
Sequels aren't supposed to be better than the original but the actual dinosaurs and the action scenes were amazing. I could watch the trailer on the cliff scene with the T-Rex over and over again. The CGI and special effects put into the dinosaurs, along with the life size robots were astounding. What lacked in real character development was made up for in the work in the animals themselves. Each dinosaur had its scene to shine and there were a lot more different species. I love the stegosaurus and the Compys. They each had their scenes and some were better than the others but all great. The Compys were a big part of the first book and were not in the movie but I'm glad they found their way into the second one. They are real scavengers and make an impact in the movie.
Spielberg and Crichton nail the raptors once again, possibly even better this time. It focused less on the intelligence and more on the ferocity of the animals this time. That could be better because if they focused on intelligence again it could be a little redundant. They appear a little late in the film but they really change it. They look a little different and I'm glad they weren't used simply for killing off all the extras. Then there is the final few scenes, and boy did they not disappoint. It was awesome but at the same time it kind of ruined the lore of Jurassic Park. A major part of the second island is that it is kept secret and nobody knows about it. Without spoiling the ending I'll just say the secret is out, and that's a shame.
The book was a great read but after the first movie and how it played out, it only made sense that the book and movie were nothing alike. The really only similarity was the characters themselves and the animals in them. In my other reviews I mentioned the character Dogson and how hia character was ruined in the movies. In the second book he goes to the island and it wouldn't of made sense in this movie. There was only lost potential and another thing that hurt this movie.
Overall, The Lost World Jurassic Park was one of my favorite movies when I was little. It still holds up today but still lacks in characters. The action and dinosaurs were fun to look at and were top notch for its time but it wasn't enough to be memorable. I went into this movie wanting more then what I got. I wish they sacrificed some of the action scenes for more character interactions, especially with Roland. There were few glimpses of brilliance but the lack of time spent on characters is the reason I give The Lost World Jurassic Park the WillyT Recommendation. It is a great movie that should be seen at least once. I can watch it every now and then but it isn't as memorable as I'd hoped. It is still a solid film and is a worthy sequel to the classic that was released a few years earlier.
Michael Crichton wrote a sequel to his bestselling book Jurassic Park with The Lost World Jurassic Park. Once again Crichton worked with Spielberg to put The Lost World on the big screen. Jeff Goldblum returns with a cast of interesting characters as he goes to a second island where the dinosaurs live free. There are no fences and you can only imagine what happens before you actually see it. I hate to compare the first to the second move but everybody knows I loved the first but not so much the second. Like Anaconda I lived it as a kid because the site of dinosaurs eating people was awesome, but now that I'm older I appreciate characters and relationships ect. What Jurassic Park had in story and characters lacked in The Lost World but The Lost World had the action and excitement that lacked in Jurassic Park.
You may ask why Ian Malcolm would revisit the world of dinosaurs and the answer is quite simple. Hammond's company, InGen wants to go to the island and take an animal back to San Diego and put it in a zoo. Hammond sent Malcolm's girlfriend, who happens to be a paleontologist, to the island alone so Malcolm goes to rescue her. The characters and story could have been terrific. Eddie Carr was a great character, Vince Vaughn is in the movie and he gives a really good performance early in his career, and I especially loved the character of Roland.
Roland is a hunter who is looking for the ultimate bounty. He is an important character that is underrated. His character could have been so much more and every time he was starting to be built up they cut to a dinosaur eating a smaller character. He was a character I wanted to know about. The movie should have focused on characters like him and the guy with the beard and long hair. He is a dinosaur genius and he has such little screen time. That is the huge flaw in the movie, it is focused too much on the dinosaurs eating people and not enough in the story and its characters. Ian Malcolm was one of the best characters in the 90s and in The Lost World he lost his edge. The snarky comments and brilliance he once had was nowhere to be seen. He had moments of brilliance but he was rewritten as a different character in a way. That was really the only thing that hurt the movie and made it worse than the original.
Sequels aren't supposed to be better than the original but the actual dinosaurs and the action scenes were amazing. I could watch the trailer on the cliff scene with the T-Rex over and over again. The CGI and special effects put into the dinosaurs, along with the life size robots were astounding. What lacked in real character development was made up for in the work in the animals themselves. Each dinosaur had its scene to shine and there were a lot more different species. I love the stegosaurus and the Compys. They each had their scenes and some were better than the others but all great. The Compys were a big part of the first book and were not in the movie but I'm glad they found their way into the second one. They are real scavengers and make an impact in the movie.
Spielberg and Crichton nail the raptors once again, possibly even better this time. It focused less on the intelligence and more on the ferocity of the animals this time. That could be better because if they focused on intelligence again it could be a little redundant. They appear a little late in the film but they really change it. They look a little different and I'm glad they weren't used simply for killing off all the extras. Then there is the final few scenes, and boy did they not disappoint. It was awesome but at the same time it kind of ruined the lore of Jurassic Park. A major part of the second island is that it is kept secret and nobody knows about it. Without spoiling the ending I'll just say the secret is out, and that's a shame.
The book was a great read but after the first movie and how it played out, it only made sense that the book and movie were nothing alike. The really only similarity was the characters themselves and the animals in them. In my other reviews I mentioned the character Dogson and how hia character was ruined in the movies. In the second book he goes to the island and it wouldn't of made sense in this movie. There was only lost potential and another thing that hurt this movie.
Overall, The Lost World Jurassic Park was one of my favorite movies when I was little. It still holds up today but still lacks in characters. The action and dinosaurs were fun to look at and were top notch for its time but it wasn't enough to be memorable. I went into this movie wanting more then what I got. I wish they sacrificed some of the action scenes for more character interactions, especially with Roland. There were few glimpses of brilliance but the lack of time spent on characters is the reason I give The Lost World Jurassic Park the WillyT Recommendation. It is a great movie that should be seen at least once. I can watch it every now and then but it isn't as memorable as I'd hoped. It is still a solid film and is a worthy sequel to the classic that was released a few years earlier.
February 5, 2012
What a let-down from the terrific original! The scene with the T-rex running through San Francisco just pains me to know that Spielberg directed this mess.
Rebecca the Movie Geek
April 27, 2013
It was an okay movie until it was about half way over. I mean, the effects and music were great, but it was very predictable and it dragged too much. Over all, not a very good movie.
