LOST IN SPACE (1998)
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Stephen Hopkins
Written by: Akiva Goldsman
Ingredients: Scientific family in a spaceship, saboteur, military guy, big battle with space spiders, futuristic cryosuits, time bubble, 750 special effects
Starring: William Hurt, Jack Johnson, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Lacey Chabert, Heather Graham
Synopsis: Just when Earth has nearly expended its resources, humanity has found another habitable planet called Alpha Prime. The trouble is, it takes ten years by spaceship to get there. Professor John Robinson (William Hurt) envisions a plan to build the first 'hypergate' - - a space device that a starship flies through, which will instantaneously transport the starship to a similar gate light years away. A hypergate is important because attempting to fly through hyperspace without a gate means your ship may end up at any random spot in the Universe. Robinson plans to take his family on a ten-year journey to Alpha Prime and construct a hypergate there while folks on Earth build a similar gate on Earth.
Unfortunately, when their super sleek ship (the Jupiter 2) gets sabotaged Dr. Smith (who works for a terrorist group called the New World Sedition) the Robinsons enter hyperspace without a hypergate, and the hapless crew (Dad and Mom Robinson, doctor daughter Judy, rebellious teen Penny, young whiz kid son Will, pilot Major West, and Dr. Smith) gets LOST IN SPACE. In space the Robinsons must prevail over nasty space spiders and an alternate grownup Will Robinson.
There are a few interesting cameos for fans of the old LOST IN SPACE TV series on which this movie is based. Look for June Lockhart (The LOST IN SPACE TV series mother) as a school principal, Mark Goddard (The LOST IN SPACE TV series Major Don West) as a general, and Marta Kristen and Angela Cartwright (the original Judy and Penny) as mission control press conference reporters. If the robot's voice sounds familiar, it's because it's still the voice of Dick Tufeld.
Opinion: LOST IN SPACE is a 70 million dollar action epic based on characters from the campy old LOST IN SPACE cult classic TV series about a father, mother, daughter Judy, Judy's boyfriend Major Don West, rebellious daughter Penny, young son Will, his robot, and the sneaky Dr. Zachary Smith who are all lost in space and having adventures while trying to get back to Earth. The original TV series was about ray guns and robots and 50s style family cohesion. LOST IN SPACE (1998) is a more intense, cutting edge version of the same characters that hits nostalgic buttons but modernizes the space epic with better special effects and 1990s family issues. The main idea is to take big effects sci-fi adventure and meld it to a family situation framework. (Speaking of family, there's even a scene that parodies THE WALTONS. )
Does LOST IN SPACE succeed in what it's attempting to do?
I like the way the characters start off in the beginning. FRIENDS star Matt LeBlanc gets a good change of pace. He plays Major Don West. West is a military man, an aggressive, instinct and testosterone guy who is sure to clash with cerebral scientific leader Professor Robinson. Lacey Chabert as the rebellious Penny also seems promising as a possible family issue subplot. Unfortunately, the movie pairs Penny off with a cutesy space monkey and forgets about her problems in order to focus on the less interesting character brainy Will. Similarly, Judy starts off witty against the flirtatious Don West, but quickly is relegated to the status of background Barbie doll, her banter quickly becoming old hat.
On the good side, the thrill ride is good, the heroes sharper than TV, the villains and threats more intense; danger really means danger. LOST IN SPACE starts off with a space battle and the action keeps on going: planets explode, robots open fire on monsters, zooming ships avoid impossible collisions, and so on. But the pace alternates between trigger-happy action, and slow, stilted dialogue without really getting the balance right. Even the music can't decide whether to be orchestral or to be modern. As a result, LOST IN SPACE more like a set of segmented full-tilt serial adventures (with dark lighting and music to match) than a single cohesive film. The film rushes forward on stop-and-go action, and then on the last exciting serial adventure the movie abruptly ends.
Several plot threads are left unresolved. For example, early on the family spots a fearful alien spacecraft, and the camera zooms in on it ominously, but afterwards no further mention is made of the issue. Likewise, Dr. Smith receives a nasty, venomous spider bite that has the potential to mutate him into a monster, and the camera zooms in on Smith's wound ominously, yet at the end of the film, we still don't know whether Smith ever receives medical attention for the bite.
LOST IN SPACE is a swooshy entertaining flick, relying heavily on its stunts and 750 special effects. It falls in the Summer Blockbuster category, even though it's only April. However, the film can be so much more with a bit more fine tuning. Call me an optimist, but I'm sure - - that if the two proposed sequels to this movie pay attention to things like smooth pacing, brighter cinematography, sharp dialogue, making use of female character issues, and producing the feel of one continuous plot as opposed to the bump-and-go feel - - then the sequels can build successfully upon the foundation introduced by LOST IN SPACE.
Reviewed by David Sunga April 3, 1998
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