Lost In Space Rated PG-13 By James Sanford The Kalamazoo Gazette
Ten years ago, William Hurt was "The Accidental Tourist" and now, he's "Lost In Space."
That might seem like a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous, except that the big-screen version of the 1960s TV show is considerably more technically sophisticated and slightly more cerebral than the original, which was notable chiefly for its charmingly absurd stories and bargain-basement monsters: Remember the episode featuring the dreaded giant carrot?
As TV-to-movie adaptations go, "Lost In Space" is probably one of the more respectable entries in the field, with expensive production values adding a classy sheen to what's essentially cheesy material. The film features some impressive computer-generated animation, Akiva Goldman's script incorporates mini-tributes to everything from the "Star Wars" movies to "The Waltons," and director Stephen Hopkins has avoided playing the movie as camp. Still, something has been left out. Goldman ups the IQs - if not the maturity levels - of most of the stalwart Robinson family and even introduces a bit of dramatic dysfunction. Unfortunately he accomplishes this at the expense of the characters' charms, so although libido-driven pilot Don West (Matt LeBlanc) and disgruntled pre-teen Penny (Lacey Chabert) seem much more human than their television counterparts, they're also less fun to have around.
The Goldman creations that really work are his revisions of professor John Robinson (Hurt) and the diabolical Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman). On the show, Robinson rarely projected anything except concern, but Hurt humanizes the man, introducing subtle twin undercurrents of jealousy toward youthful Don - who's hot for John's daughter Judy (Heather Graham) - and Robinson's own father, a legendary military strategist whom Don idolizes. Goldman also restores Smith's dark heart (which vanished early on in the show), much to Oldman's obvious delight. Graham and Mimi Rogers as mom Maureen, on the other hand, are given little to do.
The first half of the film parallels the series' set-up, as scheming Dr. Smith sabotages the Robinsons' mission to find a new Earth and, in the process, becomes trapped aboard the Jupiter 2 spacecraft with the family as they hurtle into unexplored galaxies. There's a fair amount of suspense as the crew almost crashes into the sun and later discovers an abandoned ship with a scary secret.
As he's proven in his scripts for the last two "Batman" movies, however, Goldman is not particularly skilled at building plots. Though the last third of "Lost In Space" introduces all sorts of intriguing concepts, Goldman doesn't develop any of them particularly well, and the less said the better about the excruciatingly cutesy Blawp, a combination monkey-chameleon which looks glaringly fake and exists for no reason other than possible marketing tie-ins.
Fans of the TV version will be amused by the cameos early on by series stars June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Marta Kristen and Mark Goddard. Sadly though, the innocent silliness that made the "Lost In Space" series a classic guilty pleasure is missing in action here. Maybe the carrot monster wasn't such a lame idea after all.
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