THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
Anyone who has seen the original JURASSIC PARK will surely want to see the sequel. As with the first, it is filled with dinosaurs, both big and little, more menacing than I recall in the one that preceded this. For this reason, it is incumbent upon me to suggest that parents of children under 9-years-old and those of sensitive 10-year-olds take their offspring to other movies. It is a bit frightening to see a couple of tyrannosaurs engaged in pulling apart a human they have captured, or to see hundreds of little dinosaurs about the size of small geese, poke out the eyes of humans, chew at their lips and cheeks. It is a kind of THE BIRDS except with dinosaurs.
Then, too, the photography. like much of the story, is dark. Hardly any daylight, sunlight, penetrates the huge trees and brush of the dense forest. This, when it is in the whole movie, is in itself depressing. Nevertheless, the special effects are, as expected, spectacular though not more so than in the original. For one thing, the dinosaurs do not come across as shocking, surprising, as when first seen in JURASSIC PARK. There really is nothing here to compare with our first view in the 1993 version of the dinosaur lifting its head above the trees in a graceful movement that astonished and delighted us. While it is true that THE LOST WORLD utilizes new computer technology to make the animals move more gracefully, the improvement was not noticeable. The original Jurassic Park was spectacularly wonderful with Live Action Dinosaurs' Stan Winston in charge both then and now.
As for the story: You will recall that John Hammond had discovered that embedded in amber were bits of DNA. He was able to utilize the DNA to grow full- sized prehistoric animals. It was his dream to have an amusement park on an island off Costa Rica where visitors could come to view the dinosaurs and other beasts. The park was going to be foolproof safe. Dr. Ian Malcolm, a brilliant mathematician, said there was no such thing as 100% safe. As predicted, disaster struck and everyone fled the island and all the prehistoric animals died . . . or so everyone thought.
Four years have elapsed since John Hammond's dream came to a disastrous end. Just when it was believed that the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals had all died, it now appears that there were some survivors living on the nearby island of Isla Sorna where they were free of human interference Having learned his lesson that one must not tamper with nature, Hammond (in this version played by Richard Attenborough) wants sightseers kept away and the island policed so the prehistoric animals can live in peaceful surroundings. To this end, he talks mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) into overseeing that his wishes come true. Things do not quite work out that way.
Others hired by Hammond for chronicling of the island's inhabitants are paleontologist Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), maker of video documentaries (Vince Vaughn) and a field equipment specialist (Richard Schiff) to enable the three to carry on their mission.
The film's villain is Hammond's money-hungry nephew, Peter Ludlow (Arliiss Howard), who takes control of the company and sets out to breed the creatures, bring them to the island and set it up as another Park. Ludlow hires an adventurer, Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite) to be in charge on the island.
Also in the cast is young Kelly, (Vanessa Lee Chester) who stowed away on the ship going to the island where deadly dinosaurs roam. Little did Kelly know what she was going to experience.
Music composed by John Williams.
If you loved JURASSIC PARK, as almost everyone apparently did, and you want more of the same, THE LOST WORLD will again turn you on.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, THE LOST WORLD.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
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Ben Hoffman
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