THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1997 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Darker in tone than JURASSIC PARK,
this sequel concerns another island that Ingen has
populated with dinosaurs. The film has
considerably more dinosaur effects, though most
take place in the dark, possibly as an economy
measure. The film has more action than its
predecessor but less of a sense of wonder and
amazement. The last half hour is great fun.
Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4), 6 (0 to 10).
New York Critics:
Steven Spielberg has fashioned a sequel to his supremely successful JURASSIC PARK that in many ways does what a sequel should do: it continues the story rather than remaking it. The film features the same terrific dinosaur effects, but this time around Spielberg changes the tone to make a darker and more somber exercise. At the same time has removed much of the anti-science sentiment of the previous film. But perhaps the most interesting touch is that since it is based on Michael Crichton's novel which borrows the title of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, Spielberg has played up the similarities in plot to the Doyle novel and its 1925 film adaptation. THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK also borrows from KING KONG and GORGO. On the negative side the character it builds the story around is Dr. Ian Malcolm (played again by Jeff Goldblum). This was not a very good decision since while Goldblum had some good lines in the first film, his character was never very well developed and does not have the appeal to carry the sequel.
It is four years after the incidents of JURASSIC PARK. The entire experiment has been hushed up. Ian Malcolm has tried to tell his story to the world and has been made to look like a sensationalist kook. Meanwhile there has been a power struggle at John Hammond's company Ingen. Each faction wants control of an island that was a laboratory and breeding ground for the ill-fated park and where, unbeknownst to the world dinosaurs still live and breed. John Hammond has sent a team of four scientists to the laboratory island to document what is there. Ingen, now led by Hammond's nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) has sent a team to secure the island. The team leader is hunter and mercenary, Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite). Tembo's team is composed of what are supposed to be crack mercenaries, but Tembo knows them to be unprepared for the situation they will be facing. The hunter cares little that his team is incompetent so long as they can provide him with an opportunity to kill a T. rex. As with the earlier film David Koepp has adapted the Crichton novel. His film is mostly dark and somber until the last half-hour when finally the film cuts loose for some fun.
To make Goldblum's Ian Malcolm the tie to the previous film seems almost an act of desperation. Alan Grant or Ellie Sattler's characters had more appealing personalities. Malcolm was slickly obnoxious and remains so in this film. The worst fault of the script is its failure to create a character that that audience really cares about. In this film Pete Postlethwaite's villain is almost as appealing as the hero. Of course with dangerous dinosaurs on the loose, it is not clear the story really needed a human villain to start with.
In contrast to JURASSIC PARK, Spielberg has chosen to visualize this story in muted colors, often with light sources blurred. There is intentionally no natural scene that looks as beautiful as the helicopter landing in the last film. The new island is not to be confused with a paradise. The film has more time on the screen of dinosaur effects, but in many it is harder to make out details. Also curiously some of the effects sequences are cut short, as if they were not completed to save time. There will be a stegosaurus attack and the camera will flash to Goldblum who says something like "they're leaving," rather than showing them leave. Spielberg does have some feel for suspense, and this film includes one suspenseful sequence involving a glass window that is almost sure to be borrowed by other films in the future. John Williams has scored the film, but this is sure to be considered one of his lesser scores with some standard suspense music and no really memorable new themes.
The most impressive touch in THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK is how successfully it pulled together the plots of both Crichton and Doyle. It delivers a few thrills, some nice dinosaur effects, and packed theaters. I rate it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
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