THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK Starring: Jeff Goldblum (Dr. Ian Malcolm), Julianne Moore (Dr. Sarah Harding) Directed by: Steven Spielberg Written by: David Koepp RATED PG-13 by the MPAA for strong language and violence.
Reviewed by Doug Skiles
When summer hits, sequels can't be far behind. Often, that means it's time for a cast of faces we all know playing characters that we all know as they run the paces through a carbon copy of the original film.
Which is why THE LOST WORLD is such a pleasant surprise.
When was the last time you saw a sequel that you felt was better than the original, or at least on equal ground with it? Was it ALIENS? TERMINATOR 2? Maybe BATMAN RETURNS? These things are few and far between. Welcome to THE LOST WORLD, a sequel which outshines the original JURASSIC PARK.
What makes this a superior film? How about a better lead character? More likable supporting characters? An army of human villians along with the dangerous dinosaurs? More intense action sequences? Better effects? An ending that truly screams "FINALE!!!" and provides a real sense of closure? A better pulse-pounding John Williams score? A darker overall tone? And a plotline that ends up being far superior to that of the Michael Crichton book on which it is based?
Flaws? Well, the concept of "There's another island!" isn't reasoned out as well as it was in the book. Luckily, Jeff Goldblum's own disbelief as portrayed in both words and expressions helps to somehow ease the disbelief of the audience. Plus, Sarah makes one really stupid mistake, endangering the group on the island, which seems a little strange considering her supposed expertise in such areas. However, it's plausible that, given the hell she was through, she didn't have time to think straight enough to realize what a boneheaded manuver she was pulling. Finally, the only other obvious flaw would be that the Nick Van Owen character (Vince Vaughn) did some things that seemed smart in execution, but finally proved idiotic, making his supposedly "heroic" character easy to dislike.
But these three little problems can't stop viewers from grinning like maniacs during the whole production and applauding their hearts out at the end. Spielberg took audiences into another world with 1993's JURASSIC PARK. Now, again managing to work his magic, he gives us THE LOST WORLD. Neither of the Indiana Jones adventures after RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK managed to top that first one, but THE LOST WORLD does manage to be a fantastic Spielberg adventure, one that is even better that his first trip into dino-land.
Maybe all of Spielberg's action films should have LOST in the title...
This is the chance to witness something extremely rare. The sequel that improves on the first concept. The summer of '97 has, so far, proven to be infinitely better than that of '96 in the movie industry. THE LOST WORLD alone is better than any movie released last summer. May the INDEPENDENCE DAYs and TWISTERs of the world tremble in fear. Steven Spielberg is here to show you how it's done. Go out there and learn your lesson while you can still catch it in the theater. And if you see just three movies this summer, please, make them CONTACT, FACE/OFF... and THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK.
Rating: A+
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