The Lost World: Jurassic Park Review
“The Lost World: Jurassic Park” is a 1997 film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Arliss Howard, Pete Postlethwaite, and Richard Attenborough. In this film, John Hammond seeks to redeem himself by recruiting Ian Malcolm and others to Isla Sorna, aka “Site B” to study the dinosaurs on the island. Meanwhile, there is another group from Ingen who has more sinister ideas.
In order to explain my thoughts on this movie, there is something that I need to address. Up until now, I have never seen this movie. I’ve seen the first “Jurassic Park” many times and love it. And yes, I have sat through “Jurassic Park III”, (more on that later). But this is the one movie in which most people are split on. There are those who love it, while others just hate it. So going in, I went in with an open mind.
So what did I think of “The Lost World?” Well, I actually enjoyed it. I mean, it’s not as good as the first one, but it is still entertaining in some ways. I like how this movie has a different feel to it. This one is a bit darker, and there are more action scenes. I have to give Spielberg credit for going this route. Though if it had the same feel as the first one, people would complain that it wasn’t different.
The cast is actually pretty good. It’s great to see Jeff Goldblum back as Ian Malcolm. He is that character, and I like how at times he is seen as the voice of reason trying to remind the new people about what has happened back on Isla Nublar, like the chaos may happen again.
The supporting cast is good too. Julianne Moore as Malcolm’s girlfriend Sara was a good character. I liked how she knew what she was doing and wasn’t just a damsel waiting to be saved by Ian Malcolm. It was nice to see their relationship evolve. Another big surprise to me was seeing Vince Vaughn. When I saw his name on IMDB, I was thinking holy crap. He is going to be like the comic relief. But no, I really liked his character and I wish Vaughn would go back to doing drama instead of stupid comedies.
Watching this film, I was really surprised at how the effects still hold up to this day in 2015. Much like the first one, it is mind-blowing. It still looks real, and has that feel where it wasn’t shot on just some sound stage. Plus, the dinosaurs still look so life like, and never once did I feel I was looking at something fake. In today’s world, the use of CGI is so heavily used and it is nice to see a movie that still holds up.
But with the pros come the cons. First, I really wasn’t interested in the main villains of this one. They just seemed like clichés in my opinion, and their motivations didn’t work for me. Nedry from the first one is the ultimate villain of the series because yes he is evil but he has a certain humor/charm about him. Also, the infamous San Diego sequence, while entertaining, feels like it was from another film. The effects are good, but it just looks out of place when you look at the movie as a whole.
Overall, “The Lost World” is not as good as the first one, but I like it in its own right. There are some good moments, entertaining characters, and good special effects. For my final rating, I am going to give “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” a 3.5/5. Earlier, I mentioned my thoughts on “Jurassic Park 3”. To sum it up, the less said about that movie, the better. This is Mr. Birdwell saying, “Keep Reading and Watching.”
“The Lost World: Jurassic Park” is a 1997 film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Arliss Howard, Pete Postlethwaite, and Richard Attenborough. In this film, John Hammond seeks to redeem himself by recruiting Ian Malcolm and others to Isla Sorna, aka “Site B” to study the dinosaurs on the island. Meanwhile, there is another group from Ingen who has more sinister ideas.
In order to explain my thoughts on this movie, there is something that I need to address. Up until now, I have never seen this movie. I’ve seen the first “Jurassic Park” many times and love it. And yes, I have sat through “Jurassic Park III”, (more on that later). But this is the one movie in which most people are split on. There are those who love it, while others just hate it. So going in, I went in with an open mind.
So what did I think of “The Lost World?” Well, I actually enjoyed it. I mean, it’s not as good as the first one, but it is still entertaining in some ways. I like how this movie has a different feel to it. This one is a bit darker, and there are more action scenes. I have to give Spielberg credit for going this route. Though if it had the same feel as the first one, people would complain that it wasn’t different.
The cast is actually pretty good. It’s great to see Jeff Goldblum back as Ian Malcolm. He is that character, and I like how at times he is seen as the voice of reason trying to remind the new people about what has happened back on Isla Nublar, like the chaos may happen again.
The supporting cast is good too. Julianne Moore as Malcolm’s girlfriend Sara was a good character. I liked how she knew what she was doing and wasn’t just a damsel waiting to be saved by Ian Malcolm. It was nice to see their relationship evolve. Another big surprise to me was seeing Vince Vaughn. When I saw his name on IMDB, I was thinking holy crap. He is going to be like the comic relief. But no, I really liked his character and I wish Vaughn would go back to doing drama instead of stupid comedies.
Watching this film, I was really surprised at how the effects still hold up to this day in 2015. Much like the first one, it is mind-blowing. It still looks real, and has that feel where it wasn’t shot on just some sound stage. Plus, the dinosaurs still look so life like, and never once did I feel I was looking at something fake. In today’s world, the use of CGI is so heavily used and it is nice to see a movie that still holds up.
But with the pros come the cons. First, I really wasn’t interested in the main villains of this one. They just seemed like clichés in my opinion, and their motivations didn’t work for me. Nedry from the first one is the ultimate villain of the series because yes he is evil but he has a certain humor/charm about him. Also, the infamous San Diego sequence, while entertaining, feels like it was from another film. The effects are good, but it just looks out of place when you look at the movie as a whole.
Overall, “The Lost World” is not as good as the first one, but I like it in its own right. There are some good moments, entertaining characters, and good special effects. For my final rating, I am going to give “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” a 3.5/5. Earlier, I mentioned my thoughts on “Jurassic Park 3”. To sum it up, the less said about that movie, the better. This is Mr. Birdwell saying, “Keep Reading and Watching.”