JURASSIC JUNE: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' is the sequel to the summer blockbuster hit 'Jurassic Park' and once again stars Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Sarah (Julianne Moore) from what he knows is major danger. She and a small crew have gone to another dino filled island in an attempt to protect the animals from capture and torture at the hands of InGen. Peril and Adventure ensues.

 

It took five years to bring this sequel to the screen, which when you consider how fast a sequel to a large franchise comes out nowadays that seems like a long time to wait on. Did the sequel succeed in capturing that magic of the 1993 original? Of course it didn't, how could it possibly? However, the film has gotten a lot more negative attention than I think it deserves as it serves as a perfectly fun action/adventure flick. Unfortunately, writer David Koepp has not seemed to have learned about character development since the original film, as this time its even worse than before. Yes, the dinosaurs are the main attraction for the most part in these films, but we need human characters to give us a reason to care, to feel scared for them when they're in danger and hope they succeed in saving the animals from being stuffed in a zoo. You do not care about this or them one bit.

The film as a whole tends to lean heavily towards the 'eco-friendly' and 'save the whales' type of messages in a very forced and negative way. These messages can be used in most films for a good cause and have a deep meaning to them, however in a 'Jurassic Park' film? We don't need these kind of political messages in an action film such as this. The dinosaurs are at least as great as ever, with almost every sequence involving them always being a great spectacle. The scene involving the velociraptors in the tall grass being a personal favorite moment of mine out of the whole franchise. Where the dinos fail is when you get scenes such as a gymnastics routine ending with the raptor being kicked out the window (facepalm). The technical background to 'The Lost World' is always great and always improving for the most part. We get another beautiful score by John Williams that is both new and unique to this film, while also keeping in those signature themes we love. The cinematography this time around has a darker, grittier look to it that once again helps with the theme of Site B.

 

'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' seemed to have had too much hype given to it at the time of its release. It couldn't possibly have been the phenomenon that the original was. That film was new and broke the boundaries of the filmmaking world, the sequel came out in 1997 we had 'Independence Day', 'Men in Black' and several other groundbreaking special effects bonanzas by the time this came out. The novelty had worn off unfortunately, but this is still a really fun action film that you can waste a good two hours without any regret. What came in 2001 to follow this one up? That's a different story...

'THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK' GETS AN:   ((C+))

Rating: PG-13 (Violence)

Studio: Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

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(all images and film references are the property of Universal Pictures/Michael Crichton)