Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997)

Synopsis

Title: Jurassic Park: The Lost World (1997)

Genre: Adventure

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 134 Minutes

Director: Steven Spielberg

Main Actors: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Vince Vaughn, Richard Attenborough, Peter Stormare

Plot: This is the second movie of the Jurrasic Park trilogy. We discover that there was a second island full of dinosaurs that was used as a breeding ground for the original Jurassic Park. Dr. John Hammond decides to send four adventurers to monitor the dinosaur’s lifestyle before a group named INGEN comes to the island. INGEN wants to capture the dinosaurs, take them back to San Diego, and form a “dino” park.

My Take

Unlike the original Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton did not write the script for The Lost World. The script wasn’t terrible, but if memory serves me it was not nearly as good as the first Jurassic Park. This movie was a blockbuster when it came out 10 years ago and it got nominated for several awards, but a lot changes in 10 years. The dinosaurs look good, they must have looked amazing 10 years ago, but the rest of the visual effects were not so good. A number of destruction scenes and plot developments were comical. This is an action/adventure/thriller but it was more of a comedy from my perspective. There were plenty of one-liners and awed faces throughout the movie. Although nothing will ever top the first Jurassic Park where the T-Rex ate the guy sitting on the john, it is still hilarious watching T-Rex kill people. If you haven’t seen the movie you might think that is a terrible thing to say, but watch the movie and tell me with a straight face you didn’t laugh. This movie had a scene where a guy hiding from the T-Rex found a snake on himself and cried “a snake!” and walked right into the T-Rex’s mouth. It’s comedic moments like these, although I’m not sure they were meant to be funny, that make this movie entertaining. However, the music by John Williams is legendary. Some of the acting was good, some was bad, and Jeff Goldblum’s eyebrows are just plain ugly!

What About Vince?

Vince Vaughn did an excellent job in this movie. He played the part of Nick Van Owen who is a photographer and one of the four chosen by Dr. Hammond to monitor the island. True to form, Vaughn delivers comedic relief that only he can. He delivers quick and witty lines at the perfect time and he comes off as a very likable character in this role as opposed to the jerk, which he also plays very well. The movie would not have been nearly as good without Vince Vaughn in my opinion.

Should You Watch???

I think you must watch the original Jurassic Park before you see this one. The original was just that, original, and it was a huge success and deservedly so. The Lost World is not as good as the original Jurassic Park but it will provide you with some of the same comedic dinosaur destructive action you came to know and love in the first one. While I wouldn’t say this was a great movie by any means, I’d say it’s entertaining. There is some violence, but nothing compared to what we are used to seeing these days. Don’t expect a real action/thriller, but I think you’ll be entertained. Just expect to laugh at spots where you shouldn’t be laughing.

Popcorn Rating

Kettle Corn