Review - The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're just over a month out from the release of Jurassic World: Dominion, the sixth chapter of the Jurassic Park series. And it's been a while since I talked about the original 1993 film Jurassic Park, so let's talk about the film's 1997 sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park. 

          The movie, which is loosely based on Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park sequel novel The Lost World, starts off with the Bowmans, a wealthy British family on a yacht cruise, having a picnic on the beach of Isla Sorna, an island located 87 miles southwest of Isla Nublar. All is going well until the Bowmans' daughter, Cathy, runs afoul of a Compsognathus, or Compy for short, and its friends. Cathy is attacked by the Compys, and is injured by the attack.

           We then cut to Ian Malcolm, who is taking a subway train to meet with John Hammond, who has just lost control of his company, InGen, to his nephew Peter Ludlow. Hammond then tells Ian about Isla Sorna aka Site B, which is where the dinosaurs were bred and raised before being brought over to Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. And evidently, InGen has been considering exploiting the animals on Site B to avoid the company entering into bankruptcy, with Hammond as the sole voice of reason keeping it from happening. Unfortunately, the incident with the Bowmans, despite the fact that Cathy is okay even after the Compy attack, has led to InGen wrestling control of the company from Hammond, allowing them to carry out whatever plans for the island unimpeded. Hammond knows that public opinion is the last thing that can preserve the island as is, but a full photographic record of the dinosaurs in their natural habitat is required to pull it off. So, Hammond has assembled a research team to head to the island, close to the outer rim, and document the dinosaurs, and he wants Ian to be part of the team. However, it's only when Ian learns that his paleontologist girlfriend Dr. Sarah Harding is part of the team and went to the island ahead of the others, that Ian decides to go, but just to rescue Sarah from any potential danger. 

       Ian them meets the other two members of the research team: equipment expert Eddie Carr and environmental documentary expert Nick Van Owen. We also meet Ian's daughter Kelly, who sneaks aboard the research trailers after an argument about Ian leaving her behind while he's off on a research job. The team arrives on the island and runs across a herd of Stegosaurs, and Nick takes some pictures. It's here that we see Sarah is doing the same, and she's okay. Unfortunately, she decides to get up close and personal with a baby Stegosaurus, but is attacked by the adult Stegosaurs after noises from her camera scare the baby. 

        Returning to base camp, they see a fire, which is quickly put out. Kelly is revealed to be there, and Ian is outraged, looking to take Kelly back to the mainland immediately. After a conversation with Sarah about her being there, and Ian's commitment issues, the team hears the sounds of helicopters, all of which are marked InGen. Ludlow has arrived with a team to capture dinosaurs and return them to the mainland. Among the InGen team is big game hunter Roland Tembo and his hunting partner Ajay Sidhu, as well as paleontologist Dr. Robert Burke and Roland's second-in-command Dieter Stark. Among the dinosaurs captured include Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Gallimimus, and a couple of others. After spotting a footprint, Roland asks Burke to identify it, which he does identify as a Tyrannosaurus footprint. Roland and Ajay then head off to collect Roland's reward: hunting an adult male Tyrannosaurus. Roland and Ajay find the Rex nest, where a two-week-old infant Tyrannosaurus is eating. Roland and Ajay capture the infant, break its leg, and tie it to the ground to lure out the Tyrannosaur parents. Meanwhile, it's revealed what Ludlow has in mind for the captured dinosaurs: to finish construction of an amphitheater that Hammond was building in San Diego, California as his big dinosaur exhibit, but abandoned in favor of building Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. 

        Meanwhile, Ian and his team, who witnessed the events of Ludlow's team capturing the dinosaurs, discuss what Ludlow is planning. Nick then reveals that Hammond knew that Ludlow's team was going to be arriving, and sent Nick to sabotage them in case of their arrival before Ian's research team was done. Nick and Sarah then free all of the captured dinosaurs, and the dinosaurs all destroy Ludlow's team's camp. Nick then rescues the infant Rex, and takes it back for medical treatment. Sarah berates him, but goes along with him anyway. Eddie, meanwhile, sets up the "High Hide," which is a small steel  structure where the researchers can enter and be taken above the treeline for safety. Nick and Sarah arrive to set the bone, and Ian takes Kelly to the High Hide, where Eddie lifts it above the trees. In the distance, the Tyrannosaur parents let out a massive roar, and Ian goes to warn Sarah and Nick. Nick and Sarah finish setting the infant's leg bone, when the parents arrive, and Ian, Sarah, and Nick return the infant to its parents. The parents then knock the trailers over the cliff, with the second trailer dangling over the edge. Eddie arrives, throws the others a rope, and tries to use his car to bring the trailers back up. Unfortunately, the Tyrannosaur parents arrive and eat Eddie, sending his car and both trailers over the edge. Sarah, Ian, and Nick make their way back up to the top of the cliff, but get some unexpected help from Ludlow's team. The now amassed group has a decision to make: where to go next. Ludlow mentions a communications center in the village near the center of the island, but a major danger lies in their path to the village: Velociraptors. Realizing that there really is no choice, the group heads for the village. 

           The journey is long, and Dieter gets lost during a rest break, devoured by Compies. Roland takes two men to find him, and the others keep moving. That evening, Roland and his men return, and reveal how close they are, but the Tyrannosaurs have followed them because of the infant's blood on Sarah's jacket. The group flees, chased by the female Tyrannosaurus, while Roland takes down the male with a tranquilizer dart, after realizing that Nick took his bullets. The rest of the group, including Ajay, enters a field of tall grass, where they're picked off by the nesting Velociraptors. Ian, Nick, Sarah, and Kelly make it through safely, and survive an attack by Velociraptors, and are airlifted by rescue helicopters called by Nick over the radio in the communications center. Ludlow then takes both the male and infant Tyrannosaurs back to San Diego. 

         In San Diego, the boat delivering the male Tyrannosaurus crashes into the harbor during a major event held by Ludlow and InGen, and the crew of the boat is revealed to be dead, eaten by the Tyrannosaurus. The Tyrannosaurus gets loose and goes on a rampage across the city of San Diego. Sarah and Ian decide to lure it back to the boat using the infant. Ludlow then tells them where the infant is, and they drive to the facility: an amphitheater marked "Jurassic Park San Diego." Ian and Sarah take the infant, and find the adult, driving back to the docks where the boat is, with the adult following them. Ian and Sarah leave the infant on the boat, where it eats Ludlow, and Sarah knocks out the adult with a tranquilizer dart, locking it and the infant in the cargo hold of the boat. The boat is then sent back to Isla Sorna, with a growing military presence around it to avoid a repeat of the San Diego incident. We then learn that Hammond is personally helping spearhead the movement to set up restrictions for Isla Sorna, keeping the dinosaurs isolated from the rest of the world. The movie ends with a family of Tyrannosaurs, a herd of Stegosaurs, and a small flock of Pteranodons all living in harmony on Isla Sorna. 

         Okay, so while I don't think that this movie was as good as the original Jurassic Park, I don't think that The Lost World: Jurassic Park is the complete trainwreck we all thought it was back in 1997. For example, it's great seeing the returns of both Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough as Ian Malcolm and John Hammond, heck I even enjoyed the quick appearances of Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello as Lex and Tim. New additions I enjoyed included Pete Postlethwaite as Roland, Peter Stormare as Dieter, Vince Vaughn as Nick, and Richard Schiff as Eddie. Both Julianne Moore as Sarah and Arliss Howard as Ludlow weren't among my favorites, but they weren't terrible. Vanessa Lee Chester was just okay as Ian's daughter Kelly. The rest of the cast ranges from passable to barely worth mentioning. 

        I also liked the addition of new dinosaurs to the series, like the Pachycephalosaurus and the Stegosaurus, and I loved the appearance of the Pteranodons at the end of the movie. However, I think that the movie put too much emphasis on the Tyrannosaurus Rex this time. I get it, T. Rex is the most popular dinosaur among children and dinosaur enthusiasts, but seriously, there are other major carnivorous dinosaurs out there, guys. Hell, I had to wait until the FIFTH movie in this series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, to see MY favorite dinosaur, the Carnotaurus, appear in this franchise. But, we'll get to that when we discuss that movie down the road. 

         As far as visual effects, once again Steven Spielberg and his team delivered. I absolutely loved the visual spectacle of seeing these creatures, the dinosaurs, on screen. Unfortunately, where this movie falls somewhat short is in writing and dialogue. Sadly, this is where I have to knock off a few points, because as much as I enjoyed the acting and visual effects, I have to point out that the idea of setting up a dinosaur exhibit on the mainland is stupid. A big game hunter trying to take down a male Tyrannosaurus the way one would hunt a deer is stupid. Overall, a lot of elements of the story are just stupid. 

         All in all, not a terrible movie, but not among the best of the Jurassic Park series. Certainly not the worst of the Jurassic Park series, though. I'm giving The Lost World: Jurassic Park a rating of 3.95/5. Now, what do I consider the worst of the Jurassic Park series? Well, join me on Thursday for my review of Jurassic Park III. Until then, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.