Jurassic Park was one of the biggest hits of the nineties both in terms of the novel and the film. Both captured the imagination of the public in a way not seen in this genre since the classic 'man vs monster' films of the seventies. The film was especially helped by a strong cast (with no superstar names) and some superb and state of the art special effects.
4 years later the inevitable sequel arrived. With the island in the first film being put under quarantine the action needed to be switched and it this case it's moved to another nearby island (Isla Sorna) which apparently was the test site for the genetic work taking part in the first film. As it is described, the island from the first film is the showroom, this is the production floor.
The cast end up on this island as Ingen corporation (under new leadership) still want to capture the dinosaurs they've produced and exhibit them in a dino zoo in San Diego. Our heroes (Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore and Vince Vaughn) are then blackmailed into joining them and the great dino safari is ready.
Inevitably things go wrong and once again the humans are on the receiving end of some serious dino punishment. As in most sequels the suspense and build up to scenes is traded in her for more regular shocks and a higher body count. Our returning dino villains the T-Rex and the Raptors account for a large number of extras while at the same time being completely incapable to landing a meaningful blow on the main cast. Once again we have a young child put in harms way, who ultimately proves to be something of a hero.
This film is a superior action film, and certainly excelled at the box office, however I don't feel it ever lives up to its predecessor. Just as the second book was weaker than the first so is the second film (and this film even misses out some important bits from the second book, which only make it to the third film). The returning cast do well, Pete Postlethwaite is excellent as the big game hunter and Arliss Howard is good value as the slimy corporate man, however I feel the first film worked because Sam Neil was a very down to earth and likeable lead man and Malcom worked better as a quirky secondary character. Also the action rattles along at such a pace that no sooner do people hit a problem then they've overcome it and moved on to the next danger - the main point in question being the race through the raptor field at the end, when one group it totally decimated yet the heroes aren't even touched. I also thing the finale with the T-Rex loose on the mainland could have been made into a movie of its own (although far scary if it had been the smaller and more intelligent raptors). This almost afterthought made the movie seem a little rushed at the end and ruined the idea of the island and the dinosaurs being a secret.
I have read that Steven Spielberg had alot less to do with this film than Jurrassic Park and in parts this shows although there are two classic scenes he was involved in which really show the potential the film had, the first is the slowly breaking glass in the trailer when it's over the cliff and the second is the overhead shot of the raptors running through the corn field, both totally classic.
The DVD extras are not bad, the deleted scenes don't add a massive amount to the film but will be fun for any fans, the featurette is a 50 minute behind the scenes 'making of' feature which is also interesting, cast and crew commentary and the trailers contains one for Jurassic Park III, all very standard, although for a film of this size and stature I would have expected more.
I enjoyed the film and it can now be picked up relatively cheaply, although I would be tempted to look into the price of the 4 disk version which contains all 3 Jurrassic Park films, which I feel would be a more valuable addition to many people's DVD collections.
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
Although not as good as the first Jurassic Park movie, I like it more than Jurassic Park III - although I haven't watched that in ages though! Fine review. D.
jpegington 12.01.2006 17:11
Nice review, looks good. I kinda enjoyed this film, but no where near as good as the book and no where near as good as the first. JPEG
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Advantages: Effects are still okay Disadvantages: but they don't show any development, story is a bit weak, especially the ending. There's only so long you can watch people get chased by raptors.
Advantages: Effects are still okay Disadvantages: but they don't show any development, story is a bit weak, especially the ending. There's only so long you can watch people get chased by raptors.
![The Lost World - Jurassic Park [DVD] [1997]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/70235511.jpg "The Lost World - Jurassic Park [DVD] [1997]")
![The Lost World - Jurassic Park [DVD] [1997]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78494388.jpg "The Lost World - Jurassic Park [DVD] [1997]")
Jan 10th, 2006
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