Weak Script But Fun Action

Rating: 6/10 (18 June 2014)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is another unnecessary, cash-grab sequel to a highly successful film. Even though many of the cast and crew return, such as Spielberg, screenwriter David Koepp, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, John Williams, and editor Michael Kahn, it really is an inferior film. I think Spielberg and Koepp came into it with the right intentions but somehow, nothing just seems as magical as it was the first time. But does that make The Lost World bad? Let's find out!
The film follows Dr. Ian Malcolm after the events of the first film where he has now publicized the incident at Jurassic Park with a strong lack of belief from the public. John Hammond then contacts Ian to travel to Jurassic Park site B, Isla Sorna, where the dinosaurs were first engineered but have now run amok due to a hurricane destroying the containment facilities, to document the dinosaurs with a team in their natural habitat to get public support against the site from being exploited by InGen. Ian initially refuses, but decides to go after hearing his wife, Sarah, is already there. Meanwhile, they come across InGen mercenaries capturing dinosaurs there for another park being built in San Diego.
The most noticeable problems with The Lost World are the characterizations and the "been there, done that" feel. The film's characters, are either blandly uninteresting, or annoying and stupid. While the first film didn't have exceptionally well-written characters, they were all well-defined and likable. Here, the characters are all just so weak and forgettable. While Goldblum is generally likable in the film, whenever he has a dramatic moment, he seems tired and uninterested. Julianne Moore is OKAY as Sarah, but she doesn't make much of an impression and her character is pretty fwcking stupid in places when she fearlessly gets up close to the dinosaurs to observe them and hangs blood stained shirts in a tent that end up attracting the dinosaurs. Vanessa Lee Chester is simply awful as Kelly, Ian's daughter. She embodies the annoying, irritating kid character everybody hates such as Jake Lloyd's Anakin Skywalker and the way she's written isn't much better. They have this little sub-plot about her and Ian not spending enough time and how he's never much of a dad to her and Ian goes through an arc in the film learning to be a better father. I really don't like this sub-plot because it's so cliché and overdone these days and it feels like such artificial drama. It really comes across as a cheap way to add an emotional core to the film. I cringed every time she's on screen. The rest of the actors, such as Vince Vaughn, Peter Postlewaite, Richard Schiff, and Arliss Howard are OKAY in their roles, but again, don't make any sort of impression whatsoever. The only real character I liked, was John Hammond once again played by Richard Attenborough. Even though it's only a bit part, Attenborough is extremely compelling to watch and is easily the best actor out of the whole film.
The film also doesn't feel fresh. While the plot isn't an exact copy of the first film, a lot of the scenes come off as a lame attempt to give you that "wow" factor from watching the original but since we've already seen this before, it just doesn't have the same impact. For example, remember the iconic "Welcome to Jurassic Park scene." from the first film? Well, here, they try to do a similar thing with Ian and Sarah looking in awe of these Stegosaurus's but it just doesn't wow like it did the first time. Especially since the Stegosaurus's are some of the weaker effects in the film. They also do a similar scene where a T-Rex puts his head through a tent with the people inside it trying not to make a sound to avoid his awareness JUST like the scene with the kids in the car with the T-Rex outside from the original. These scenes just feel like lame attempts to emulate the first film and lacks impact as result.
But if I were to say I didn't enjoy this film, I'd be lying. While it's certainly not a great film in terms of characterization and a lot of the scenes DO feel like cheap knock-offs of the original, this is an undeniably entertaining movie. The dinosaurs are just as cool as they were in the first film with slightly improved special effects. The action scenes, while a little implausible in places, are nonetheless, very well staged and often have good suspense to them. My favorite scene's probably the T-Rex's rampage through San Diego, that was awesome.
Overall, if you can get past the weak characterizations and the "been there, done that" feeling, you'll enjoy this film for its outstanding action sequences. 6/10