Something Has Survived

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2004)

It only follows suit that the more you anticipate and look forward to something, the more likely you are to be disappointed. This is accurate throughout life, and movies are no exception, especially their sequels!
It has been 4 years since the disaster at Hammonds Jurassic Park, and the board of Hammonds company Ingen have used the incident to take control of the company from him. Meanwhile, a girl is attacked on a Costa Rican Island and it is discovered that John Hammond had a secret 'SITE B' for Jurassic Park used to breed and nurture the animals. Hammond wants to preserve this island, this 'LOST WORLD' and keep it away from public gaze ("wow, you've turned from Capitalist to Naturalist in just 4 years, thats something" -- Ian Malcolm to John Hammond) To do this, he must send in a group of specialists to photograph the animals alive and flourishing in their natural habitat. Shortly after that said team arrives on Isla Sorna (site B) a group of Ingen mercenaries arrive, and with a much different agenda!
It was inevitable that the hype surrounding the sequel to one of the biggest grossing films of all time was massive, and as i have said, it can often lead to disappointment.
There are 3 major elements to this film which prevent it from reaching the success of the original. Firstly, it has a rather weak story. A good premise i must admit but Malcolms heroics to save his girlfriend seem a rather lukewarm way of making him return to a Dinosaur filled island. The Michael Crichton novel is far better than this adaptation but unfortunately apart from a few scenes, the film fails to grasp the ideas of the book. Many feel that it would have been a wise choice to follow the book more accurately! Secondly, Jeff Goldblum's character Ian Malcolm takes a complete 180 degree reversal. He turns, from an eccentric, cocksure mathematician brainiac to a clichÃ©d American anti hero with no substance, and it really does show. Love him or hate him, Malcolms character was very distinctive in JP, but in TLW, it becomes rather obscure. Thirdly and finally is the Ending! I wont spoil it for those few who have yet to see it but the San Diego attack at the end is the killer for me. In our own little sad way, us movie lovers could imagine that in our own little world, this Dinosaur cloning could be happening, but once a 20ft t'rex has a race with a local bus down a busy San Diego street, the illusion is somewhat spoiled! I can understand that they had to do something 'Big' in this sequel to surpass the original, but sometimes surpassing isn't easy, or indeed necessary. Sure it looked great on the teaser trailer when Rexy roared at the night time San Diego skyline, but in the final product, you feel somewhat cold to the whole scene. For me, the Dinosaurs in the JP films look better in their once natural habitat of the jungle. This is where they lived, and this is where they seem most ferocious, intriguing and above all, realistic.
Now, on positive notes, the film has that typical Spielberg atmosphere. An atmosphere carried through from the original. There are a few excellent action sequences (most noticeably the Trailer sequence)that are up there with the best JP moments and the attention to detail, CG, and animatronics are simply astounding and really do their part to immerse you in the film. One feels that if this was the first film in the JP franchise, it would have received as many accolades as the original did!!?
But, at the end of the day, it isn't the first, its a sequel. And like a hell of a lot of sequels it cant quite match the original. I personally feel that its severely underrated as most of the gripes are to do within the franchise itself and the adaptation from Novel to Screenplay rather than filming issues. Its still highly enjoyable, highly stylish and a bucket load of fun. Popcorn movies at its best!!