a worthy sequel with excellent visuals, but a somewhat underdeveloped storyline

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2007)

The first film, "Jurassic Park" was an enormous commercial, and fairly good critical success worldwide. And it is of no surprise to cinema-goers such as myself that a sequel would be released sooner or later, whether or not original novel author Michael Crichton wrote it in paper form first. I myself have read Crichton's novel, upon which this film was based. And I have, of course, seen the film numerous times. When I was young, this was my favorite out all three films because it had the most dinosaurs and elaborate sequences in it. Now I consider it second-best. And I do have to criticize it for a few flaws, which unfortunately, for it, are very important in a good film. However, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" does pull itself off as a fairly good film for what it was meant to be: an elaborate and heart-pounding action thriller. And it does just that.
The dinosaurs in the film are just as good, if not better, than the animals from the first film. They couldn't look any more realistic. They move fluid-like, behave like real animals, react like them, and although we have no idea what a real dinosaur behaved, the creatures on the film react just the way we want them to. They're dangerous, unpredictable creatures with a taste for human flesh. The combination of computer graphics and animatronics were perfect. Nobody can complain about the visuals. What they can, and what I can complain about, is the characterization.
That is the major weakness of the film. While the dinosaurs are colorful and creative, our cast of characters and development of the plot is not so high and wonderful. It is in fact a good thing that we cut quickly through the first part of the movie to get right to the island so that the dinosaurs could start to appear and cause panic, as they were intended to do so. Because the way they story starts out, and introduces our characters, it's in need of major improvement. Many characters exist just to exist. They have no real traits or characteristics to make them instantly recognizable or even worthy of remembrance by the audience. Characters come and go, some survive the encounters with dinosaurs on the island, but are never seen again after they return to civilization. Even when they are of some great importance, or intended importance, during the first two-thirds of the film.
However, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" succeeds entirely with its action sequences, which couldn't be better. And that's what really works out in a film like this. We want to be thrilled. And the film does exactly that. Once the action started to get going, I didn't even think about critiquing the film until it was over. Steven Spielberg has a natural talent for visualizing complex and heart-pounding thrills that we see in this film, and the first "Jurassic Park". The Velociraptor sequence in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is a particular favorite of mine. The only thing it was lacking was the realization of the intelligence of the raptors, as was demonstrated in the first film, and third one. The Tyrannosaurs, however, are the main dinosaurs and get the most screen time and have the most impact, especially when we come to a climax which almost seemed natural and is most definitely traditional. Really, the dinosaurs are the cast of the film. And that's okay.
The summarize it all up, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is not a perfect film. It could have very much dealt with a few revisions to the screenplay to make our characters and storyline more in-depth and colorful. It would have made our amazing action sequences even more powerful and thrilling and thus, an even better film. But the way it is, it's a worthy sequel. Another fine film by Steven Spielberg.