"Thank God for site B."

Rating: 6/10 (15 May 2001)

WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Thank God indeed, for Lost World is vastly superior to the original and I'm amazed it hasn't been appraised as such. Maybe it's due to the lack of spectacle and novelty, which was, conversely, the only notable thing about the first. Though if it's Dinos you want there are more here (though admittedly shot with less cinematic scope, and, considering this film was made four years later, the CGI looks considerably less impressive). Yet while not giving the dinosaurs their full majesty, the direction is superior in every other respect. That's another problem, or plus, with the film. It deals far less with the blockbuster impact of T-Rexes, but with the actual motivation of the characters.
Another success is that only the interesting characters are retained, with Gold, um, Goldblum as nervously engaging as ever, and Attenborough as a cameo, this time completely forgetting whether he's supposed to be English or Scots. Plans for the third film - bringing back blandies Sam Neill and Laura Dern - do not bode well, however. One of my favourite moments in a more thoughtfully shot film is Goldblum's introduction. After watching a cod English family playing on a desert island, the family screams - to cut to Goldblum's mouth wide open on a desert plain. The camera pulls back to show him yawning, and the desert a billboard poster in a subway. It's a clever touch, and there are more. Jeff's ability to prick the whole absurdity of the whole premise is met with his self-referential: "Ya boo!, that's how it all starts. But later there's running, and, um, screaming."
Okay, there's still the occasional awkward exposition, though this is Goldblum handling things, so it gets by. There's also the in-built character/plot device, as with Jeff telling his daughter Kelly: "You've got a gymnastics competition, you've been training for that for months." - cue Kelly backflipping and somersaulting dinos. However, this is forgivable, as 1. The entire film doesn't hinge on this contrivance; and 2. It's more natural, and Kelly has a much better developed character than annoying brat Lex from the first movie. Lex only existed to hack computers; Kelly has far more functions to a wider plot.
In fact, everything is done better here: the (far less cheesy) explorers are joined by a group of game hunters, which adds a vital conflict, absent in the first. It's also an isolated island with no immediate help or defence capabilities. Finally, as this is an established sequel there's no need for clumsy set-up. Some perverse humour, such as a man stuck to the T-Rex's foot, is also a nice touch. This is overall a much darker film, both in brightness and tone, appealing to more adult audience. Some of the violent content could be unsuitable for younger viewers, and there's at least one genuinely scary moment, too.
Perhaps the acting also has a lot towards making this the better movie. Because Pete Postlethwaite gets as much to do here as Goldblum did in the original (i.e. nothing) and has to utter absurd lines like "I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death." Yet, like so many others, he's a much better actor than the denizens of the 94 version, so it goes largely unnoticed. Okay, there are plot holes, most famously the "how did the T-Rex escape on the boat?" Yet others abound, such as how did Kelly and Sarah get out of the tent when it was wrapped around a Dino's head? It matters little; the film is packaged with surprising courtesy, particularly in regard to the original's popcorn-fodder status.
Lots of the setpieces are more inventive this time, too, with a truly spectacular "falling on breaking glass" sequence. Its loose adherence to the three-act structure can tire slightly, as the film meanders on without any clear purpose at times. The ending, perhaps the weakest element, could have done what the original didn't: take the danger into a human environment. This does, in fact, happen, and, by the film's own rules (central characters never die) could have seen a few exciting moments of dino carnage. But the reason why it doesn't really count is that Spielberg-itis takes over and this element is pared down into comic setpieces, before the 'Rex is conveniently reshipped to the island. What should have been a wholly satisfying conclusion is neutered somewhat, leaving us with a Jurassic Park film which is well honed, yet ultimately feels hollow. 6/10.