The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Rating: 5/10 (12 September 2005)

The first Jurassic Park was a big smash hit and made waves in the world of CGI special effects, it was inevitable there would be sequel, especially being based on the follow-up book, The Lost World by Michael Crichton, so director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan) returned. Basically set four years after the events at Jurassic Park on Isla Sorna, a wealthy family are on the island of Isla Nubla, the daughter wanders off and is attacked by a pack of Compsognathus, she survives, but following this John Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow (Full Metal Jacket's Arliss Howard), gains control of his uncle's company, InGen. Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is invited to meet John Hammond (Lord Sir Richard Attenborough) at his mansion, he explains that Isla Sorna is where the dinosaurs were engineered and nurtured before moving to Isla Nubla, he also explains that after the park was shut down, a hurricane allowed the dinosaurs to break free, they have been living wild ever since. Hammond requests Ian to join a team travelling to Isla Sorna to document the dinosaurs living naturally in their environment, this will also work as a way to rally public support to stop Ludlow exploiting the site, Ian initially declines, but then he learns his palaeontologist girlfriend, Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), is one of the team, and already on the island, he sees it now as a rescue operation. Ian meets his teammates, equipment specialist and engineer Eddie Carr (Deep Impact's Richard Schiff) and video documentarian Nick Van Owen (Vince Vaughn), they arrive on the island and find Sarah, they also discover Ian's daughter Kelly Curtis (A Little Princess's Vanessa Lee Chester) has stowed away in the trailer. Soon after they see helicopters carrying vehicles, it is a second InGen team of mercenaries, hunters and palaeontologists led by Ludlow, sent to capture several dinosaurs, these are to be taken to a newly-proposed theme park in San Diego, meanwhile tracker and team leader Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite) wants to capture a male Tyrannosaurus Rex, he uses its crying and injured offspring as bate. Hearing this Nick and Sarah release the caged dinosaurs to wreak havoc on InGen camp, Nick also frees the infant T. Rex, he and Sarah mend its broken leg in the trailer, Kelly is taken to shelter in the "high hide", Ian rushes to the trailer knowing that its parents will be searching for it, moments later the two T. Rex arrive, so they release the infant. However the adult T. Rex return to attack the trailer, pushing it over the nearby cliff, while Kelly is safe Eddie arrives and saves the others with a rope tied to a tree, however whilst in the SUV he is devoured by the T. Rex, sending the trailer, the SUV and all their equipment to fall and be destroyed, Ian, Sarah and Nick are found by the InGen team. Both groups now have no communication or vehicles, so they team up to reach the radio station on foot, on the journey, Roland's second-in- command Dieter Stark (Fargo's Peter Stormare) goes missing and is killed by a pack of Compsognathus, and during the next night the camp is panicked and flee when the female adult T. Rex arrives, Roland meanwhile manages to tranquillise the male adult. The hunters disband into the thick trees and go through a field of long grass, there the troop are attacked by Velociraptors; Ian, Sarah, Nick and Kelly continue toward the compound alone, Nick is able to find the radio, communicate and calls for help, the other three encounter a trio of Velociraptors, but manage to escape to the rescue helicopter to take them off the island, in mid-air they spot the male adult T. Rex is unconscious in a cage and ready for transport. In San Diego the freighter carrying the male adult Tyrannosaurus Rex heads for the mainland, but crashes into the dock, the entire crew are dead, the conscious T. Rex escapes and rampages the city, but Ian and Sarah get the T. Rex infant from an InGen facility and eventually lure the adult back to the ship, Ludlow trying to intervene is killed the cargo, before it can escape again the adult is tranquillised by Sarah, and Ian closes the hold. The film ends with Ian, Sarah and Kelly watching the ship carrying the adult and infant T. Rex on the news as it is escorted back to Isla Sorna, Hammond appears in a recorded interview explaining that the American and Costa Rican governments have agreed to declare the island a nature preserve, he ends by saying "life will find a way". Also starring Harvey Jason as Ajay Sidhu, Thomas F. Duffy as Dr. Robert Burke, Joseph Mazzello as Tim, Ariana Richards as Lex, Thomas Rosales Jr. as Carter, Mousehunt's Ian Abercrombie as Butler, Hostages' Billy Brown as InGen Worker, David Koepp as Unlucky Bastard and Eli Roth as Subway Man. Goldblum is still likeably awkward, Attenborough has his good short stint, and supporting stars Moore, Vaughn and Postlethwaite do fine as well, but once again the real stars are the dinosaurs, brought to life by great special effects and models, the story is not compelling, it feels predictable, and the T. Rex crashing through San Diego is an obvious small send up of Godzilla, but there are some engaging action moments, especially the trailer over the cliff, and T. Rex and raptor encounters, it's not a bad science-fiction adventure. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Worth watching!