The Lost World boasts simply incredible visuals, a lovable cast, a novel idea and a lingering sense of ominous dread. I could never have asked for more in a sequel.

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2015)

Where do you go when you've created one of the best popcorn thriller films of all time? Many of the haters of The Lost World wouldn't be able to answer that question. Meanwhile, I believe that Spielberg and Koepp found the right way to go about it, and created an delightfully ominous sequel with enough substance that it can proudly stand beside the original.
The Lost World is noticeably different to the first, which Spielberg, Crichton and Koepp deserve credit for. They haven't just remade the first one all over again. They've brought back the stuff we loved - water vibrations, the wonderful score, Jeff Goldblum - and added plenty of new stuff so that this film can stand on its own.
I love the feel of The Lost World. There is some terrific tension, some outstanding drama and I never once felt that I was watching a set - its a real place. Two of the greatest scenes in the film are Sarah on the glass, and the slow ruts carved in the grass as the raptors close in. Its so tense and yet beautiful in its simplicity. My absolute favourite scene are Eddie's attempts to rescue Nick, Sarah and Ian from the trailer. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. And when the T-Rexes show up to attack Eddie, I groaned in sympathy, for what else could possibly go wrong? Even the jump scares in this movie were effective.
What always set Jurassic Park aside from its popcorn thriller counterparts is its wonderful cast. The original had a beloved trio of characters and even beloved minor characters like Robert Muldoon. This film takes that formula and even manages to improve on it. Kelly isn't as good as Lex and Tim, but the writers made a wise choice in focusing on Ian Malcolm as the film's protagonist, wheras the previous film sidelined him for most of the movie. Of the new additions, I loved Julianne Moore as Sarah, Vince Vaughn was surprisingly believable as Nick, the ever-underrated Richard Schiff is terrific as sardonic Eddie Carr, and Arliss Howard strikes the perfect note as the villainous Peter Ludlow. He isn't diabolical, but rather snobbishly set in his ways, and he fits the film perfectly. But by far the best character in the film was Pete Postlethwaite's Roland Tembo. His opening monologue sold me on him before he even got halfway through it. He's fast-talking, knows what he wants and doesn't suffer fools. I would have loved to see more of him.
The VISUALS of this movie! I never fully appreciated the animatronics of Jurassic Park until I saw this film as well. The highest compliment I can possibly offer is that the dinosaurs look real. I could touch them and I can tell what they'd feel like. A small dinosaur headbutting a car door, and a T-Rex chomping on a traffic light are the two highlights of just how seamlessly the visuals blend with the reality. These days, the dinosaurs would be 100% computer animated, and that is a dreadful shame, because present day films can't capture even a fraction of the wonder of this film.
Yes there are a few flaws. The opening scene raised the stakes so high, until John Hammond reveals that the young girl survived. Not only is this completely unbelievable (when looking at Dieter's fate later in the film) but it makes the opening scene obsolete. They should've just told the story without showing us, because the appeal of Jurassic Park is its ominous tone.
At times, the camera cuts away from crucial moments, but considering that they were limited to what they could create at the time I can forgive it. Dieter's death is the most obvious example - he runs behind a log and gives up the fight instantly so he can die off camera. Yes the gymnastics scene was a bit silly, but I didn't mind in the scheme of things. The T-Rex stomping through San Diego felt both tacked on and required a huge suspension of disbelief (no one hears it stomping around) and there are a few major plot holes (namely, if the T-Rex devoured the crew of the ship, why was it still trapped? A deleted scene was meant to show that raptors did it, but then where did they go?)
But I won't end on a low. The Lost World boasts simply incredible visuals, a lovable cast, a novel idea and a lingering sense of ominous dread. I could never have asked for more in a sequel.