It has none of the elements that made Jurassic Park , and most of his previous films, so entertaining. It has much of what makes the current fascination with technology and action in film, so distasteful and, ultimately, damaging to film as art. Jurassic Park used filmic language, smooth continuity editing, layers of action and dialogue, a frame filled with detail and information, subtle and creative use of cgi and animatronics. The Lost World misuses narrative technique at every turn. The plot setup is dull.
Characters here are even shallower than in Jurassic Park .
Ian Malcolm mumbles confusedly thorough the entire show, thinking out loud and showing none of the energy and determination that made him such a formidable opponent of the plans of billionaire crack-pot, John Hammond, originally. Here, he seems lost and without motivation. He reacts with apathy where, before, he would have acted with decisiveness. The character of Sarah Harding, played capably by Julianne Moore, who assures Malcolm, her boyfriend', that she doesn't need him to come to her rescue, is frequently placed in situations where he has opportunity to prove her wrong. Either she is a strong , independent character, or she isn't.