Reviewer's Rating 3 out of 5 听 User Rating 4 out of 5
The Lost World - Jurassic Park (1997)
PG

To create a sequel better than "Jurassic Park" was never going to be easy. "The Lost World" certainly has its moments but it's a rather schizophrenic movie that lacks the simplicity of the original.

The plot twist is that the dinosaurs of the first film were actually bred on a different island before being shipped over to the main attraction. This 'Site B' has been left alone over the past four years allowing those easily upset reptiles to flourish.

The movie certainly starts with a classic Spielberg flourish of dark humour, as some super-cute razor-toothed mini-dinos attack a young girl whose rich family have anchored their boat off the island.

It's clearly not a healthy place for humans to be but Jeff Goldblum is forced to go when he learns that his girlfriend is there conducting research. His return to peril allows him some snappier dialogue than in the first film, with amusing asides such as "Oooh! Ahhh! That's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming," to a colleague who sees his first dinosaur in the flesh.

There's certainly plenty of that as a rival team from the sinister InGen Bioengineering land on the island. They're soon wreaking the type of havoc that causes everyone to lose communication. And then the inevitable lizard-based chaos begins.

This allows for some nice set pieces, although they offer nothing new and feel very much like leftovers. The ensuing rampage of the T-Rex through San Diego's suburbs in the latter half is at times amusing but never thrilling and works very much like a poor man's "King Kong".

The timing and the thrill of the chase are not with this sequel and its noisy nature can become quite tiresome. But there are undoubtedly some fine special effects and the 'cracking glass' scene is reason enough to give this film a spin.

Read our review of the DVD.

Read a review of "Jurassic Park III".

Read about the history of dinosaurs in movies and see pictures from "Jurassic Park III".

Find out .

End Credits

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writer: David Koepp

Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Vince Vaughn

Genre: Adventure

Length: 123 minutes

Cinema: 1997

DVD: 9 October 2000

Country: USA

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