The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

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I've always found this chapter of the 'Jurassic' franchise to be a bit difficult to maneuver. It's seldom seen as a good movie by most critics, and several things about it are recognizably pretty awful, but I have to admit that 'The Lost World' here still has a place in my heart. I was 14, going on 15 when it was released, so very age-appropriate. I saw it with a good friend who loved the first one as much, if not more, than I did. Even today, I consider it to be the third-best in the series, just behind 'Jurassic World' (but that's me).

Nowadays, when I look at this film, there's quite a bit about it I don't like, but there is a nostalgic attachment to it all the same. What I like about it ends up outweighing the things I don't like, even if they are cheesy and stray extremely far from the book. One must note, going into this, if they are indeed fans of the novel, that this is barely even based on it. The film takes a lot of liberties, and that's bound to throw a lot of people off. I understand that completely, it's how I felt about the 'Percy Jackson' movies in comparison to the books. With few exceptions in similarities, this is its own thing, and should be treated as such.

The film even opens with a recreation of a scene from the original first 'Jurassic Park' novel, in which a little girl is attacked by a group of carniverous Compsognathus, which Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), nephew of Jurassic Park's founder, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) uses to gain control of the InGen company; those responsible for the cloning of the dangerous dinos in the first place. The site where the girl was attacked was the outskirts of Isla Sorna, which was the site where the dinosaurs were cloned, but due to a hurricane, the island had since been abandoned, and the dinos are loose and running around.

Hammond calls on Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to join a team in documenting the creatures in an attempt to initiate a non-interference policy. Due to the events of the previous film, which are essentially Hammond's fault, Malcolm initially refuses. However, when he learns his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore), is already on the island, the mission's purpose changes abruptly from an animal study to a rescue mission. Things get even worse for Malcolm when he learns his daughter, Kelly (Vanessa Chester), has stowed away for the adventure.

In the meantime, Ludlow's plans involve using his team to capture several dinosaurs to bring to the mainland in an attempt to save InGen. Once again, this is man interfering with nature, and it leads to dire consequences. Anyone who has seen this knows about the climactic ending, which involves a T-Rex going full Godzilla, which brings me back to what I mentioned earlier about liking some of the cheesier bits about this movie. It's a ridiculous scene that has absolutely nothing to do with the book, but I've always seen it as a Spielberg homage to Godzilla.

To add to that, there's a lot about the film that strays further from the book, but closer to the 1925 film 'The Lost World,' which also involves a rescue mission and survival in the face of dinosaurs. It's my impression that Spielberg and writer, David Koepp took this opportunity to give a bit of a nod to the "creature feature," as the 'Jurassic' movies are mainly representative of what the modern giant monster movie would be, which both 'The Lost World' ('25) and 'Godzilla' have in abundance. So once again, one must treat this as a separate entity.

While I may enjoy this more than most, especially literary purists, it's certainly not without its problems. Some of the characters are weak, a LOT of the decisions made are incredibly stupid, there's a ton about the raptors, it's tough to buy into (the gymnast scene is ridiculous), and while I have a particular appreciation for its cheesiness, let's face it, the T-rex mainland scene is a bit much. Still, it's a film that I have fond memories of, and a fresh appreciation for when I consider some of its probable inspiration. Either way, I know this - it's not the weakest 'Jurassic' movie by a long shot!

3/5

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