THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Jurassic Park was a worldwide hit in 1993 for Steven Spielberg, aside from the phenomenal Schindler’s List. Due to the sci fi film’s box office success, the director would return to direct Michael Crichton’s follow up novel.
PLOT
The sequel known as The Lost World takes place after the disaster of Jurassic Park. However, there is a second island 80 miles apart from Isla Nublar known as 'Isla Sorna' (Site B). When a British family take a vacation on the island, a young daughter gets attacked by a pack of Compsognathus. The resulting lawsuit filed against InGen leads to John Hammond resigning as CEO. Due to that decision, his nephew John Ludlow takes over the company. Mathematician Ian Malcolm has been publicly ridiculed when no one truly believes his experience on the island. This upsets Ludlow because he signed an agreement that he'd be forbidden to discuss of what he saw. When Hammond meets Ian, he talks about how Site B was where the dinosaurs were originally cloned. The island would be abandoned after a hurricane, and all were left to fend for themselves. Because Ludlow wants to exploit them to avoid bankruptcy, Hammond requests Ian to document them in their natural habitat, which'll encourage a policy of non interference. Ian only agrees to go when learning that his girlfriend, paleontologist Sarah Harding is there on her own. He goes with the company of engineer/equipment specialist Eddie Carr and documentarian/activist Nick Van Owen. His daughter Kelly stows away in their trailer that is served as a mobile base. Upon arrival, they do find Sarah who refuses to leave. Ludlow would soon arrive with his own mercenary team, which includes big game hunter Roland Tembo, to capture dinosaurs and bring them to the mainland, particularly for a Jurassic Park in San Diego. At night, Sarah and Nick free the dinosaurs from capture, resulting in them to destroy the InGen camp. Nick also frees an injured Tyrannosaurus Rex calf that Roland trapped to lure a a male of its kind. When he and Sarah bring it to the trailer, Kelly gets uncomfortable seeing them fix its leg. Ian tries to calm her down by taking her to a 'High Hide' with Eddie, an observation platform that can be hoisted into the forest canopy. Ian ends up leaving immediately when noticing that both adult T Rexes are searching for their calf. When he returns to the trailer, Sarah and Nick return it to their parents. The adult T Rexes only leave after pushing the trailer over a cliff. Eddie does pull up with in an SUV and hands them rope to climb up as he pulls the trailer back with his car. His assistance comes to end when the T Rexes choose to eat him. Although the trailer and car fall off the cliff, the others are able to hold on to the rope and climb back up. Reuniting with Kelly, they align with Ludlow's crew to get off the island after the dinosaurs destroyed their communication equipment. Their best solution for an SOS is to head towards a abandoned operations building. The only problem is that the building is close to a nesting site of Velociraptors. With no other option, all make their way towards the said building. The next day, Roland's second in command Dieter Stark (Peter Stormare) gets killed by a pack of Compys after wandering alone to use the bathroom. At night, all are spotted by the Rexes. While two lives are taken by the giant predators, the majority of the group are killed by the raptors. Ludlow is able to hide from the conflict, while Roland shoots the male with two tranquilizer shots. Nick does find the building and activates the radio system to summon the SOS. Ian, Sarah and Kelly are able to avoid getting killed by raptors before the chopper arrives. After Kelly uses her gymnastic skills to kill one, Sarah causes a dispute between two of them. As they leave, they notice that the male T Rex is going to be transported to America. Although Roland hunted the biggest creature he's ever seen, he chooses to retire as a hunter due to his heartbreak of losing his friend Ajay (Harvey Jason) to the raptors. At San Diego, Ian and Sarah attempt to prevent Ludlow from unveiling the attraction. The latter invites investors and reporters for the unveiling, but it goes awry when the ship crashes into the docks. This was possible because the T Rex woke up from its tranquilized slumber and killed all of the ship's crew. When it breaks out of its cargo, it causes chaos all over the city until he finds the infant that was taken from the island as well. Ian and Sarah find it at the ampitheater and retrieve it, so it can be reunited with its father. They return to the docks and place the infant in the cargo hold. Ludlow tries to muzzle it, but the father returns to defend his child by biting his leg. As his child eats him alive, he gets tranquilized by Sarah and Ian closes the cargo hold door. By morning, Kelly watches the news of how the T Rexes are being returned to Site B. The film ends with an interview by Hammond that the island should be reserved because the dinosaurs can survive without humans.
THOUGHTS
I’m not sure if I’ve seen this film more than the first one, but I know that I’ve seen it enough times to admit that I actually enjoy this one. This is one of those examples where just it’s not better, does not mean it is bad. I have a soft spot for it because Spielberg maintains the message of how nature should not be controlled. If there is one thing this film does better is show us more dinosaurs, that remain to be appear stunning through the combination of practical and visual effects. The T Rexes and raptors have their scene stealing moments as expected (the San Diego Rampage and the Long Grass chase), I was caught off guard with the debut of the Compsognathus. That one was a great example where you mess with a whole pack if you deal with just one animal. When they get the jump on Stark, it’s easily one of the most terrifying moments this franchise has ever provided. When we first saw the Triceratops onscreen, it appeared to be ill. This time, we got one that ain’t sick and we get to see it rampage all over the iNGen camp. Seeing it charge without hesitation was a pretty badass moment to see. Another thing that keeps me interested was the unique ensemble. Richard Attenborough isn’t here much as Hammond but during his time, you felt the wisdom that he gained from his mistakes and hopes to right his wrongs. His closing speech is pretty neat to hear because it comes off as a reflection to our world, where we should leave animals alone because they don’t need humans to survive. Jeff Goldblum returns as the leading man and gives another good performance as Ian Malcolm. This time around, he comes off more aggravating than outgoing because he is understandably traumatized of what he experienced. The fact that he does his best to put those feelings aside to protect his loved ones makes you admire him more than you did before. The biggest surprise about him was how Site B helped him create dependency, something he didn’t have at home. Going into the new characters, Julianne Moore was one of multiple welcome additions in this film. As Sarah Harding, she embraces the character to be more adventurous than her own boyfriend and isn’t afraid to interact with the dinosaurs. When she is afraid in moments like laying on cracking glass or noticing the T Rex come towards her tent, she is able to keep her composure. And in those moments, Moore acts her ass off the most. Within the minimum amount of dramatic performances, I did like Vince Vaughn as Nick van Owen for being the amicable one of the group. While his own compulsiveness is the reason he was hired to visit the island, hence freeing the dinosaurs, but his act of bravery is his true standout moment when he summons the SOS on his own, ignoring that he could’ve been eaten by raptors. Richard Schiff was also good in the role of Eddie Carr, the unsung hero. He stood out as someone who lacked contempt towards others and acted fast when necessary. He is also someone who was willing to see the other perspective. He chose to not shoot a Stegosaurus because it was just protecting its calf. If you were to ask Roland to do it, hesitance would not exist at the time. I did not mind Vanessa Lee Chester as Kelly. She fits in because she just wants to bridge the gap of the estranged relationship she has with her dad. While being on a dinosaur island isn't what she had in mind, this definitely helped re create their long lost bond. Since she is one of three of his biological kids, I do hope they have a good relationship with Ian as well. Arliss Howard is on point making Ludlow as slimy of a villain as possible. Throughout his time onscreen, he is nothing but a greedy coward. Because of having no good intentions of bringing Jurassic Park to San Diego, he becomes the new John Hammond because he finds out the hard way that the dinosaurs should've been left alone. Like Dennis Nedry, he had it coming when he died. Last but not least, the late Pete Postlethwaithe gives a badass performance out of Roland. While he is hired by the villain, he is a neutral character because he got involved based on the amount of pay he was getting. The actor makes the character stand out because he is serious yet levelheaded in his life of work. Being a big game hunter is not likable job because you're killing animals, but it's hard to deny how badass it was of him to tranquilize a T Rex. Your respect for him comes from his act of compassion towards Kelly and Sarah. He chose to retire his life as a hunter because he accepted the casualties to get to the T Rex was not worth it. Whatever he chose to do after this, I hope he found comfort in it. While I enjoy this film, there were many things I didn’t like that remind me why the first film is the superior of the franchise. First off, how exactly were the dinosaurs bred and nurtured on Site B when there were eggs on Site A? Just when you think there would be consistency, they lose it quick in the set up of the story. I want to laugh on how Sarah startles Nick, but I'm lost on how she didn't hear Malcolm call for him. You get me going for a clever introduction, but lose me with lack of consistency again. One scene I can never get through is how Malcolm acts towards Kelly after he finds out she stowed away. First he tells her to leave the trailer so he can talk to Sarah privately, but then he tells her inside because it's dangerous. I know he ain't thinking straight because he's paranoid that the two people he loves most are in the one place he never dreamed of wanting them to be, but they he approaches it comes off annoying. I adored seeing the dinosaurs break free from captivity, but what the fuck was Stark doing when that happened? Roland left him in charge because he trusted him and we don't see whatever excuse he had to not be on lookout, irritating me deeply. It is a badass line when Roland says "We're not alone on this island" but how did no one figure that out when their aircrafts flew past the trailer? I'm having a hard time believing not one person from iNGen would not notice, other than Stark. I know the T Rexes are territorial creatures, but what reason did they return to the trailer to kill Eddie? If they saw Eddie's car, I'd accept that but that question is never answered, which will also irritate me to this day. It was a clever set up for the T Rexes to track the group from the scent of blood on Sarah's jacket, but why the hell did she keep it? If she knew their biggest strength, she should've gotten rid of it immediately. It is extremely suspenseful to see the ship crash into the docks because of the T Rex killing the crew, how did no one send a distress call before death? It's not like he ate them all at once. And how the hell did he eat someone at the ship's wheel without causing any damage. This is the one scene that should've not made the cut because I confused myself thinking it was a raptor, which is more believable. And lastly, I want to be fascinated with the final shot of the pterodactyls, but why are they outdoors? The third film showed off their birdcage which they were locked in, so what gives? Try to ignore these flaws and I'm sure you'll enjoy this sequel. To wrap, The Lost World is a solid sequel for keeping its main message and doubling up the amount of dinosaurs. If you have deep love for the first film, I hope you enjoy this one.
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