The Lost World: Jurassic Park

It’s necessary to taken into account that Steven Spielberg didn’t want to repeat the first Jurassic Park, but instead wanted to film a signficantly darker subject from Arthur Conan Doyle. The sequel’s 130-minute runtime is densely packed with action and adventure, and serves up a Whopper in the last quarter. And the scene with the truck over the chasm takes my breath away every time. With its technically perfect execution and humor, The Lost World is Hollywood entertainment that won’t insult your intelligence. (03/11/2003)

Spielberg does what he can, but even that is too little for the dumbness of the screenplay. The main thing here is a herd of dinosaurs made of ones and zeros. It’s almost as if this picture has nothing else to offer; and, in fact, that’s true. Apart from three memorable scenes and a herd of unlikeable characters whose slow and painful death is your heart’s desire. Which is a bit too little when compared to episode one. And while the part on the island is at least of watchable quality, the pastiche wannabe Godzilla sequence is unbearable; even in spite of the elephant dose of tongue in cheek. (30/04/2005)

The original Jurassic Park has matured into an absolute classic and even the sequel that I originally hated eventually blossomed into a tolerable adventure. Although I still dislike all the selfish-military actions and the final party with Godzilla bothers me greatly, the pleasant, nature-loving message stands out even more. I have finally made peace with The Lost World, but I could easily do without its existence. (03/07/2005)

In terms of special effects, The Lost World is much more sophisticated than the first Jurassic Park. Spielberg took advantage of all available technology to be able to film a spectacular sequel to the more than excellent part one. You can see that he embarked on this project not to create a copy of the first Park, but something completely different, something new. And he did a good job. An new island, more species (as a dinosaur lover I was overjoyed), a different team (just Ian Malcolm played by Jeff Goldblum remained from the original movie). Although he has changed a lot since the events of part one, but his lines are just as snappy. I have three favorites :). One: “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle." Two: “It’s so important to your future that you do not finish that sentence." Three: "Taking dinosaurs off this island is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas." I just loved that when I was little. Despite all of its good points and lots of excellent scenes (hunting dinosaurs, the scene in the bus, the Tyrannosaurus attack on the camp, the Velociraptors, the finale in San Diego), The Lost World wasn’t as well-received as you might expect. Not that it didn’t pay for itself, but neither the public or the critics were satisfied. What mattered to me was how the finale was somehow disjointed from the rest of the movie - the move from the island to the city was too fast. Nonetheless, The Lost World: Jurassic Park is certainly worth watching. (24/07/2006)

Unfortunately, it is nowhere near as harmonious, likeable, and pleasantly adventurous as the first film. Technically, it’s flawless, but that's not enough. Spielberg seems to be floundering and doesn't know where to go, which is a rather shameful deficiency for a director of his caliber. There is an abundance of clichés, and to make matters worse, we have another downpour in key scenes, as if by coincidence. Jeff Goldblum is a fine and sober hero, with a few original lines, but undoubtedly the second greatest beast is the amazing Pete Postlethwaite. There is humour at every turn and sometimes it seems a bit inconsistent in relation to the action on the screen, which the filmmakers obviously didn't worry too much about. Spielberg's most lucrative film, impressive pretty much only thanks to its technical flair and bombast. Unfortunately, these two attributes are so abundant that I cannot rate it higher than 4*. (16/06/2006)

Sure, the magic of the first Jurassic Park is missing here, but it's important to remember that this is a completely different film. Thriller-ish, darker, blacker, even slightly self-parodic towards the end. But all the time it's a typically playful Spielberg movie, which I finish watching every time, wherever and whenever I see it. (19/09/2007)

A flawlessly narrated action film. (21/02/2018)

The description of the film on the DVD says that the sequel to Jurassic Park features a lot more action and the visual effects are on a higher level. And I can only agree with that. As far as the effects (visual and sound) are concerned, they did not disappoint again and managed to create perfect and believable creatures with all kinds of "voice" expressions, which can be rivalled only by BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs. And it is true that The Lost World is more action-packed, one of the best scenes of the film, for me, was with the tyrannosaurus parents attacking the main characters in the trailer ... and then, of course, the carnage in San Diego. Of the original cast, only Jeff Goldblum shows up again, and he didn't joke as much as he did in the first film. My favorite among the newcomers was Julianne Moore, so I was satisfied. I like the ending in the city, though it also kind of spoils the whole thing for me. The T-Rex belongs in the wilderness, not in the city, that’s for Godzilla or King Kong. On the other hand, like I said, those were some of the most action-packed scenes. All in all, a great sequel to the perfect Jurassic Park, and while it lacks the grandeur and novelty of the first film, it's still a quality spectacle. (28/08/2010)

A blockbuster attraction, where digital effects were meant to play the main role, a breathtaking one at that. However, it was films like this one or Emmerich's Godzilla that made some people squirm and wonder if filmmaking might not also be about adapting to some limits. With them, the crew has to work with some pacing, shooting angles, editing; in short, things that are supposed to convince the viewer that the man in the piece of rubber is supposed to arouse some kind of experience in them. With CGI that can depict everything, you just, uh... depict everything. A tyrannosaurus eats a car on a street full of people? Here you go. A tanker has to drive full speed into a harbor? Here you go, head-on frontal view. Schwarzenegger playing King Lear? No problem. All straight-faced, no hiding, and you kind of watch it and wonder if they were truly serious when they made Jeff Goldblum the main character and gave him a daughter whose only active role in the film is to swing from a pole. (13/01/2022)

There are things in Jurassic Park that bother me, but I'll overlook them because the movie is visually stunning. In The Lost World, there are so many mistakes, plot absurdities, logical inconsistencies, and scenes just for the sake of spectacle that it's impossible to overlook. It has a stupid story with a crazy ending that should have been cut right out. The film would then be an hour and a half long, ending on the island, and that would be perfectly sufficient. This wannabe King Kong ending is a flop. (12/04/2015)