Part 2 - Life finds a Way
THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
(May 23, 1997)
Because of the success of Jurassic Park, Speilberg immediately wanted to do a sequel. Michael Crichton was also asked by fans to write another book. Although he was initially hesitant to produce a continuation to his first novel, he eventually managed to work out an idea.
In 1995, the novel titled "The Lost World" was published. The film adaptation began production a year later. This time, Crichton had no involvement in the film whatsoever, preferring to let Spielberg do his own sequel to the film version of Jurassic Park.
Like before, the film deviates a bit from the book's plot and dark tone.
In 1995, the novel titled "The Lost World" was published. The film adaptation began production a year later. This time, Crichton had no involvement in the film whatsoever, preferring to let Spielberg do his own sequel to the film version of Jurassic Park.
Like before, the film deviates a bit from the book's plot and dark tone.
It's revealed that a second island was used to manufacture and raise dinosaurs before they were moved to the original park. John Hammond sends a team of people to the island in order to document and observe the dinosaurs in their natural habitat so he can convince the world that the island needs to be left alone.
However, this is complicated by the fact that a team of hunters has also been sent to the island to capture dinosaurs and bring them back to a different theme park in San Francisco.
Eventually, both teams (referred to as Hunters and Gatherers by Spielberg) end up colliding with each other and have to survive the island together.
Aside from Richard Attenborough returning as Hammond, the only main character to return from the last movie is Ian Malcolm, played again by Jeff Goldblum. Goldblum is once again great in the role. He's no longer the wise cracker from the previous film, his experiences on the island have clearly affected him. The other characters are a bit of a mixed bag. The Gatherers are all pretty good, Vince Vaughn is especially entertaining to watch. The Hunters however are pretty much there to be eaten and not that interesting, with the exception of the character of Roland (Pete Postlethwaite), a Captain Ahab type determined to hunt a Tyrannosaur.
Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello have brief cameos in the film as Lex and Tim. One character in particular has drawn up some criticism, Kelly (Vanessa Lee Chester), Malcolm's daughter. Many folks wonder how she can be Malcolm's daughter, being that she's African-American. It's not that hard to figure out, remember this exchange from the last movie:
Grant: You got any kids?
Malcolm: Me? Oh, hell yeah, three. I love kids. Anything at all can and does happen. Same with wives, for that matter.
Grant: You're married?
Malcolm: Occasionally. Yeah, I'm always on the lookout for a future ex-Mrs. Malcolm.
And then there's this line from The Lost World:
Malcom: I'm not the one who dumped you here and split for Paris so don't take it out on me.
How can people not connect the dots or draw their own conclusions? And as for that gymnastics scene? At least she did something that contributed to the action and saved her father!
Of course the dinosaurs in the first movie were amazing, but for The Lost World, it was clear that the production team had to up the ante. A few new species were introduced such as the Stegosaurus, Pachyephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus and the Compsagnathus. And even some returning creatures, including a pack of Velociraptors, 2 Adult Tyrannosaurs as well as an infant one.
The animatronics, puppets and CGI are once again top notch, giving us some of the most tense, scary and downright thrilling sequences. The Lost World even manages to include scenes from Michael Crichton's first novel, including the scene on the beach where the little girl is attacked by the Compy's as well as using one characters death for another character in the film involving the little green critters.
While The Lost World serves as a sequel to the first film, it's also a semi-remake of the 1925 silent film 'The Lost World', which was based on a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And nowhere is that more evident than in the climax. The 1925 film ends with explorers to an island of Dinosaurs bringing back a Brontosaurus back to London, only for it to escape and go on a rampage.
But this film ends with a Tyrannosaur being brought back to San Diego, only for it to escape and go on a rampage. This is the highlight of the film for me. We even get to see the it eat David Keopp, the man who wrote the screenplay and is listed in the cast as "Unlucky Bastard".
(I can't make that up!)
Everyone knew that Jurassic Park was going to be a tough act to follow, given how insanely popular it ended up being. As of now, there are 2 groups of people: Those that despise this movie for having bland characters, dumb plot elements and not living up to the original at all, and those that genuinely love the movie who are able to overlook, admittedly minor nitpicks and enjoy an adventure just as exciting as the last film.
Me? I'm in the latter category. Every time I watch this movie I find new things to like about it, I just recently got a Max Steiner vibe when listening to John William's score while watching the movie for this retrospective. As a reminder, Steiner scored the original King Kong. Even small things like the way the T-Rex scratches its neck while it walks through a neighborhood are character details that I appreciate.
I'll always like 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' as the kid who was obsessed with Dinosaurs and had a lot of the toys from the movie (and sadly lost/broke all of them), and as the adult I am now who still appreciates it.
However, this is complicated by the fact that a team of hunters has also been sent to the island to capture dinosaurs and bring them back to a different theme park in San Francisco.
Eventually, both teams (referred to as Hunters and Gatherers by Spielberg) end up colliding with each other and have to survive the island together.
Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello have brief cameos in the film as Lex and Tim. One character in particular has drawn up some criticism, Kelly (Vanessa Lee Chester), Malcolm's daughter. Many folks wonder how she can be Malcolm's daughter, being that she's African-American. It's not that hard to figure out, remember this exchange from the last movie:
Grant: You got any kids?
Malcolm: Me? Oh, hell yeah, three. I love kids. Anything at all can and does happen. Same with wives, for that matter.
Grant: You're married?
Malcolm: Occasionally. Yeah, I'm always on the lookout for a future ex-Mrs. Malcolm.
And then there's this line from The Lost World:
Malcom: I'm not the one who dumped you here and split for Paris so don't take it out on me.
How can people not connect the dots or draw their own conclusions? And as for that gymnastics scene? At least she did something that contributed to the action and saved her father!
The animatronics, puppets and CGI are once again top notch, giving us some of the most tense, scary and downright thrilling sequences. The Lost World even manages to include scenes from Michael Crichton's first novel, including the scene on the beach where the little girl is attacked by the Compy's as well as using one characters death for another character in the film involving the little green critters.
While The Lost World serves as a sequel to the first film, it's also a semi-remake of the 1925 silent film 'The Lost World', which was based on a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And nowhere is that more evident than in the climax. The 1925 film ends with explorers to an island of Dinosaurs bringing back a Brontosaurus back to London, only for it to escape and go on a rampage.
But this film ends with a Tyrannosaur being brought back to San Diego, only for it to escape and go on a rampage. This is the highlight of the film for me. We even get to see the it eat David Keopp, the man who wrote the screenplay and is listed in the cast as "Unlucky Bastard".
(I can't make that up!)
Me? I'm in the latter category. Every time I watch this movie I find new things to like about it, I just recently got a Max Steiner vibe when listening to John William's score while watching the movie for this retrospective. As a reminder, Steiner scored the original King Kong. Even small things like the way the T-Rex scratches its neck while it walks through a neighborhood are character details that I appreciate.
I'll always like 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' as the kid who was obsessed with Dinosaurs and had a lot of the toys from the movie (and sadly lost/broke all of them), and as the adult I am now who still appreciates it.
JURASSIC PARK III
(July 18, 2001)
'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' was a huge success and a sequel was all but guaranteed. But the process of trying to get a script and plot outline was a bit of a mess and there wouldn't actually be a finished script during the filming.
As fate would have it, Steven Spielberg was busy with other projects and was unable to direct the film. Although he was able to serve as executive producer, Joe Johnston was chosen to be the director.
There would be no third Jurassic Park novel by Michael Crichton. Like the last movie though, JP3 would incorporate scenes found from the last 2 books into the film.
But did it all work out in the end? Well...Kinda.
Alan Grant (Sam Neill)returns to the series, coerced into joining a couple (William H. Macy & Tea Leoni) who want to fly to Isla Sorna, the island from the previous film, to serve as their guide. Unbeknownst to him, the couple are secretly looking for their son who got stranded on the island after a parasailing incident. From there, they end up on the island where they are pursued by the inhabitants and typical Jurassic Park shenanigans ensue.
Reactions to Jurassic Park III range from mixed to negative. And it's not hard to see why.
The talking Raptor in the plane is dumb. Most of the characters are boring and Amanda Kirby is probably the worst character in the whole series. You thought Lex's screaming was bad? Fay Wray would probably kick Amanda's ass while telling her to shut up. The fact that Grant and Ellie didn't end up together is a major disappointment.
And now, we need to talk about the Spinosaurus. Now don't get me wrong, I like the Spinosaurus and I think it's a pretty cool dinosaur. It's just the way they used it to kill a T-Rex. It feels a tad disrespectful to kill off a beloved icon of the series, just to introduce a new bigger, badder predator. And the worst part is that it was done partially out of spite, the Paleontologist who helped with the production of the last Jurassic Park's is not a big T-Rex fan and wants you to think that the animal was primarily a scavenger instead of a hunter, even though there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.
The first 2 movies ran just over 2 hours, but the third one only runs about an hour and a half. I feel like this ties into the fact that the script wasn't even done during filming. It feels more like I'm watching a Sci-Fi original movie. (Well, one that actually put in a BIT of effort).
Now that's what I don't like about the movie.
Truth be told, there's a lot to like about this movie. The special effects are still on point, I like the redesign of the Raptors, there are some really good action pieces and Sam Neill is easily the best actor in the movie.
I also like the look of Isla Sorna in this movie, instead of a lush jungle we're in a more misty dark area this time. The setting adds to the tension.
And then there's the birdcage scene. The movies have been teasing the presence of Pteranodon's for a while and now we finally get to see them in action. The whole scene is great.
While Jurassic Park III is objectively the worst movie of the series, I don't feel comfortable calling it that because I don't hate this movie. I will say that it is my least favorite of the series. Whenever I have myself a Jurassic marathon, I don't feel disappointed or hesitant to watch it. It's nowhere near as bad as sequels like Speed 2, Batman and Robin or Son of the Mask. It's just an OK movie and OK is better than awful.
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As fate would have it, Steven Spielberg was busy with other projects and was unable to direct the film. Although he was able to serve as executive producer, Joe Johnston was chosen to be the director.
There would be no third Jurassic Park novel by Michael Crichton. Like the last movie though, JP3 would incorporate scenes found from the last 2 books into the film.
But did it all work out in the end? Well...Kinda.
Reactions to Jurassic Park III range from mixed to negative. And it's not hard to see why.
And now, we need to talk about the Spinosaurus. Now don't get me wrong, I like the Spinosaurus and I think it's a pretty cool dinosaur. It's just the way they used it to kill a T-Rex. It feels a tad disrespectful to kill off a beloved icon of the series, just to introduce a new bigger, badder predator. And the worst part is that it was done partially out of spite, the Paleontologist who helped with the production of the last Jurassic Park's is not a big T-Rex fan and wants you to think that the animal was primarily a scavenger instead of a hunter, even though there is plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise.
The first 2 movies ran just over 2 hours, but the third one only runs about an hour and a half. I feel like this ties into the fact that the script wasn't even done during filming. It feels more like I'm watching a Sci-Fi original movie. (Well, one that actually put in a BIT of effort).
Now that's what I don't like about the movie.
Truth be told, there's a lot to like about this movie. The special effects are still on point, I like the redesign of the Raptors, there are some really good action pieces and Sam Neill is easily the best actor in the movie.
I also like the look of Isla Sorna in this movie, instead of a lush jungle we're in a more misty dark area this time. The setting adds to the tension.
And then there's the birdcage scene. The movies have been teasing the presence of Pteranodon's for a while and now we finally get to see them in action. The whole scene is great.
Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.
So long...
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