JURASSIC PARK: THE LOST WORLD

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements

Rated:

They chomp, stomp, and roar. They're huge, loud, obnoxious, and deadly. They've also been extinct for thousands of years... or have they? If you're prone to nightmares or loathe the idea of a T-Rex dining on your dog, The Lost World may not be for you. But if you liked the first one... yep, this one's right up your alley. 

It's been four years since Jurassic Park. Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) never wants to see another dino "in the flesh" again, but he's called in for a meeting with the big shot, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough). Apparently Island One was just a theme park... Island Two was where they bred the animals and raised them from hatchlings. This unexplored island has over-flourished with the population. Hammond wants four researchers to visit "Exhibit A" and report what they find. And he's just smart enough to figure out how to weasel Ian into it... by sending on ahead his beautiful, talented, and ingenious girlfriend Sarah (Julianne Moore).

Reluctantly, Ian agrees to tag along, but only on a rescue mission. He knows the nightmares of that island of horrors they left behind, a place where meat-eating, sharp-clawed, large-toothed predators rule supreme. But when he arrives, two things go horribly wrong... Sarah refuses to leave, enthralled with the island... and his daughter Lex (Ariana Richards) has stowed away in the van. Things go from bad to worse when the island is invaded by Hammond's nephew, a privateering opportunist who desires to resurrect a new Jurassic Park right in the middle of San Diego. His plans are to bring over one creature in each sub-species... including a baby T-Rex. Their foolish attempts to lure the parents of the Rex out into the open spiral off a nightmare for Ian and his team of researchers.

The baby is brought to the trailer for a splint on its broken leg, and mom and dad aren't too happy with the arrangement. They maul the trailer, eat one of his men, and cause chaos. The Rex has enlarged its territories to include the cliffs. The explorers have to move inland with the larger group of privateers to send out a radio signal for help. The further inland they get, the fiercer the meat-eaters. Everywhere they turn the group are sitting ducks. T-Rex's have long memories... they're coaching Junior for revenge. Who will make it? Who won't? Or perhaps the question should be, can the audience stand it? The thousands of people that flocked to the box office confirmed this: yes, we can take anything... even if it's a virtual bloodbath.

Language-wise the film is fairly clean with only a few profanities (much less than I anticipated). There's no sensuality, immodesty, or even kissing. But where Spielberg held off in some departments, he pushed the boundaries of others. We never actually see the deaths of dozens of "expendable" sub-cast (well, except for the rare occasion when Mom and Dad tear a man in half on-screen) but the knowledge of what just happened is enough to make anyone grit their teeth. Several times people are grabbed by the arm, leg, or middle and drawn up out of the camera range before a sickening crunch; a few instances occur near water, which then streams red with their newly spilled blood. (One scene involves a waterfall turning into a bloodbath when one of the group is driven right into the jaws of a Rex after a poisonous snake slips down the rocks into his shirt.)

Little dinosaurs (about a foot in height and traveling in mass packs) follow and repetitively attack a man, finally mauling him to death off-camera. Several times larger meat-eating dinosaurs chase, jump on and around, and attack members of the cast. (A chilling scene of people running through tall grass portrays these creatures leaping up and tackling individuals at random.) Additionally, there's a scene in which the T-Rex shove the van off a cliff, resulting in some injury to the occupants. Cars wreck, buildings explode, and characters are vanquished left and right. It takes awhile for the film to pick up momentum, dragging in the first half hour or more, but when it finally does it's one disaster after another that is actually a thrilling ride.

Many people believe The Lost World should have been given a more appropriate rating (R) but I disagree. Reflecting on the action, it's pretty mainstream for a PG13. Children (and some of us older kids) will no doubt be terrified by the thrills and chills as they unfold, though more mature audiences will be shaking their heads at the inevitable. If there's a dark corridor, these guys will go into it. If there's a big predator, these guys will find it. The stupidity of certain individuals is enough to make a grown man cry. For lovers of the original Jurassic Park, this one packs in the action with a reasonably decent premise. For more conservative viewers less excited about a bloodbath, this world may as well remain lost.