Subject: Review: Lost In Space (1998)

From: "Joe Chamberlain" <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 Aug 1999 19:40:11 GMT

Lost In Space (1998)
A review by Joe Chamberlain

Starring Gary Oldman; William Hurt; Matt LeBlanc & Mimi Rogers

Lost In Space is the updated remake of the campy 1960's television program.
While it certainly is anything but campy, it is a worthy successor to the
original series. Unlike the series, the film version of Lost In Space is big
budget with top notch special effects. None of the aliens made from tinfoil
that were so common from the series. Lost In Space boasts an A-level cast
including Gary Oldman as the evil Dr. Smith, William Hurt as Professor John
Robinson and Matt LeBlanc as Major Don West.

Unlike TV show remakes from recent years, Mission: Impossible comes to mind,
Lost In Space doesn't turn familiar characters into something that you don't
expect. The good guys from the series are still good and the bad guy, namely
Dr. Smith, is still bad. Although, if I had one complaint about the movie it
would be with the character of Dr. Smith. While Gary Oldman does do a good
job, the character of Smith is a little too nasty, although I suppose times
change and the bad guys have to get a little more bad. Maybe part of my
problem with Dr. Smith was that Jonathan Harris wasn't playing him. Harris
was the main reason to watch the series and nobody, not even Gary Oldman,
could properly replace him as Dr. Smith. The same can not be said for the
other characters in the film, all of the current actors more than adequately
filled the rolls of their 1960's counterparts. Lost In Space, in addition to
keeping to the story line of the series also paid homage to it in other
ways. These included cameos from some of the original stars of the TV
series; Dick Tufeld, who was the voice of the Robot in the series also
voices the Robot in the film. You should also pay special attention to the
booster rocket that carries the updated Jupiter 2 from its launch pad on
Earth.

As for plot, it is the mid 21st Century and Earth is doomed to extinction
from the pollution and abuse of the past centuries. John Robinson and his
family are chosen to go to a new planet and ready it for colonization from
the people of Earth. Something goes horribly wrong on the Robinson's
journey. A terrorist stowaway, Dr. Smith, sabotages the mission and the
whole bunch of them find themselves lost in some uncharted region of space.
This new region of space is not without its dangers, including large killer
spiders and some sort of phenomenon which seems to be affecting time itself.

As I mentioned, the main reason to watch the television series was for Dr.
Smith. While Gary Oldman's Smith can't compare to the original, he is still
the most fun to watch. While his portrayal of Dr. Smith is far more evil
than the TV version, the film version of Smith still takes the same joy at
being bad. You have to love somebody that takes such pride in their work. As
for the rest of the cast, while they are not standouts like Gary Oldman,
they all do an excellent job. But what else would you expect from William
Hurt? Hurt and the rest of the cast deserve credit for even being noticed in
Lost In Space. It would have been very easy for all of them to fade into the
background of Oldman's over the top performance and of the spectacular
special effects. Not to mention the very cool updated Robot.

Lost In Space is a whole lot of fun. Whether you were a fan of the TV
series, or had never heard of it before, this is a thoroughly enjoyable
movie. Although I must admit, fans of the series will get a little extra out
of this updated version of Lost In Space with all of the references to the
original series scattered around the film.

8/10

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