

Lost in Space (1998)

Director:  Stephen Hopkins
Cast:  William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Heather Graham, Mimi Rogers, Matt
LeBlanc, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson
Screenplay:  Akiva Goldsman
Producers:  Akiva Goldsman, Stephen Hopkins, Mark W. Koch
Runtime:  
US Distribution:  New Line Cinema
Rated PG-13:  sci-fi violence

By Nathaniel R. Atcheson ([email-masked])

	If you're going to make a film that has absolutely nothing of interest
aside from its special effects, you might consider making the special
effects good.  Lost in Space, the new spin-off of the old TV series,
does not abide by this seemingly-obvious bit of logic, and the result is
a film that has a silly story complimented by unimpressive visual
effects and sets.  I can watch and enjoy a film that is mostly style and
little substance (Starship Troopers, for example), but the style has to
be stylish, not dull and rehashed like the "style" in Lost in Space.  

	Lost in Space isn't blatantly awful, but it comes dangerously close to
being so.  There are too many characters (none of whom have any
noticeable personality), the story is too thin (and disintegrates in to
incoherence by the final scene), the interesting elements are all lifted
from other films, and, like I said, the special effects aren't special. 
It's like trying to make a cake out of nothing but water and flour. 
You'll end up with something, but it won't taste good.  

	We are introduced to one of the several main characters in an
introductory space-battle that is disturbingly close to the battle
scenes in the Star Wars trilogy.  The hero is Major Don West (Matt
LeBlanc), and he's your typical hard-edged pilot.  He's recruited to
escort the Robinsons (a really smart family-of-five) into the depths of
space so that they can find a new place for humans to live, because the
Earth can only support human life for twenty more years.  

	The Robinsons are led by John (William Hurt) and Maureen (Mimi
Rogers).  The children are Judy (Heather Graham), Penny (Lacey Chabert),
and Will (Jack Johnson).  Also onboard is Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman), who
tries to sabotage the mission, but fails, and gets caught.  Well, he
only fails partially:  he triggers a series of light shows that result
in the Robinson's ship careening into the unknown corners of uncharted
space.  Finally, about forty-five minutes into the film, they are
actually lost, as the title rightfully implies.  

	After this, the story of Lost in Space is muddled, at best.  They end
up at some lost ship (which reminded me of Event Horizon, though I know
that film is too recent for Lost in Space to have ripped it off), and
they have to fight off these metal spiders that have nothing to do with
anything.  Later, they crash on this planet in a stunt that reminded me
a lot of Star Trek:  Generations, and they uncover a time-travel plot by
a character whose identity must be hidden for the sake of shock.  Anyone
seen any of this before?  

	What a tiresome journey it is getting to the end of this film.  I knew
I was in trouble when the opening battle looked significantly worse than
anything in any of the three Star Wars films (those films are twenty
years younger than this one!).  After that, the best special effects are
cartoony:  they are pleasing to the eye, but they look fake.  Unlike the
digital bugs in Starship Troopers or the dinosaurs in Spielberg's Park
movies, nothing here inspires us with awe and wonder.  It all looks
distractingly digital, and it just doesn't mesh with the live-action
performers.

	Speaking of live action, I've never seen a group of such talented
individuals go to waste like this.  Gary Oldman is good (I hear he
recreates the character from the television series perfectly), and Matt
LeBlanc is sometimes amusing, but the rest of these actors are bland. 
The biggest disappointment is Heather Graham, who was wonderful in
Boogie Nights; she isn't really given anything to work with, and, in
turn, doesn't end up doing anything.  William Hurt and Mimi Rogers spew
their lines like actors getting paid to spew lines.  The other two kids,
Chabert and Johnson, do their best, but are not very memorable.  I don't
blame any of these performers:  the script simply gives them nothing to
work with.

	I really expected to enjoy this film.  I don't understand how or why
Lost in Space came out so dull and familiar.  There are a few pleasures,
though:  the last-minute escape in the final scene is fun, and some of
the sequences are exciting despite their ultimate uselessness in
relation to the story.  And the actors, despite their lack of fire, are
pleasant to watch.  But Lost in Space is little more than a bundle of
missed opportunities replaced by scenes we've all seen hundreds of
times.  But hope is not lost:  if this becomes a series, just remember
what Star Trek II managed to do.

** out of ****
(5/10, C-)
 
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