

LOST IN SPACE

Release Date: April 3, 1998
Starring: William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Heather Graham, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi
Rogers, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson
Directed by: Stephen Hopkins
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (some intense sci-fi action) 
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/lostinspace.htm

Similar to 1997's STARSHIP TROOPERS, LOST IN SPACE is a story told to
and written for the lowest common denominator of movie going audiences.
Although TROOPERS was undoubtedly written for a more adult demographic
(although the intelligence level was just as undoubtedly no higher),
LOST IN SPACE starts off as and remains throughout a graphically-
enhanced comic book. The flat characters and cringe-enducing dialogue
are trademarks of a medium that tells stories in jerky segments and
plays to ignorance and suspension of belief. While this latest sci-fi
action flick may be a step up from that, it retains some of the more
undesirable aspects. 

A kickback from the baby boomer days, LOST IN SPACE has to hope for the
curiosity of adults and the willingness of adolescents to pay to see
mind-blowing visuals and sound. Much as THE FIFTH ELEMENT (surprisingly,
another Gary Oldman-is-the-antagonist film) did, this movie presents an
awesome array of colors, lights, and sounds in one continuous stream;
the producers expect the audience to sit back and say "wow." Just like
the THE FIFTH ELEMENT, there is probably an Academy Award nomination in
the future for LOST IN SPACE, but its on-screen tenacity will garner it
nothing more than a Best Sound Editing or Best Visual Special Effects
nomination. The cast and story are not nearly as good. 

Written by Akiva Goldsman, who has penned the last two BATMAN features
and also the upcoming SUPERMAN LIVES, the story is definitely the worst
part of LOST IN SPACE. It takes the Robinson family (headed up by
respectable performances from William Hurt as the father and Heather
Graham as the twentysomething daughter) off of Earth with the planned
destination of a planet that will hold Earthlings in the future. Because
Earth's life as a hospitable planet is limited, and humanity has only
discovered one other possible home in the galaxy, this is the final
shot. (Fitting, in mankind's current mega-consumptive mindset, that the
story tells us Earthlings have only twenty years left.) No thanks to a
stowaway (Gary Oldman), though, the Robinsons' ship is sent hurtling
towards the sun. In a last minute attempt to escape, they hit the
hyperdrive and careen into regions unknown. 

There are only two or three really likeable performances in the bunch.
William Hurt has power and gravity on-screen, but often it gets
channeled into horrible lines that detract from his character's value.
His attempted conversations at family values are particularly
belittling, both to the character and to the movie. Matt LeBlanc, who
plays the pilot assigned to the Robinsons' spaceship, is the best as the
arrogant fighter jock with a bag full of sarcastic lines. Heather Graham
is also good, although her young age lends a certain questionability to
her role; also, her cold shoulder to the constant come-ons of LeBlanc,
like LeBlanc's character himself, get old fast. The rest of the cast
play stereotype cardboard cut-outs. Director Stephen Hopkins, who
directs another misfired action thriller here (after BLOWN AWAY), can't
keep everything under control and some scenes are just plain ridiculous
(like Jack Johnson having a conversation with a robot about 'forgetting
logic'). Mostly full of groaners, but still, the movie manages to come
out mediocre.

FINAL AWARD FOR "LOST IN SPACE": 2.0 stars - a fair movie.

-- 
Craig Roush
[email-masked]
--
Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio