From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu May 15 14:09:18 1997
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From: tbush@blizzard.com (Tracy W. Bush)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: THE LOST WORLD (1997)
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Date: 14 May 1997 00:13:23 GMT
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                                THE LOST WORLD
                                  [Spoilers]
                       A film review by Tracy W. Bush
                        Copyright 1997 Tracy W. Bush

I went to a screening of The Lost World this weekend, and admittedly
what I saw was not the final cut of the movie.  Those of you who know me
know that I generally appreciate a movie for its entertainment value,
and am not hypercritical of plot holes or sometimes even the absence of
plot.  However, I have to say that without a doubt, this movie SUCKED.

I mean, the BOOK was better than this movie, and the book wasn't all
that great.  In this movie we have like 5 minutes of exposition at the
beginning and then BOOM we're back on a different island where all the
dinosaurs are roaming free without cages.  Then, a bunch of other guys
show up wanting to trap the dinosaurs for a theme park in San Diego. 
Naturally, the dinosaurs overwhelm them and everyone is getting eaten
and blah blah blah, and they have to escape and it's tense and blah blah
blah.  We've seen it all before.

I will say that the special effects are much much better this time
around, the interaction between the CGI dinosaurs and the filmed actors
is really breathtaking, I mean forget that LA Times ad with the guy in
the mineshaft, this is infinitely more believable, but during the whole
movie, and this thing is LONG, we're talking two and a half hours, I
just kept thinking "I just don't care.  All these people could be killed
in this movie, and I just don't care."

Implausible escapes, one after the other.  NO plot.  Little morality
plays about how mankind is so exploitative and murderous.  Weak, flimsy
and pathetic life-embracing ending.  One amusing moment when a guy gets
eaten by a T Rex in front of a Blockbuster Video in San Diego.

One final note:  I am sick of Spielberg movies.  Most of his scenes are
shot exactly the same way - all the characters freeze, and we have
reaction shots for a minute and a half.  One high overhead shot panning
down to just above head level, of people looking at something.  One
crotch level shop, panning up to eye level, of people looking at
something.  Then we go to POV and we see the effect.  This goes on for
the whole movie.

Oh, yeah, and he makes fun of fat people in this movie again.

Anyway, if you want to see the special effects, go ahead and see the
movie, but JEEZ this is a bad film.  It'll make bank simply because the
people who saw the first one will want to see the second one, but
hopefully we won't be subjected to a third.

To put things in perspective, this is the most disappointing sequel I've
seen since "Highlander 2:  The Quickening".

Tracy W. Bush
tbush@blizzard.com