Customer Reviews
Fantastic Sequel. Fantastic Film - By: J. Briggs, 10 Mar 2008 
Once again, Spielberg shows he is a master. Like the Matrix, Jaws & Hallloween, Jurassic Park was a ground breaking tour de force that shook the cnematic world, set new standards overnight, & thus would be nigh on impossible to replicate in a sequal.
More to the point, the very elements that made those films groundbreaking & stylistic would not be as impacting a second time around & leaves the director in No Man's Land. If you include another bullet time sequence, or a musical motif then you're gonna be accused of aping the original. If you don't, you lose an integral facet of what made the original so special.
And that is what Spielberg had to contend with, 5 years after the brilliance of seeing realistic dinosaurs, & with expectations raised, how to make another impact.
First off, the effects are truly superb & the lack of quality CGI in movies (even now) only serves to distinguish TLW from its contempories. Secondly, the best character from JP is brought back as the cynical anti hero Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) displaying him mucho dry, sardonic wit: "Oh, yeah. 'Oooh, ahhh', that's how it always starts. Then later there's running & screaming."
The film is set on a second island & featurs a larger cast who are split into two factions & so the themes of the plot are far more diverse than the original.
Spielberg maintains an excellent balance between developing the characters & the need for excitement & action. In his capable hands, nothing suffers.
What sets Spielberg apart from his peers is his ability to use a multitude of tactics to achieve great effect. Especiallly sinister ones. Be it special effects filled Poltergeist or the bare bones approach of Duel, Spielberg shows he is a Master throughout. In TLW, he displays this diversity to stunning effect to ensure that the audience never becomes dulled nor second guesses what is to come. Characters die on screen, in a grisly manner whilst others perish off screen. Similarly, we often see the dinosaurs in full view as they attack, yet at other times, like in Jaws, they are hidden & we only *know* they are there by their effects on their surroundings. A classic example is when the humans are running through a field with grass 5ft high. From an aerial shot we see multiple paths being created as somethings crumple the grass as they approach the humans. At speed.
Added to quick bursts of sheer chaotic energy, emphasising the panic & terror the characters are experiencing, there are long, expertly crafted sequences that build the tension slowly but surely, including an awesome encounter with not one but two Tyrannosaurs.
Even the dinosaurs are explored & expanded, just like the human counterparts. We get to see the T Rex is more than just a predator & this helps build empathy for these magnificent creatures. There is even a baby T Rex that is, oddly enough, very cute.
A stroke of genius is added by shifting the action to San Diego, thus providing a fresh hunting ground (sic) for alll: film maker, audience & dinosaurs.
The only real downside for me is Spielberg's tendency to include smalll children. And annoying children at that. for absolutely *NO* good reason, Ian's daughter, Kelly, is included. And for even more bizarre reasons she is black (reasons which are never explained). It just looks like a reallly stupid attempt at some form of political correctness. Where she half caste, or it was explained she was adopted then that would be fine & we'd just be left with the question of why she is there in the first place. But neither happens & so everyone is left thinking "WTF?!"
This is NOT as ground breaking as the original. But then what film possibly could be? Like The Empire Strikes Back, TLW build ON the platform created by its predecessor without ever retreading old ground. Is it better? That is debateable. Much like The Empire Strikes Back, TLW benefits from being able to jump right into the action without requiring to set the scene - something which slowed down the first hour of Jurassic Park & brought criticism.
But it is a great film, nonetheless. And when you see the tripe that is JP3, then the quality of The Lost World is clear for alll to see.
Average follow up - By: Stampy, 08 Aug 2006 
The sequel to the Oscar winning Jurassic Park provides high tension & suspense for the audience, but only frequently as this follow up fails to capture the brilliance of the first.
The ideas are there but are executed in alll the wrong ways as the producers & directors try to go for a graphic winning tactic rather than an effective plot. The film is visuallly stunning with computer animations brilliantly used to great effect for the different species of dinosaurs.
However the story fails to capture the audience's interest as it drags & there are always questions of realism. The story focuses upon Ian Malcolm as he travels to Site B with a determination to rescue his girlfriend. The team of researchers are more determined to stay on & investigate further into the prehistoric creatures lives.
It's hardly interesting when they discover the other researchers on the island. Temptations may have been raised as to what are they going to do but it is never captivating as it could have been with predictable elements always there.
The main problem is that it tries to use the same ideas from the first film but never pulls them off. We have the very effect tense scenes when the people are being chased by the dinosaurs but this technique is often over used. It is extremely tense however & the audiences will be on the edge of their seats.
Even the T-rex & velocoraptors seem less fierce in this sequel with similar elements used from in the first film.
The acting by everyone is terrible with Goldblum in particular hardly convincing as the would be hero. He tries to be demanding & in control over everyone but can never convince his onlookers. The actors alll have unhealthy chemistry infront of the camera which leads audiences to believe the story is weak & sloppy.
The ending to seems over exaggerated & to most people predictable. There is always a question of could that reallly have happened & again diminishes audience's expectations.
Not worth it because of similar ideas are used in the first film.
Watch the first but i wouldn't bother with the two follow ups & if rumours are true about a forth we alll know that spells disaster
