Given the resounding success of the first movie, a sequel was inevitable; in fact, Michael Crichton was actually talked into writing a sequel by Steven Spielberg because Spielberg wanted to relive the experience. Even though Crichton turned down fans initially about writing a sequel, as he had never done it before, he submitted to Spielberg’s requests. In 1997, the world was once again treated to a world filled with genetically engineered dinosaurs.
Like its predecessor, this film is vastly different than its novel counterpart –even more so than the first film was. We saw the return of Ian Malcolm, (Jeff Goldblum) who is in the novel, and were even given a short scene with Lex (Ariana Richards), Tim (Joseph Mazzello), and John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), who are not. The film takes the audience to Isla Sorna, not Isla Nublar from the first outing. Isla Sorna homes a research base that John Hammond had kept secret from everyone, including the initial group of people touring Isla Nublar in the first film; it is on this island that the scientists would grow and nurture the dinosaurs and then prepare them for relocation to the park on Isla Nublar.
The film starts with a British family on a yacht cruise stumbles across the island and decides to have lunch with their crew on the beach. Their daughter wanders off and is visited by a small dinosaur, a Compsognathus who then calls his buddies over; the Compsognathus species travels in packs and are mostly scavengers, viewing this child as prey they attack and the family reports the incident. The board of directors at InGen, Hammond’s company, decides he is no longer fit to keep people safe from the island and brings in his nephew, Peter Ludlow, to take over all operations.
Being on the verge of chapter 11 (bankruptcy) since the incident in the first film, the board had been watching Hammond closely and used this against him to finally take control of InGen from him. Hammond’s views had changed in the past four years since the events in the first film and instead of making money he wishes to preserve the beasts that have a right to live naturally, without human interference. The board disagrees and with the help of Peter Ludlow they plan to bring Jurassic Park to the mainland in San Diego, a place more accessible to tourists than an exotic island. Seeing the blatant issues with this, it is Hammond’s plan to send in a group of researchers to observe and document the animals, proving they are alive and in their natural habitats that should not be disturbed.
Ian Malcolm is more than a little unnerved by the idea of going back, given his last visit left him with a T-Rex tossing him like a ragdoll and leaving with a broken leg. It is then that Hammond tells him that he has already assembled a group of people, one of which is already on the island doing her initial research: Sarah Harding, a wildlife observer/expert – and Ian’s girlfriend. Infuriated by this news, Ian sets off to meet with the others without hesitation and embarks on another dangerous excursion. Although this film includes characters and events not in the novel, it takes the audience on a wild ride. It was quite amazing to see just how good a movie could be bearing only threads of relevance to its base material. “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” kept its audiences on the edge of their seats with some of the most spine-tingling moments in the series.
While the critics generally gave it a passing grade, they were a little harsh stating that it paled in comparison to the original and had a bad plot. It’s all up to the viewer whether or not something is good, but one cannot deny that this movie took the experience of the first and enhanced it. It was a wonderful adventure that brought back fond memories with great story-telling on behalf of David Koepp and Steven Spielberg. There are the expected mistakes and unfortunately there’s a very big hole in the story towards the end, but it doesn’t ruin the excitement and adventure that the film brings. The ‘hole’ I am referring to is at the end of the film where, back on the mainland, Ian and Sarah are awaiting the arrival of the S.S. Venture, the freighter carrying the living T-Rex. The boat never responds to requests to check in and crashes into the San Diego docks at high speed. Everyone on board is dead. Now, there are many speculations as to what could have happened, but they are all just that: speculations. It is a big faux-pas, but if we use our imagination can be explained any way we like, so it doesn’t affect the film’s credibility much. At best they could have attempted to explain it.
FINAL OPINION:
Fans and critics alike may not have enjoyed the ride as much as the first outing because of just how loosely it is based on the novel, but it is still an amazing film and a great sequel. It brings a fun, exciting adventure with memorable performances and characters that people have come to adore. The sequence with the T-Rex in San Diego was phenomenal and also the ending of the film was perfect with John Hammond being interviewed on CNN, having his voice cast over images of the dinosaurs thriving on the island, living as they did millions of years ago. It left little room for a third film. That is until the year 2001.
(9 / 10)
Amazing
(9 / 10)
