The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): Favourite Films Series

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): Favourite Films Series

 

The original Jurassic Park is on the leaderboard for my all-time favourite films. The first of many sequels, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, is certainly not a T2 or Aliens or Dark Knight situation, meaning many fans (including this one) do not enjoy the sequel more than the original. The number of individuals I have encountered who think The Lost World is better than Jurassic Park could be counted on one hand, but I don’t say that to discredit the film. The point I’m making is Jurassic Park is too good. If The Lost World were a sequel to a merely decent movie, I think its reception would’ve been quite different.

I was a meagre two-and-a-half-year-old when Jurassic Park 2 (as it was commonly referred to by casual moviegoers) came out in theatres, and a couple years later, I was given something special by a family friend who worked at our local video store: the cardboard display featuring a Velociraptor that stood as tall as I was at the time! There were a couple screenshots from the film included on the display, and one of them unsettled me to the point that I avoided looking at it: a shot of the T. rex lunging down and roaring as a flashlight is shone in its face, turning its eye into a reflective lens that made it look like it had no pupil. This may have been the origins of my lifelong fear of blank eyes creeping me out in movies—but the giant snarling raptor was fine, for some reason?

I actually played with that cardboard raptor among my other dinosaur toys, and unfortunately, because I was a clueless kid, I destroyed it. I had no concept of the film it was from, but Jurassic Park has always been a part of my existence. I was an instant fan of the first movie when I saw it around age five, after the cardboard raptor had gone the way of the real Velociraptor, and when I was told the sequel had two T. rexes, I grew eager to see it. We rented the VHS from the video store and I watched it with my dad (who fell asleep about halfway through, I think). What I remember best about that first viewing is the dark, rainy look prevalent throughout. Even though Jurassic Park is already an intense film, I still find The Lost World even darker, meaner, and more unrelenting in comparison, and that is part of the reason it isn’t as beloved as the original by most. It isn’t as terrifying, but it is scary.

For whatever reason, I had a hard time getting the VHS to complete my Jurassic trilogy at around age ten, but I still remember the joy of finally getting that tape with the holographic T. rex on the cover. I never grew to dislike it as I got older and snobbier and more jaded; I have always loved The Lost World, and there are clear reasons it remains a favourite of mine (although not anywhere close to an all-time favourite film, to be clear). I don’t need to be doing a Jurassic Park marathon as an excuse to watch it again. Though unarguably a sequel (and director Steven Spielberg’s only true sequel in his entire career, because Indiana Jones doesn’t count, according to him), The Lost World stands well enough on its own, and as a kid, I loved it for at least one very simple reason: it had more dinosaurs than the first. Now, my love for it is a bit more layered, but still different from my enduring (and greater) love for Jurassic Park.

The Lost World has the majority of my favourite parts of sci-fi/action/horror filmmaking: people trying to survive in nature, people in uniquely dangerous situations, and of course, dinosaurs. Spielberg carefully chose which dinosaurs to feature, figured out how to satiate fans with upping the ante, and ensured the resurrected beasts commanded the screen yet again. Even beyond these pre-requisites, he and screenwriter David Koepp crafted action scenes to rival those of the first film, executed with Spielberg’s unique directing abilities. Even from the second shot (following the first ominous establishing shot of Site B) which pans down from a grey sky to the rough coastal waters, then shows us the yacht in the background and a glass of sparkling wine poured for the rich family who owns it trespassing on the most dangerous place on earth—all of this information is communicated visually in one uninterrupted, dialogue-free shot with the sinister John Williams music overlayed. It’s a great hook that’s distinctly different from the hook in the first movie, and yet, it still feels like Jurassic. 

This sequel got a bad rep for largely inconsequential elements, like Ian Malcolm’s daughter being shoehorned into the story and using gymnastics to save her dad from a raptor, or minor characters telegraphed to die for the sake of terrifying spectacle, and I think it’s unfairly judged on these rather mundane trivialities, when it should be celebrated for the sheer entertainment value from beginning to end and the collection of characters played by a great cast of actors. When I got older, I got over how cool it was that there were two tyrannosaurs (plus a baby) that got even more screentime than the lone Rex before. What I didn’t get over was how intense the interactions between the human cast and the star of the first film were, and how they grew more intense as the movie went on.

Even though the T. rex rampaging through San Diego at the end does get rushed to as the adventure ends on the island and we jump to the mainland, it was the only way Spielberg could top the trailer sequence from the film’s midpoint, and he pulled out all the stops to make the bombastic rampage as full of homage as possible. One of the enduring qualities of not just the finale but the whole movie (which borrows from previous films sharing the title) is how rooted in dinosaur film history it is, yet it still feels original and creative. Spielberg snuck a few references into the first movie, like for King Kong and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, but in The Lost World, there are way more, and not just for old dino movies. Everything from Gorgo to Spielberg’s own Jaws to an assortment of casting jokes as the bus crashes into the video store are referenced, sometimes subtly, sometimes blatantly, but the more you enjoy this genre of film, the more you’ll appreciate those details—and yet, you still don’t need to pick up on any of them to enjoy the adventure. 

The most ageless aspects of enjoyment for me are the music, the special effects, and the action. John Williams, who has scored all the best Spielberg films, thinks the score he did for The Lost World is actually better than his Jurassic Park score, and while I can’t wholeheartedly agree with the legendary composer on that one, I can see where he’s coming from. The Jurassic Park theme is probably the most iconic movie theme from the 90’s, and it fits that film perfectly. The Lost World’s score is interesting in that it has a new theme that sounds like an offshoot of the Jurassic Park theme, but not a discount copy or lesser version. The overall score perfectly suits the tone and story beats. It has more drums, more variety to the music, and some incredibly high points of excitement.

As for the special effects and action? Look, I can’t go on about every little detail of the movie or else I’d be here until I become fossilized and need to be revived through cloning myself, so I’ll do a SparkNotes version: anyone who says the effects aren’t as good are out of their minds, the CGI is actually better in most shots than the first movie, the animatronics are completely lifelike, and with more action comes more explosions and fast camera work and inventive chases. “Don’t go into the long grass!” Even though there’s more action, it doesn’t make the movie overly long or exhausting. It moves along at a terrific pace, with a balance of dialogue scenes and dinosaur attacks that even the first movie doesn’t quite match.   

The trailer sequence doesn’t just feel like a scaled-up version of the main road jeep attack from the first movie. It’s the thrilling centerpiece of the film, taken directly from the novel by Michael Crichton, of which this film only serves as a somewhat loose adaptation, but this part is actually improved upon for the film version. This comes quite a while after the roundup sequence, which itself is a great way to showcase many dinosaurs and hammer home the conflict between the two groups of people on the island. I think Spielberg found an effective ebb and flow to the action; it reminds me more of Temple of Doom than it does the first movie, which has less extensive action and more horror-fuelled suspenseful scenes. That isn’t to say The Lost World is without suspense. As an avid camper from day one, the idea of a T. rex slowly poking his head into a tent terrified young Clayton. 

Everyone thought the tagline “Something Has Survived” was clever and referred to the dinosaurs, but I never thought they all died after the park failed in the first one. They could’ve made it “Someone Has Survived” because it was a far bigger deal that Malcolm returned. It seemed obvious that Dr. Grant would be the returning protagonist for a sequel, but expectations were subverted, with Malcolm taking center stage. Jeff Goldblum isn’t quite the same quirky, flirty, joke-cracking chaotician he was before Rexy flung him into a thatch-roofed toilet stall, and that makes sense! But, Goldblum is still charming, he makes the funny one-liners work, and if you enjoyed his performance and his character right up to when he escapes Isla Nublar along with the others, how could you not enjoy seeing him as the protagonist this time around? The new additions to the cast are great, too, and even though there are more characters this time (which means more snacks for the hungry dinos), some of them still get characterization, and are all played by likable actors.

Dennis Nedry is pretty much the only human antagonist in Jurassic Park. He’s memorable, but not particularly threatening aside from being the one to shut the power off, and dies by the film’s midpoint. Peter Ludlow, played by Arliss Howard, is the wealthy nephew of Jurassic Park founder’s John Hammond, and this sleazeball is truly detestable from the moment he’s introduced. Not only does he have a direct bloodline to a crucial character from the first film, the conflict between him and Ian Malcolm is established right away, and you want to see him get eaten by the end, but not in a way that makes you hate whenever he’s on screen. Howard plays him well, and his conflict with the team leader he has hired, Roland Tembo (played by the late great Pete Postlethwaite) adds a bit more to the human drama. Tembo is a big game hunter who rivals Robert Muldoon’s badass raptor expert from the first movie, and his mission, to bring down the bull Rex, is a compelling side plot. These are just a couple of my go-to examples for new, noteworthy characters who are more than just snacks for the carnivores.

I recognize one way I am unable to look at this movie with total objectivity: I cannot imagine what people originally expected the first Jurassic Park sequel to be before it existed, because I never knew a world without it. Gone is the shock and awe of seeing the dinosaurs alive for the first time, so Spielberg made the choice (and I respect it) of giving the audience more of what he thought they wanted and more of what he could provide: the ongoing struggle of humans and dinosaurs trying to exist. At its core, The Lost World is a story of hunters and gatherers, as has been said by many others before me, and it continues the corporate greed versus “hands off” approach pedalled by the scientists. In the end, it doesn’t leave me empty or unsatisfied. The dinosaurs are still treated like living animals throughout, they are made to feel lifelike and awe-inspiring and terrifying, and the characters are worth rooting for, so in the end, it feels like they told a story worthy of telling.