The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Juliane Moore, Richard Attenborough, Vince Vaughn and Vanessa Lee Chester.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Release Date: 1997

Genre: Adventure Sc Fi

Running Time: 2hrs 9 minutes

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

A research team is sent to Jurassic Park site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda.

Based on the popular novel of the same name. Four years have passed since the horrifying occurrences that took place in the first film. This time John Hammond is persuading Ian Malcolm (Goldbloom) to attend another island, Isla Sorna. Isla Sorna originally bread dinosaurs before bringing them over to Isla Nuba, Jurassic Park. John Hammond however still wants his dinosaurs to be seen in good light before they are exploited. Steven Spielberg makes a comeback once again with this sequel. Jeff Goldblum returns as mathematician Ian Malcolm, we find that  on returning back to America those who survived the tragic events of "Jurassic Park" were not believed. Malcolm being one of them. Once Malcolm finds his paleontologist girlfriend Sarah is on the island alone, and that his daughter is along for the ride, he decides he must go! Nick Van Owen (Vaughn) also joins them on the island as a field photographer. In all honesty this isn't one of Steven Spielberg's best movies.

Ian Malcolm's character is very toned down in comparison to the first, more down to earth. His daughter and his girlfriend are his priority, which makes for a pretty overwhelming experience on Isla Sorna. Ian, Sarah, Nick and Eddie must do everything they can to prevent the dinosaurs returning to America to be exposed. Can you imagine if dinosaurs still existed? We're at the bottom of the food chain, why would you introduce humans to them? A dinosaur zoo? Probably not the best of ideas? Julianne Moore delivers a good performance as Malcolm's love interest. Somewhat of a free spirit, her relationship with Ian is quite genuine. Again though, not one of her best performances. The characters don't really give a lot away! Although the storyline is entertaining, it's nowhere near as action packed as the first film. Has anyone else noticed an "Indiana Jones" reference half way through the movie? I believe there are a couple of them. Just like the first, it has it's bloodthirsty moments. The problem for me personally, was that they spent far too long on the island, scenes just dragged and dragged. A little bit of action, but not much. I won't lie, watching a dinosaur go through San Diego is pretty cool! It's a little bit like watching a scene from Godzilla.

Visually, it's not fantastic, however the cinematography for its' time was incredibly impressive. The use of animatronix is amazing. Just like "Jurassic Park" the dinosaurs look remarkably real. The special effects team deserve a lot of praise. Isla Sorna is a very impressive looking set, it certainly looks very genuine and real. The second installment to "Jurassic Park" certainly isn't a triumphant however it's not the worse film ever made either. I honestly don't think it has the same wonderful quality that the first film had. The pace is rather slow at times, which is a shame because the storyline really is on point! The most disappointing factor is the awful Blu-Ray transfer. After buying all three movies in a Blu-Ray box set I'm sorry to say the only impressive looking movie is the first film. There's an awful lot of grain which is a shame. It had the potential to look really good! John Williams returns once again, however I don't think his score has the same feel as the first film did. Sequels don't always work.

3/5 stars