The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Film): Critique 1/3

Hammond’s company InGen is taken over by Ludlow, his nephew. Ludlow wants to exploit the dinosaurs for money. So Hammond sends Malcolm to the secondary island to document dinosaurs in their natural habitat. Kelly, Malcolm’s daughter, stows away to join them.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Audience Reaction

 

Whether through emotion or thought, the film gets a reaction from the audience. The film becomes not just a visual, passive experience but causes involved engagement.

 

Some things made you think.

Malcolm says, “There aren’t any versions of the truth.” How surprisingly relevant to our most recent years of politics!

Kelly says many things that resonates with many kids. “I’m your daughter all the time. You can’t just abandon me when opportunity knocks.” Another: “You like to have kids but not to spend time with them.”

Having the t-rex wandering the city, ancient meeting modern day, was a nice contrast in ideas. Plus, being amongst humans and within civilisation gave this film nice contrast with the first film, allowing it to have its own identity.

In this film, we see a whole variety of dinosaurs rather than the limited amount in the first film. Plus we got to see dinosaurs in nature. Both were really positive. Whilst seeing dinosaurs at the Park would’ve been amazing, seeing them in the wild definitely makes you think about whether animal captivity is appropriate as an attraction (rather than as conservation of endangered species).

 

There were many emotional moments. The first film made the audience feel fear and wonder but this one delves into a wider range of feelings.

The glass slowly cracking, meaning Sarah would fall to her death, was an anxious scene. Sarah’s faces and noises escalate the emotion. No matter how many times I see it, no matter that I know the outcome, this scene always gets my heart racing.

The camera is inside Sarah and Kelly’s tent and we see the shadow of the t-rex head on the tent wall. Tense. Then the t-rex snuffling inside the tent, its tongue reaching around, added to the terror, allowing the audience to experience Sarah and Kelly’s fear alongside them.

The duckbill dinosaur has been noosed by several people. It lifts its head in the air, pulling people off the ground and swinging them to a different place. Seeing something so strong be so vulnerable is a gut punch. Also, the music combined with the sad faces of Malcolm and co watching this makes clear their sadness and disgust.

We hear a dog barking. Then there’s silence, the dog’s chain and house hanging from the t-rex’s mouth. Poor dog! (When I was young, this bit made me so cross: why would you keep your dog outside?! So cruel. It’s not like it was a husky who can get too warm inside! No, it was a short-furred breed of dog out in the cold.) Seeing a dog die is always the saddest things for me.

 

 

Visuals

 

As seen above, emotions were enhanced with visuals. That wasn’t the only way the creators used sight to their full advantage.

 

There were several good shots.

The t-rex eyes appearing at the trailer windows, their heads taking up the whole space, was incredible. Those windows are huge, really putting the size of the t-rex into perspective.

When the t-rex was tranquilised at night, it made a sound like the bellow of a stag in rut. To make such a sound when encased in steel added to the helplessness.

As the film fades out, the silhouette of the pterosaur was majestic.

The baby stegosaurus in the nest was a great use of animatronics. Its entire body gave a range of movements when Sarah interacted with it, bringing it to life.

 

The compies chase the electroguy.

At one point he’s fallen over, panting so hard that the dust moves a lot. Good visual. A clever visual was a shot from the height and angle the dinosaurs were experiencing as they chased the guy.

It finishes with the camera facing a log next to a stream, the guy and the dinosaurs out of sight behind it. Between his screaming and the stream turning red, his fate is shown without the audience actually seeing murder or a corpse.

 

There were a few call backs to the previous film. It was a conservative number, still allowing this film its own identity.

In the high hide above the canopy, we see the trees rustling as the t-rex moves. Rustling plants was always how the first film showed dinosaurs were moving.

Vibrations in the footprint’s puddle, along with thumping steps, lets the audience know the t-rex was coming. This meant that one of the most iconic things from the first film was included yet it didn’t feel forced or out of place. It was natural: very well done.

In the first film, Grant and Lex are hanging by a cable over a ledge and the t-rex pushes the car over said ledge. In this film, it’s Malcolm and co hanging by a cable over a ledge, this time overlooking the sea rather than the trees, and then the t-rex push their campervan over said ledge. So, a good reference to the first film whilst giving it its own flavour in this film.

 

 

Humour

 

There are multiple layers to the humour in this film.

One character’s called Sarah and there’re triceratops (‘cera’) in this film. Nice name choice. I don’t know if that was intentional or accidental. Either way, it’s one of my favourite small details in this film. (As I also loved ‘The Land Before Time’ as a child, and that had a triceratops called Sarah, so for a Jurassic Park film to do it too entertained me.)

Hammond says, “’Life will find a way’, as you so elegantly put it.” Sure, the thought was eloquent, but Malcolm adding a bunch of ‘uh uh uh’ in the middle certainly wasn’t eloquent.

A pachy headbutts the door on one side of truck, slamming into a guy and making him fly out the other door on the other side of the truck.

Ludlow, the InGen boss, tries to get everyone going again multiple times with no success. Meanwhile, the camera guy, who’s with Malcom and not the InGen folk, is successful motivating them on his first go. So the InGen workers have more respect for camera guy than their boss.

Someone asks where the crew of the ship are and someone relies, “All over the place.” Their body parts are definitely strewn everywhere.

 

 

Malcolm-based Humour

 

Most of the humour in this film relates to Malcolm. He was funny in the first film so, with him as the main in this film, it’s understandable why this film is funnier than the first. Plus, as this increase in humour is based on Malcolm’s personality in the first film, this change in humour level remains consistent with the first film.

As they’re preparing to leave, one guy says that they’re going on a wild goose chase. Malcom replies, “Where you’re going is the only place the goose chases you!”

On the island, camera guy shouts out, “Sarah Harding?” and Malcolm says, “How many Sarahs do you think are on this island?”

Malcom wants privacy with Sarah so he sends Kelly outside. Then when Kelly opens the door, Malcolm tells her not to go because it’s dangerous outside. Getting told off for doing as you’re told is something every child can relate with.

Sarah said, “I’ll be back in five to six days,” to which Malcom says, “No, you’ll be back in five or six pieces.”