Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World (1997)
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Ian Malcolm is recruited by John Hammond to lead a research team to Isla Sorna, an island 87 miles to the south of Isla Nublar (the site of the original Jurassic Park). Here, InGen Bioengineering had constructed the secret "Site B", where the dinosaurs were bred and then transported to the park. Hammond's nephew has taken control of InGen and leads his team to the island to capture the dinosaurs and bring them back to the U.S. to a "dino park" in San Diego. Once that happens, the Gaslamp district may never be the same...
Overall: Well let’s start with the fact I live in San Diego so watching the downtown area get destroyed is actually quite amusing. The biggest problem with the film is the lack of people coming back from part 1. We got a brief appearance by Richard Attenborough and outside of Goldblum, that’s it. So we add Julianne Moore and a few other people, none of which get the opportunity to truly shine. Also, at times the film seemed to focus so much on everything else but the established plot line. The whole character and idea of Goldblum’s daughter was silly and contrived and in the end made no impact on the overall plot. I guess my biggest problem with her character and not to be racist, is that she’s black. Not that there is anything wrong with this but at least give us the “Ex-Mrs. Malcolm” too. Otherwise the girl looks way too out of place. And as for the Vince Vaughn character, he’s a good actor but exactly what was the character’s job? Photographer? Back-up plan hero? Greenpeace Activist? He seemed to have a few too many hats to wear and not enough explaining of the truth. The film wants us to both hate and then later love the animal hunters and frankly, the film never did enough to get me back to the “love” stage. I also felt that this film was over and one with…when they happen to get back onto the boat to go to San Deigo. Frankly the film should have ended there. As amusing as it is to see Dinosaurs running through the streets, it just was the wrong way to go. Made the film really seem absurd, especially with the dialogue of the kid wanting water and the dog barking in the backyard. Made the film go from “blockbuster” to “spoof.” The film has some deleted scenes, which involve more background on the attorneys and legal proceedings as well as the background on the game hunters. Those I think would have helped the story along since there were just so many holes. Never shot but drawn up on storyboard was an attack by the raptors in the tall grass involving troops on gliders. problem is that looked way too cheesy and only cry out for more explanation about where everyone got their stuff, etc. The original ending was never shot but instead was drawn on storyboard. It had the remaining survivors escape via helicopter from the island just as pterodactyls appear and attack the copter. Then all fading to black. Although that ending may be a bit unsavory and leaving lots of questions, it does eliminate the trip back to San Diego which is so glaringly out of place. The film never hints at the trip until they leave and it felt so contrived. What got me was the blatant rip-off of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel, “The Lost World.” Despite the fact they both dealt with dinosaurs, Doyle’s novel is such a classic and it is a shame they couldn’t do better with their imaginations. Comparison: Jurassic Park meets Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls |
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