THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK

[dragon53]

This writer says THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK is the franchise's best sequel.


LINK: https://screenrant.com/jurassic-park-lost-world-best-sequel-op-ed/

[DinoToyForum]

Well they aren't wrong, but that's not saying much.

I was 16 when I saw it in the theatre and remember being disappointed even at that impressionable age.

[Over9K]

IMO,  III is the best sequel. It was honest about what it was, a B-Monster Movie. It wasn't trying to be the biggest epic in the world, just a scary/fun 100 minutes of dinosaurs chasing/eating people. It wasn't sold us as something else. We got decent talent, solid effects and the non-plot was just vague enough to work.

On the other hand, Lost World is a mess that wants to be three different movies at once, and fails. 

[Gwangi]

I think Jurassic World is the best sequel! But it doesn't come close to Jurassic Park. None of them do, and that's probably the only thing most of us can agree on when ranking these movies.

[DinoToyForum]

IMO,  III is the best sequel. It was honest about what it was, a B-Monster Movie. It wasn't trying to be the biggest epic in the world, just a scary/fun 100 minutes of dinosaurs chasing/eating people. It wasn't sold us as something else. We got decent talent, solid effects and the non-plot was just vague enough to work.

On the other hand, Lost World is a mess that wants to be three different movies at once, and fails. 

3 is a very close third for me. You just really like the scene where the raptor says "Alan", right? Whereas I prefer the "They cut you from the team" gymnastics scene.

None of the sequels are actually good, but some aren't quite as bad as the others.

[Trenchcoated Rebbachisaur]

The best Jurassic Park sequel is clearly Prehistoric Park.

[CityRaptor]

Na, that's more like an Alternate Universe. Same with Dinosaur Sanctuary. Although Jurassic Park was apparently still a movie in that timeline, since the sign at the Dilophosaurus paddock mentions that the species neither has frills nor spits venom....

[Turkeysaurus]

It's true. It's the best sequel. In fact it's pretty good for the most part. A bit more adventurous movie with somber tone compared to original sci-fi thriller.

I think movie has some flaws such as both Julianna Moore & Vince Vaugh characters are quite dumb, irritating and hard to root for as good guys..And city's scenes with T.rex. Movie turns from Jurassic Park tone to ordinary Kaiju movie. I have never liked the concept of dinosaurs on modern environment. It kills the adventure vibe on isolated wild habitat that most movie has and also dinosaurs cannot be more threat to people  animals escaped from the zoo. It feels forceful homage to Godzilla. Also there is one of the cringiest scenes in entire franchise with Kelly (little girl) doing acrobatics to kick velociraptor out of the window. So Spielberg's obsession's with kid heroes & his inflated ego to make a homage to Godzilla at third act drags the movie down.

With all that said, Spielberg's talent shows itself in island scenes. He doesn't use big action scenes or big CGI fights but rely on thrilling scenes like first one. Tyrannosaur parents, the tent scene , Eddie's death, compy's revenge, long grass scenes are all great and it feels a lot more dangerous compared what we have nowadays.

I read Michael Crichton's The Lost World book many years ago , i don't remember much other than i liked it a lot more than the movie itself. I wish Spielberg stick to the book like original instead doing his own thing this time.

JP  > TLW > JPIII. Only thing i like about Jurassic World series that they don't use "Park" on title.

[Jose S.M.]

I can think of lots of scenes in the World movies that I dislike more then the gymnastics one, specially in Fallen Kingdom. I think the issue with the gymnastics scene is that's dragged out, it could be better if the kick was like a surprise for the raptor while it was still focused on Ian instead of Kelly calling its attention, we didn't need to see Kelly doing that much swings either.

[Giganotosaurus]

I love The Lost World! I really enjoy the San Diego scenes especially. I never got upset about the gymnastics scene, although I felt bad for the impaled raptor! My one complaint for the movie is that we didn't get a new big carnivore. I really wish the Carnotaurus's from The Lost World book had made it into the film.

[DinoToyForum]

I love The Lost World! I really enjoy the San Diego scenes especially. I never got upset about the gymnastics scene, although I felt bad for the impaled raptor! My one complaint for the movie is that we didn't get a new big carnivore. I really wish the Carnotaurus's from The Lost World book had made it into the film.

The Carnotaurus would have been a good addition to the film.

There's also a horrifying part in the book where the T. rex captures one of the characters and carries them around in its mouth for some time, seriously injured but still alive. It turns out the dinosaur is keeping the prey alive to teach and feed its babies later. This is alluded to at the end of the film version, where Ludlow gets it. The idea of a person being kept alive inside a T. rex's jaws is probably too grotesque for a PG movie, but would be a weighty and memorable scene if they had dared. I wonder if it might be something we see in a future film.

[DavidJamesArmsby]

The Lost World is the best sequel in my opinion too. It's a Steven Spielberg movie, so it wins by default.
I love a lot about this movie, but my favourite thing about it is how the dinosaurs act more like believable animals than ever. There's just a lot more time given to how the animals behave, react, and live in this film. Lots of talk of game trails, parental instincts, ect. And also legitimate concern about the expanding territory of the T. Rexes, and how they've reacted to the actions of the human invaders. None of the dinosaurs are just being scary monsters for no reason, which makes the danger feel 100x more believable than anything in the Jurassic World movies. Made more believable by the use of all the amazing Stan Winston animatronics.
That (wireless?) baby T. Rex animatronic is, to this day, the most believable practical effect I've ever seen in any film. I swear it's just a real animal! XD

My biggest issue with the film is how the Velociraptors are treated. Not just the gymnastics scene, but the whole Velociraptor segment. Besides the "long-grass" part, the Velociraptor segment is shockingly uninspired and pointless. Especially compared to all the cool stuff they get to do later in JP3.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

I never understood the negativity toward TLW. I always thought it was a great follow-up to the original that expanded on the lore and kept the same tone and feel. I wouldn't say it's better than the original, but for me it stands out as the best sequel.

[Torvosaurus]

As a movie critic, I could rip TLW apart. As a fan, it's not half bad. The dinosaur in San Diego was partially a tribute to Godzilla, with Spielberg having the Japanese businessmen running down the street as part of that tribute.

TLW is nothing like the book, straying from the book farther than Jurassic Park did, though. The first dinosaurs that could change color were in the book, and the movies didn't add that until Jurassic World (and made it a hybrid to boot). I just read both novels again a couple of months ago, so I do remember it quite well, at least until another few years have passed. IMO, TLW really would have been better off with a different title. I think fewer fans of the books would be less harsh on it if it wasn't called TLW.

Torvo

[DinoToyForum]

As a movie critic, I could rip TLW apart. As a fan, it's not half bad. The dinosaur in San Diego was partially a tribute to Godzilla, with Spielberg having the Japanese businessmen running down the street as part of that tribute.

TLW is nothing like the book, straying from the book farther than Jurassic Park did, though. The first dinosaurs that could change color were in the book, and the movies didn't add that until Jurassic World (and made it a hybrid to boot). I just read both novels again a couple of months ago, so I do remember it quite well, at least until another few years have passed. IMO, TLW really would have been better off with a different title. I think fewer fans of the books would be less harsh on it if it wasn't called TLW.

Torvo

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a terrible name for the movie. It doesn't even make sense, I could never understand why it wasn't Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World.

[Dilopho]

I can think of lots of scenes in the World movies that I dislike more then the gymnastics one, specially in Fallen Kingdom. I think the issue with the gymnastics scene is that's dragged out, it could be better if the kick was like a surprise for the raptor while it was still focused on Ian instead of Kelly calling its attention, we didn't need to see Kelly doing that much swings either.

Yes, the raptor even does a cartoonishly shocked reaction to her!
I love this film so much but that scene has always been a bit awkwardly done in terms of the execution.

[Gwangi]

I've always said that TLW has the illusion of being a good movie, thanks to Spielberg's directing. And the special effects and behavior of the dinosaurs are also to be commended. It's the writing that bothers me. I'm afraid that Rebirth will be similar. A good director working with a crappy screenplay, that's also written by David Koepp.

Scenes like the T. rex trailer attack and the roundup are a lot of fun, and tense. But then you have Sarah Harding man-handling a baby Stegosaurus only to, IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE, lecture Nick Van Owen about "observation without interference". It makes me hate a character that I should love, through no fault of Julianne Moore, a great actress. Then she wears a baby T. rex blood soaked jacket around after a lengthy discussion about the dinosaur's scenting capabilities. That leads to the T. rex in the camp scene, a great scene that only works by sacrificing the intelligence of one of its leads. And then you have the boat crashing, littered with dead bodies, with the T. rex still in the cargo hold! And the "heroes" of the film are the literal bad guys, sacrificing untold human lives to save dinosaurs! The Lost World is quite possibly the most frustrating film in the franchise because it takes itself so seriously that it makes aspects like that harder to stomach. I can deal with the goofiness of Chris Pratt rolling away from lava because those movies are not as serious and I don't take them as seriously. If I had hair, the Lost World would make me pull it out.

EDIT: I do want to add that even though I prefer Jurassic World over TLW I think JW has the worst dinosaurs in the franchise. Oddly enough, some of my favorite dinosaur designs come from JP3 and Dominion, the movies I dislike the most. 

[Joliezac]

Honestly even as a kid TLW was easily my least favorite of the three movies. I love 3 and 1 so much, probably liked 3 more as a kid honestly..

TLW has some excellent scenes in it, the bull rex family pushing the trailer off the cliff, raptors in the tall grass, and the roundup. However I never cared for any of the characters. Even as a kid I found the Rex running around San Diego really cheesy and it kinda ruined the movie for me. I probably have only seen it a handful of times.

[Pliosaurking]

The first movie is great. The lost world I'd say is the best sequel. I always liked Jp 3 cause the dinosaurs, but I don't believe it's a fantastic movie. First Jw I liked the others not really at all.
JP, LW, JP3, Jw, I don't really know after that maybe Dominion? Then fallen kingdom.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Something memorable about TLW as far as I can recall, was that it went really hard on the promotions/advertsiing/merchandising. JP had a lot of stuff but as a I recall TLW was everywhere in everything.

Also as far as feel or looks go, the setting sun behind the palms was easily a JP feel, but TLW was deep dark jungle. I'll always associate those with the films.  JP3 didn't do as much for me like that. Maybe the aviary when I see huge rotting cage like structures lol