Le Monde perdu : Jurassic Park

Il faut prendre en compte le fait que Steven Spielberg ne voulait pas répéter le premier "Jurassic Park", mais voulait filmer un sujet beaucoup plus sombre d'Arthur Conan Doyle. Malgré ses 130 minutes, le film est intensément actif et aventureux, et dans le dernier quart, il propose un hamburger royal. Et la scène du camion au-dessus du précipice me coupe toujours le souffle. Une diversion hollywoodienne parfaitement réalisée sur le plan technique et revêtue d'une prise de recul, qui ne heurte même pas votre intellect. (02/11/2003)

Spielberg does what he can, but even that is too little for the dumbness of the screenplay. The main thing here is a herd of dinosaurs made of ones and zeros. It’s almost as if this picture has nothing else to offer; and, in fact, that’s true. Apart from three memorable scenes and a herd of unlikeable characters whose slow and painful death is your heart’s desire. Which is a bit too little when compared to episode one. And while the part on the island is at least of watchable quality, the pastiche wannabe Godzilla sequence is unbearable; even in spite of the elephant dose of tongue in cheek. (29/04/2005)

The original Jurassic Park has matured into an absolute classic and even the sequel that I originally hated eventually blossomed into a tolerable adventure. Although I still dislike all the selfish-military actions and the final party with Godzilla bothers me greatly, the pleasant, nature-loving message stands out even more. I have finally made peace with The Lost World, but I could easily do without its existence. (02/07/2005)

In terms of special effects, The Lost World is much more sophisticated than the first Jurassic Park. Spielberg took advantage of all available technology to be able to film a spectacular sequel to the more than excellent part one. You can see that he embarked on this project not to create a copy of the first Park, but something completely different, something new. And he did a good job. An new island, more species (as a dinosaur lover I was overjoyed), a different team (just Ian Malcolm played by Jeff Goldblum remained from the original movie). Although he has changed a lot since the events of part one, but his lines are just as snappy. I have three favorites :). One: “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle." Two: “It’s so important to your future that you do not finish that sentence." Three: "Taking dinosaurs off this island is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas." I just loved that when I was little. Despite all of its good points and lots of excellent scenes (hunting dinosaurs, the scene in the bus, the Tyrannosaurus attack on the camp, the Velociraptors, the finale in San Diego), The Lost World wasn’t as well-received as you might expect. Not that it didn’t pay for itself, but neither the public or the critics were satisfied. What mattered to me was how the finale was somehow disjointed from the rest of the movie - the move from the island to the city was too fast. Nonetheless, The Lost World: Jurassic Park is certainly worth watching. (24/07/2006)

Unfortunately, it is nowhere near as harmonious, likeable, and pleasantly adventurous as the first film. Technically, it’s flawless, but that's not enough. Spielberg seems to be floundering and doesn't know where to go, which is a rather shameful deficiency for a director of his caliber. There is an abundance of clichés, and to make matters worse, we have another downpour in key scenes, as if by coincidence. Jeff Goldblum is a fine and sober hero, with a few original lines, but undoubtedly the second greatest beast is the amazing Pete Postlethwaite. There is humour at every turn and sometimes it seems a bit inconsistent in relation to the action on the screen, which the filmmakers obviously didn't worry too much about. Spielberg's most lucrative film, impressive pretty much only thanks to its technical flair and bombast. Unfortunately, these two attributes are so abundant that I cannot rate it higher than 4*. (16/06/2006)

Sure, the magic of the first Jurassic Park is missing here, but it's important to remember that this is a completely different film. Thriller-ish, darker, blacker, even slightly self-parodic towards the end. But all the time it's a typically playful Spielberg movie, which I finish watching every time, wherever and whenever I see it. (19/09/2007)

A flawlessly narrated action film. (21/02/2018)

Il faut que j’aime vraiment beaucoup ma compagne pour m’embarquer pour la deuxième fois dans un pénible voyage de deux heures au pays des brontosaures, tyrannosaures, raptors et autres créatures du genre, alors que ce n’est vraiment – mais alors vraiment – pas ma tasse de thé ! Reconnaissons quand même que l'ennui et la souffrance ont été atténués par rapport au film original grâce à la surabondance d'action et à quelque suspense çà et là. Un bonus agréable pour moi était la présence de mon cher Vince Vaughn. Et cette dernière demi-heure, ne serait-ce pas un peu trop inspiré de King Kong ?! Verdict : deux étoiles et demie. Mais comme j'ai été bon prince pour d'autres films ces derniers temps, je vais l'être aussi pour celui-ci et arrondir vers le haut. (10/04/2020)

A blockbuster attraction, where digital effects were meant to play the main role, a breathtaking one at that. However, it was films like this one or Emmerich's Godzilla that made some people squirm and wonder if filmmaking might not also be about adapting to some limits. With them, the crew has to work with some pacing, shooting angles, editing; in short, things that are supposed to convince the viewer that the man in the piece of rubber is supposed to arouse some kind of experience in them. With CGI that can depict everything, you just, uh... depict everything. A tyrannosaurus eats a car on a street full of people? Here you go. A tanker has to drive full speed into a harbor? Here you go, head-on frontal view. Schwarzenegger playing King Lear? No problem. All straight-faced, no hiding, and you kind of watch it and wonder if they were truly serious when they made Jeff Goldblum the main character and gave him a daughter whose only active role in the film is to swing from a pole. (13/01/2022)

In "Jurassic Park," there are things that bother me, but I overlook them because the film is visually stunning. In "The Lost World," there are so many mistakes, plot holes, logical absurdities, and scenes just for the sake of effects that they cannot be overlooked anymore. It's a bad story with a crazy ending that should be cut out entirely. The film should be an hour and a half, end on the island, and that would be enough. This wannabe King Kong ending is a flop. (11/04/2015)