The sequel to the most successful film in history will disappoint many. Not because it isn’t good. It is. Not because the special effects aren’t spectacular. They are. And not because the film lacks excitement. It doesn’t. What will disappoint many about "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is that doesn’t expand on the possibilities explored by its predecessor. What we have instead is more of the same; too much old hat and not enough innovation.
It is four years after the catastrophe at John Hammond’s (Richard Attenborough) brainchild, a cloned dinosaur resort called Jurassic Park on an island in Costa Rica. He now reveals to Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who survived the deadly ordeal, that there was a second Costa Rican island where dinosaurs were allowed to intermingle and form their own ecosystem without the hand of man. Hammond is setting up a four-person party to go to site B to document this ecosystem for the benefit of investors and wishes Dr. Malcolm to be a part of it.
Although he refuses, Ian does decide to risk his neck on this lost world when he discovers that his girlfriend (Julianne Moore) is a member of the party, and the only one who is already on the island. Once there, and before he can radio for help, disaster, in the form of a family of T-Rex’s, inevitably strikes. Hammond’s nephew (Arliss Howard), who has wrested control of InGen from his uncle, also shows up on the island with a large party of hunters. His idea is to capture a few choice specimens and bring them back to San Diego to put on display. At times they help and hinder Dr. Malcolm’s party, but with so much danger lurking anywhere, can any of them survive?
Following the Michael Crichton book almost not at all, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is darker and less humorous than the original. Few new species of dinosaurs are glimpsed, and a favorite from the first movie, velociraptors, are given short shrift. Although the film only has one good scare, it still manages to be suspenseful. I get the feeling, though, that Spielberg’s heart just wasn’t in this one as much as in the other. It’s disappointingly good, because it's only good, not great.