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| Home: Reader Reviews - Lost in Space |
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![]() Looking for more opinions? Check out our Featured Movie Reviews for Lost in Space. Please Note: Reader Reviews are submitted by the readers of The BigScreen Cinema Guide and represent their own personal opinions regarding this movie, and do not represent the views of The BigScreen Cinema Guide, or any of its associated entities.
First of all, a disclaimer... I have never seen the <A HREF="http://us.imdb.com/Title?%22Lost+in+Space%22+(1965)">original TV series</A>. The only thing I knew about it before going to see this movie was that the TV series was "campy" and it had a robot in it that kept going, "Danger, Will Robinson". So, with that said, on with the review... Despite the poor casting of Matt LeBlanc as Major West, "Lost in Space" is an exceptional film. Fans of the original series should enjoy it. I loved this movie! It was exactly what I would expect from a big screen version of one of my favorite childhood TV shows. Great special effects, great sets, great ideas, loads of fun. If you're looking for a serious sci-fi, then go rent Contact, but if you are just looking for a fun movie experience, then go see Lost in Space Well, I've been having a bad week, so I thought going to a movie that would numb my mind for a couple hours would be good therapy. (a bit like a legal drug...) I was right. This is NOT high art. By any standard. However, I was, for the most part, entertained by it. All of the space F/X were great. The script, even though it was fairly clunky, had some good lines, especially the bickering between Will and Penny. And Gary Oldman, as the bad guy, was of course great. (you know what would be worth seeing? Both Gary Oldman AND Tim Curry as villians in the same movie...) It does have some problems. About 2/3 of the way through, the entire tone of the movie seems to change, and it introduces a REALLY whacked-out plot involving time travel. I don't know how much this will irritate other people, but it got to me -- I'm brutal on time travel moviesbooks. Up until then, I was having great fun. It still wasn't bad, I just had my disbelief brutally dissuspended. Also, while the space F/X were incredible, the CHARACTER graphics were not. Slork or whatever the little space-monkey thing is named was NEVER integrated into the movie. He looked like a cartoon that had been pasted onto the film at the last minute - a rush job? (and for that matter, he had no purpose at all except to look cute) Ditto for the bad aliens, but Stephen Hopkins is a good enough action scene director that I really found myself not caring the monsters looked kinda fake. Oh, and Bruce Boughton has a great score. (which, unfortunately, is ruined on the soundtrack release) Overall, I give it a "good" primarily because it IS fun, in a campy kind of way, and because the space effects (of which there are a lot) will REALLY lose out on the small screen. However, you wouldn't miss much if you waited and caught it at a second-run theatre. This was an excellent movie. Fast paced and energetic, it kept the attention of myself, my eleven year old and my fifteen year old. This picture followed the basis of the old series fairly well, without the camp. The special effects are spectacular, and altho it could use a little more character development, this is a movie with a finite period of time to use. Hopefully, like the Star Trek movies, there will be many more Lost in Space episodes to follow. First of all, in response to what some other critics have written about Lost In Space...No SciFi or Action/Adventure movie of this caliber should ever be recommended to be seen, for the first time, on someone's TV set in an acoustically poor living room. This is meant for big screen THX digital sound, hands down!! Secondly, no one should review this movie if they weren't a fan of the TV show. Some aspects that people might think were out of place, were done to tie to the TV show (like the Blawp which was the 90's Bloop, Penny's Debbie in the TV show). I was a big fan of the TV show as a kid, and was looking forward to this movie ever since I heard it was being made. I wasn't disappointed. The movie centers around the Robinson family just before and during their journey to a distant star system to setup another planet as the next earth. Problems occur and they end up lost in space. So, what makes this movie worth seeing??!!Many things. The adult actors are experienced and top notch. I think they adapted the story very well from the original TV show, into a mid 21st century setting. I liked how Major West was set into the mission. I thought Gary Oldman was a perfect Dr. Smith. And Penny was funny as a reluctant mission member. The way they got lost in deep space was much more believable than in the TV show. Sound effects throughout were well done. Visual effects were non-stop, and generally very good. Special kudos go to the designers of the interior of the Jupiter 2, it has to be seen to be believed. Costumes were cool, and the robot was so complex it deserved more screen time to fully appreciate the work they put into it. Some clever futuristic gadgets appear in the movie, too. I think young girls will get a kick out of the Penny character, and older boys will identify with Major West. Like almost every movie, there were things that weren't perfect or could have been done better. The alien spiders and the Blawp were too fake. Wil's 'genius' could have been used more. John and Maureen were a little boring. And the way the ship left the planet in the end, was a little hard to swallow. But, barring a few minor plot & character flaws, this was a fun, visually stimulating adventure for fans and non-fans of the TV show, alike. We have been starved, recently, for a good SciFi movie, and Lost In Space satisfies the appetite very well at this time. Go see it, and enjoy the ride. Let's hope this will turn into a series that is much more exciting and fun than the Star Trek movie series. To be honest, I am a fan of Lost in Space, having watched the reruns in the afternoons of my childhood, but I was prepared for this to be a really bad remake. Other Lost in Space fans may shoot me, but the original series was poorly done even for it's time. It ran the gamut from greatness to some of the worst episodes imaginable. So, it was frightening to imagine all the directions this movie could go. Ever since my wife bought me a toy "B-9" Robot for our anniversary, I had wanted to see the newest incarnation of "Lost in Space." I'm bitter because I was just suckered again. But let me explain: Lost in Space is actually an interesting concept, literarily and sci-fi-wise; the effects were spectacular; William Hurt is an amazing actor (with a few great sci-fi movies under his belt - see Until the End of the World); Gary Oldman isn't so shabby either. And then we have Heather Graham. Did you see Drugstore Cowboy? Hmmm... but we digress. But as usual, there's a problem, and his name is Akiva Goldsman. This "Lost in Space" is a faithful updating of the black and white pilot to Irwin Allen's original TV series. That alone will make it both commendable to and enjoyable by all those who enjoyed the original, with the altruistic Robinson family mission jeoparised by the dastardly activity of a truly malevolent Dr Zachary Smith. This is truly a big screen, big sound system viewing experience, and it should be partaken of in the cinema. However, spectacle is not all that you get. Although the story itself is no X-file, the dialogue has some truly lyrical moments, with the producers allowing their tongues to stay firmly in their cheeks with features such as a homage to "The Waltons"--"Good night John...", and a flareburst that looks remarkably like the face of Daffy Duck. It's inevitable that viewers of the TV series will get the most from this film. Gary Oldman puts all of the original menace of Dr Smith into his characterisation, while William Hurt gives us a much better developed Professor John Robinson that the late Guy Williams was given scope for on the small screen. Matt LeBlanc gives us the full testosterone treatment as Major Don West, although his greatest achievement is in re-creating the "I'll kill Smith" ethos of TV without ever actually saying those words. The lead characters have strong support from Heather Graham and Lacey Chabert as Judy and Penny, and there are charming cameos for TV cast members June Lockhart, Mark Goodard, Marta Kristen and Angela Cartwright. And the "voice of the robot" is still the very distinctive Dick Tufeld. The inevitable star character is Will Robinson, ably played by Jack Johnson and Jared Harris. It's not giving away anything that Will's interventions save the Robinson family. Cinematically, interesting and convincing special effects sit well in gothic lighting and set design, which is complemented by an atmospheric score by Bruce Broughton (fear not though old friends, the Johnny Williams original theme is reprised for the end credits!).Above all, despite this being a TV cult spin-off movie with some very disturbing undertones (the Robinsons are looking for a way for humans to escape the despoiled planet Earth, after all), this is actually a fun movie for all comers, both initiate and ingenue. Go along, expect nothing and have fun. I personnally thought the movie was great! As did my wife and our best friends who joined us. I am a fan of the original series, but really only the first season black and white episodes. It seems as though it is geared towards Lost In Space Fans, but I think it will be enjoyed by just about anyone. It is a Sci-Fi, but it is also comical, and dramatic at times, which will draw an audience of various kinds. It is a movie I would have no problem taking my kids to see, (which seems to be very difficult to do anymore), but I would recommend for any age group. The special effects were fantastic, the new robot is awesome, the story, though based on the series' original pilot, was very good. I had my doubts before going, not knowing what to expect, but was very surprised at how much the people there were really liked it. Remember, it bumped titanic down to second place, only to assume that position itself, that kinda speaks for itself. The special effects are great, especially the opening space sequences. The story is pretty good. Some of the dialogue is predictable, especially between Judy Robinson and the pilot, Major Don West. Other than that, the movie is pretty well written, but I still can't figure out the purpose of the monkey/mouse hybrid thing they threw in there. I don't even remember the thing was called. This movie is watchable only for its visuals and great sound. Otherwise, it's a total waste of money -- both for the audience AND ESPECIALLY the producers. WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Lost in Space (1998). Dir: Stephen Hopkins. Starring William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers. "Lost In Space" is one of those kinds of movies that you can tell from looking at the poster that the movie already sucks. I feel bad for seeing a movie like this; it is so unoriginal and so contrived that at every moment, like the dismal "Men In Black", that I wanted to start talking back at the screen, criticizing it just like the man and the two androids on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (Rent one of their videos if you don't know what I mean) Although not what I expected, this movie is worth seeing with someone who also enjoys movies about Space, Time, and technology. I was rather impressed with the Special Effects in the movie...gave me a thrill to my ears; and, most importantly, to thank the Odeon for actually playing it in DTS formatinstead of the usual mono. The Story line is pretty self-explanitory to the movie title "Lost in Space".The Robinson family boards a vessel to embark on a mission to another world capable of supporting human life somewhere across the galaxy using their "Hyperdrive" (which for you trek fans, is equivilant to Warp 9.999999999975 How do I know that? well, at Maximum Warp in Star Trek, you still can't just fly through the Sun! It is a bit big to be reflected by the Warp Field!) A sabatour boards the vessel, and as you should know, messes things up pretty bad for the family, and causes the vessel to become lost somewhere in space. The only way back is to navigate to the new planet they originally were scheduled to arrive at. Combined with stunning effects, and a good DTS mix make this film, in my opinion well worth the money that went into it. True, Hollywood should not experiment around with classic television series, this one was made well in comparison... Yet another TV show turned into a movie, but not a bad one. This was an entertaining, action-packed, movie well directed by Stephen Hopkins. This movie also has a strong cast of characters and a souped up robot to contribute. I also noticed cameos from some of the characters from the original TV series in this movie. The movies only drawback is the script, which has some strong points in the first half, but falls behind in the last half in a confusing time travel plot. The characters in the script are well writen(except the Penny character), but the only character that resembles his original counterpart is Gary Oldman as Dr. Smith(go figure). The special effects add to the action scenes, but they aren't all that great in some scenes. For example, all the aliens are computerized and they aren't done that well, especially a monkey-like alien they find. If you get past the wierd ending, and that dumb monkey-alien, you should have a good time, but if you're somebody like Siskel and Ebert, don't waste your time. **3/4 out of **** This movie was good. I think the good guy was extremely hot. I wonder if he is available. Is it just me, or did someone else notice how many of the things happening in this movie, including the set, were borrowed from other movies? i.e. Event Horizon, Starship Troopers. Event Horizon: 1. Before zooming into outerspace, the crew get into individual glass compartments 2. they find a long eerie spaceship 3. When scanning for life readings, they get some very unusual readings 4. when the aliens are trying to get to them, they hammer on the metal door just like the evil in EH did. And didn't we see enough space spiders in Starship Troopers to satisfy us, without having Lost in Space ressurect them for another movie? Also, from a logical standpoint, this movie does not make the cut. At times, the crew are holding the evil Dr. Smith at gunpoint. At other times Dr. Smith is allowed to roam the ship creating havoc. Then, sometimes when the crew zooms into outerspace, they rest in glass bubbles. At other times, they are held in place with magnetic chairs. At the start of the movie, the evil Dr. Smith speaks in a normal tone of voice. Later in the movie when he is discovered aboard the spaceship, he develops the whiny accent somewhat like the Dr. Smith had in the original TV series. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this movie is about 45 minutes longer than I would have liked. A good movie like Titanic can be over 3 hours and still satisfy. A bad movie like LIS can seem too long after you pass the 90 minute mark. Lets just hope there's not a sequel. **1/2 out of ***** Overall unentertaining movie. Only engaging cast member was the little boy-genius. Heather Graham, William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Matt LeBlanc, and especially Gary Oldman all phone in their performances. The Party of Five girl is exceedingly annoying too. I never viewed one episode of the 1960 T.V serires Lost In Space, i only went to see the film because of Heather -HOT!- Grahm (and the special effects). The movie didn't turn out that bad, i was expecting a clone of The Power Rangers, what i got was the exact converse. While the the title speaks for the plot, the action and acting was quite good, I especially like it when the little Robinson bottakes control of the robot through a computer to battle out mechanical spiders in a hostile situation.This is fun Sci - Fi action. Very good movie if you like action and adventure. Great performance by Gary Oldman who plays Dr Smith. Oldman has a great knack for playing bad guys.
A 1998 remake of the old televison series which ran fromm 1965 to 1968 on CBS. Gary Oldman leads the cast of a space ship that got lost and must find it's way home. The cast is increidble and the special effects are wonderful. The film is loyal to the television series and that's a major plus. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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