The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Universal Pictures | Release Date: May 23, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireIan Nathan
There was no way, no matter how much Spielberg flounce was imbued in this sprightly sequel, that it was going to be as good as the original. It isn't. By a long shot. But even two thirds of the way toward Jurassic Park is about a third better than your average buster of blocks. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The Lost World (unlike Spielberg's original film) leaps head first into the action, rushing, it seems, to get the film's real stars -- the dinosaurs -- to the screen as quickly as possible, and it does so with considerable verve. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Much of this movie seems like a retread of Jurassic Park (with a little King Kong thrown in at the end), not because director Steven Spielberg is intentionally copying himself, but because there's really not much more that he can do with the premise. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The story (adapted by Spielberg and David Koepp from Michael Chrichton's "Lost World") isn't much better than "Jurassic Park." And the predictability factor is high. Read full review
70
Washington PostStephen Hunter
For the first half-hour, the movie is pretty crummy. Even Spielberg appears bored with the script's lame setup, its quick evocation of the first movie and its wan establishment of human villains and heroes. Like any 50-year-old adolescent, he can't wait for the dinosaurs. And when he gets to them, the movie ceases to bear any relationship to conceits of narrative and becomes a sheer adrenalin spike to the brain stem. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It's not just that we've been there before but also that Steven Spielberg and his associates simply haven't been able to imagine as many flat-out scary moments this time around. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverPeter Rainer
The Lost World is a smoother, scarier ride than its predecessor, with twice as many dinosaurs twice as well designed eating twice as many people...But he's not particularly playful with his terrors here, and that's a disappointment coming from a filmmaker who can mix scares and laughs the way no one else ever has. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Where the original film was a cut-and-dried Pop-Art-flavored allegory pitting scientific hubris against the unpredictable, ungovernable forces of nature, the sequel is an all-stops-pulled, edge-of-your-seat adventure film whose messages are not so neatly packaged. Read full review
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
It would be imprecise to say that the thrill is gone, because The Lost World recovers from its turgid opening and comes to life, or does so in spasms. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Although the digital dinos look great, especially the clumsy stegosaurs, Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp have failed to absorb the single most important lesson from the movies they've looted: If your people aren't interesting, at least make your monsters memorable. Read full review
60
NewsweekJack Kroll
For all the enhanced ingenuity of the special effects in The Lost World, the element of surprise and originality (the idea of cloning dinosaurs from fossilized DNA) is no longer present. And screenwriter David Koepp (the movie is very loosely based on Michael Crichton's sequel to his novel "Jurassic Park") has come up with a pretty conventional story line. Read full review
60
VarietyLeonard Klady
David Koepp's script, from the Michael Crichton novel, is schematic and largely predictable. There's an obvious threat and not too many ways to quell it. Underneath the technical virtuosity is a standard chase film, and director Steven Spielberg does little to elevate it dramatically. Read full review
60
Film ThreatTom Meek
It's technologically more advanced, far more thrilling and there's infinitely more dinos per minute. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Steven Spielberg's blockbuster whips up superficial sorts of excitement, and unlike the original "Jurassic Park," the picture looks tacky around the edges. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Steven Spielberg, a gifted filmmaker, should have reimagined the material, should have seen it through the eyes of someone looking at dinosaurs, rather than through the eyes of someone looking at a box-office sequel. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The biggest sequel of the summer has more dinosaurs, better special effects and more action than the original... But the inspiration is gone, and with it most of the fun. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
The thrill is most certainly not in the script by David Koepp, written from Michael Crichton's novel....Most of the writing is the blandest sort of twaddle, jokes you can practically recite along with actors. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderBill Stamets
Among the movie's many flaws are lackluster cinematography and leaden sound design. The Lost World also includes irritating little missteps in the plot. Read full review
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