Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)If you didn't see this wonderful Lost World minseries A&E did, buy the DVD or video. Or do like I did-buy it after having seen it on A&E. It was spectacular, by far the best film adaptation I have seen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. No, it doesn't stay true to the novel (face it, few films ever stay true to the novels they are based on), but the differences actually make the story enjoyable and interesting in its own right separate from the novel.
The changes from the novel include the following:
1) Professor Challenger-in the book, he is not at all a likeable character, and is not meant to be, but in the film, they made him more amenable, yet still kept much of his stubborness and self-righteousness. It was a good compromise for the purpose of viewer accetability of a main character.
2) Agnes Clooney-the female member of the team in the film was not in the novel, but is still a welcomed addition. She is a more liberated woman in some ways, but it isn't done over the top so she is beating up savages and shooting up things (she isn't Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and that type of character wouldn't have fit in this story). Rather, Agnes as a character does fit a woman living in her circumstances in that time.
4) The Demented Reverend-He wasn't in the book either, but I actually think he wasn't a very good addition. I'm kind of sick and tired of this cliched evil missionary character who kills in the name of the lord. Its been done to death. Thought, admittedly, Peter Faulk played this character very well, and did instill in him more soul and complexity than most of these evil missionary stereotypical characters get in most films.
One thing I really liked about this film was how it was an action/adventure story, but it also made you think about what was going on in the story. It had some really good things to say about man's interaction with nature, and preservation of the environment against exploitation. Challenger, towards the end of the film, makes a comment about science often not being accessible to the public at large without it being dressed up a bit as entertainment. This is exactly what this film does in some ways. It presents and entertaining, engrossing adventure, but also presents interesting scientific thoughts about ecology. Just what can happen when man starts mucking about and disturbing the balance of nature?
And the answer to that question wasn't entirely clear in one circumstance. The dispute between Challenger's point of view versus Lord Roxton's view on what to do with the Ape Men in the film. They were both right and both wrong from my view. This really points to the difficult balance between how much we should interfere in nature and how much we should just leave things alone.
I recommend this film very highly to anyone who loves the original novel, or action/adventure stories in general. This film continues A&E's record of excellence in creating film adaptations of classic stories.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Lost World (2002)
Before Jurassic Park, there was THE LOST WORLD.At the turn of the century, an expedition led by the brilliant and combative ProfessorGeorge Challenger sets out from London.It is bound for the Amazon, where dinosaursare rumored to survive on a forgotten plateau deep in the jungle.The adventurers findthat the stories are true, but the thrill of discovery is quickly overshadowed by a desperatestruggle for survival.With special effects from the award-winning production team behind the acclaimedWalking with Dinosaurs, THE LOST WORLD brings Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic taleto life like never before.Bob Hoskins (Nixon, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) stars asProfessor Challenger, and the exceptional supporting cast includes Peter Falk (Columbo)and Tom Ward (Quills).
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