The Lost World: Jurassic Park

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Nastier beasts. Nastier people.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie is not for sensitive kids. Viewers will see plenty of nail-biting chase sequences, several of which culminate in deaths. The violence goes both ways: the humans hunt the dinosaurs while the beasts devour the humans. The human body count is high -- and includes the death of good, bad, and simply unfortunate characters. After some particularly nasty killings, water runs red with blood. A character is picked up, tossed about, and then eaten by two T-Rexes. Terrified characters may make for some terrified viewers. Suspenseful scenes of the hunted kids are particularly intense. And while the genetic theory content is thought provoking, it is mostly science fiction; viewers do learn interesting facts about dinosaurs and get an introduction to chaos theory.

  • Not applicable.
  • The big game hunting and abuse of the dinosaurs is traumatic -- a baby dinosaur's leg is broken. Plenty of nail-biting chase sequences, several of which culminate in deaths. Some gruesomely depicted killings. A character is picked up, tossed about, and then eaten by two T-Rexes
  • Not applicable.

What's the story?

In The Lost World, hunters come to poach a dinosaur and bring it to the mainland for a theme park. When Malcolm's (Jeff Goldblum) team rescues the injured baby T-Rex, the angry parents go on a rampage. The group becomes a moveable feast as it tries to escape from the island. The group is rescued, only to discover that the corporation planning the theme park has returned a live T-Rex to the mainland. Mayhem ensues when the dinosaur escapes into downtown Los Angeles, and Tyrannosaurus Rex is front and center. Its attacks on the armored trailer and on the city of Los Angeles are the action highlights of the movie; the enormous heads in the trailer window are especially thrilling.


Is it any good?

 

THE LOST WORLD has better dinosaurs, and chase sequences that are just as intense as they were in Jurassic Park. Teenagers will more than likely love the thrills and the magnificent beasts.

But lack of character development, disjointed editing, and unnecessarily gruesome deaths somewhat lessen the movies' appeal. And, this is a much nastier movie than Jurassic Park. Dr. Hammond was simply naive and misguided in the original; here, the capitalist forces are utterly immoral. And if the first movie featured several upsetting deaths, nothing is as gruesome as the munching of kind-hearted Eddy -- the graphic deaths feel gratuitous.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about sequels. In horror movies, the body count is higher the next time around. Why is this movie so much more gruesome than Jurassic Park? Is this simply an easy way to pump up the action (instead of working on a more compelling script, for example) -- or can you think of another reason?


This review was written by Randy White
Parent of 15 year old
April 9, 2008
 
A Tired and Overhyped Sequel...Amazing Visual Effects, but that's about it.
JURASSIC PARK was a phenomenon. It broke through many film boundaries, in both visual effects and story. Audiences and critics adored it. You can't really say as much for the sequel, THE LOST WORLD. Spielberg tries. He really tries, and he deserves some credit. But this film falls flat on its face. Pros: Stunning visual effects. The dinos look even better than in the first. Also, there's an awesome suspense sequence about 30 minutes into the film, with the characters suspended over a cliff in a car. Cons: Weak, weak, and weak. This film hardly has a story. The first Jurassic Park film was focused on making people believe in the characters and the circumstances, then using the visuals to scare them. THE LOST WORLD is nonstop violence and dino action. The effects are enticing at first, then it just gets old. The film takes a turn for Godzilla at the end with a h*-hum climax that places a T-rex in San Francisco. The violence is alarming. While not too gory, it's constant and realistic. Language is moderate, but, thankfully, there's no sex. Pass this sequel. You might try it if you're a die-hard fan, but I don't reccommend it.

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Teen, 14 years old
January 27, 2011
 
One day I got eaten by a dinosaur.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
First ones better!

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Parent of 18 year old
June 3, 2011
 
its ok but not as good as the first one
the lost world doesn't have much of a story to it this time around. parents also need to know that the lost world is a bit more violent than the first one and the language is a bit more strong but not explicit.

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Parent of 7, 18, and 20 year old
May 31, 2011
 
Enjoyable for our family.......even more enjoyable to an 8 yr old boy!
My 8 year old has nightmares pretty conisistently and it was a tough decision to let him watch this. However, after his excitment learning about dinasours in class and watching all we can on the internet, I felt that he was ready to watch the first Jurassic Park movie with the family. He loved it and didn't have any issues for weeks so we decided that it would be fine to watch this sequel since it is very similiar to the first - dinasours aren't real anymore, this is just a movie, and it can be fun to be scared during movies that portray someone's wild imagination. For us, this was the right decision...he loved it and had no problems after! Now on to the 3rd!

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Kid, 12 years old
September 16, 2010
 
amazing movie completly outstanding

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Kid, 13 years old
July 27, 2010
 
A super thrilling movie for fans of the series!
This was a very violent movie that consisted of dinosaurs killing people. It was a very long movie and had great special effects. Teens will enjoy this movie more than anyone else.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Fairly Bad Sequel
If I had the choice, I would have given the Lost World two and a half stars. It wasn't a horrible movie. It had some great suspenseful scenes and the dinosaurs were still cool. But the incredibly stupid characters do dumb things and Steven Spielberg tries to see if we care, and it is stupidly gruesome. The filmmakers forgot how to make real suspense, so resorted to pointless violence. And the ending is super cheesy. Really bad when compared to the original. Good for kids 11+

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Kid, 13 years old
June 15, 2010
 
not as good as the first
not as good as the first one but still pretty good like i said in my jarasstic park1 review its scary for younger kids well this one isent that scary and the cgi really was a down fall in this one plus i feel that the actors did not try to be good in there acting on ages 9 and up

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Teen, 15 years old
June 7, 2009
 
i love jurassic park!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great movie a little more violence then the first but if you have seen the first an was not freeked out then you should be ok i love this movie soooooooooooooo much supergirl2012

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This review was written by Randy White
Topics:dinosaurs
Studio:Universal Pictures
Director:Steven Spielberg
Cast:Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn
Genre:Action/Adventure
Run time:137 minutes
Theatrical release date:May 23, 1997
DVD release date:October 10, 2000
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:intense sci-fi terror and violence

This review was written by Randy White
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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