Land Of The Lost - The Movie!

I wrote the review below soon after the lamentable movie Land of the Lost was released in theaters way back in 2009. As you will see, I didn't much like the movie then. After taking a look at that old review, I'll give you my more modern opinion of this TV adaptation.  

Like many, I have an abiding affection for the original TV series. It was at once charming, smart, and compelling TV. The kids learned to act (a bit) before our very eyes, and the special effects were just good enough to keep it all buzzing. The first season is a wonder of intelligent design, a remarkable TV show that seemed to know where it was going. In the 70's a most novel notion. The second and third seasons lose a bit of the magic, especially the more fantasy-driven third season, but still the elusive charm clings. It doesn't cling to the modern movie remake. 

I finally got around to seeing at the discount cinema yesterday. My daughter and I went (she's an adult who hasn't seen a single episode, so you can imagine her confusion right away) and it began well enough. The problem is an obvious one. Will Farrell can be hilarious, but he's woefully miscast in this movie as Rick Marshall, a scientist belittled for his theories of time travel. A beautiful grad student named Holly comes to him and lures him to follow his dream and they meet a goof named Will and soon find themselves in the "Land of the Lost", a time garbage disposal of sorts that seems to be especially locked in on Earth. 

The science is garbled and difficult to decipher, so it fails on that front. The special effects are neatly done, though really great dinosaurs aren't the wonder to see they were even a decade ago. The Sleestak are fun though not as scary as I expected. All of that would be okay if the movie didn't just grind to a halt from time to time as Farrell does some of his shtick. This is truly a movie that fights itself. Maybe they needed a big Hollywood star to get it made. I understand that and all, but treating this stuff in parody doesn't really succeed. The fanboys like me see the stuff they need, but then see it handled quite roughly in places. The new viewers must be mystified. My daughter was. 

It's a movie that's neither fish nor fowl. It's a comedy that is sometimes funny, though often with unfortunate costs to the tone and feel of the adventure. And it's an adventure flick that lacks the most essential element of such tales, dramatic tension. There's really no sense of danger to lead characters, as they blunder around an illogical mishmash environment. Land of the Lost is a really disappointing movie, and it's no wonder that it bombed. Stay away, unless you're morbidly curious like me. 

That was then. What about now? 

My negative opinion has softened over the years. Watching this film again a few weeks ago, I was struck so much by my shock and dismay at it's approach to material I hold dear, but rather just how funny it was in many of its scenes. I'm still convinced that some scenes go too far, and those seem to be the ones in which the actors are let go to improvise, but the overall tone of humor is more comfortable to me. I detected more a sense of adventure that I'd recollected and that was heartening. It's still not the Land of the Lost movie I'd have made but it is one that has its redeeming aspects. Wouldn't mind one that tries it again sometime, without the gags. But I dobut that will ever be. 

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