Land of the Lost
Director: Brad Silberling
Cast: Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone, John Boylan
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Rated: PG
Review By:
Tom Herrmann
School:
Suny Purchase '11
Quote:
"When life gives you lemons, you clone those lemons and make super-lemons." -Clone High
Land of the Lost
Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com
Land of the Lost
So it has come down to this"¦ a Land of the Lost movie. It was only a matter of time with the popularity of remaking of retro-television into movies. This isn't always a bad thing, though, proven by Star Trek. The only problem is that for every Star Trek there is a Starsky and Hutch or Dukes of Hazard to bring the sub-genre down. Soon we will have to suffer through the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe; both of which I am nearly positive will break some sort of box office records as well as my spirit, but now I am just ranting.
To start with the incredibly obvious, Land of the Lost is based on the 1970's TV show of the same name, which has acquired mass cult status despite only running about three seasons. While the show revolved around Rick, Will and Holly Marshall, who were caught in an earthquake and sent to a land inhabited by people in latex suits, chroma key, stop animation, and puppetry special effects, this blockbuster remake is about Will Ferrell making himself look worse than he did in Blades of Glory but not as bad as Semi-Pro. This time around, Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is a paleontologist who believes in time travel, Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) is his trusting assistant, and Will Stanton (Danny R. McBride) is some guy who they met at a tourist trap. As shocking it as, while they are on a "routine expedition"Â they met "the greatest earthquake every known"Â sending them to the land of the lost.
One thing that was relieving about this was that it wasn't a serious reboot. It can work for Star Trek, but not for Land of the Lost; the series is just too cheesy. Fans of the series will probably enjoy the incredible amount of homage paid to the second best TV show about dinosaurs (the best, of course being Dinosaurs). The theme song was referenced numerous times, even to the point where Rick actually breaks out a banjo and sings it. The movie also made time for most of the important side characters like Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone), Enik (John Boylan), The Zam (Leonard Nimoy), as well as Grumpy and the rest of the sleestaks. Minor things were changed, like the three humans not being related to grant use of innuendo among other things, but nothing major has changed.
At this point in the review, it probably seems like Land of the Lost is an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half, but that is just not true. From the get-go, the movie's target audience isn't even clear. The humor at some points is clearly aimed at children but drastically changes back and forth like it has confidence issues. Even though it does have its moments,
For those who do go see it, it does pick up as it goes along, with an increase in action and laughable jokes. Watching Rick, Will and Cha-Ka sit around stoned was a nice touch that they actually worked in to the diegesis of the film quite well. Everything that happened in those scenes definitely made up for some of the fallbacks in the movie. No all of them, but some.
The jokes need some reworking, but most importantly the special effects have to be completely reworked. Instead of using the latest cutting-edge technology, they should’ve used the same technology that was used on the original series. Just imagine that for a while and try and convince yourself that wouldn't make a fantastic movie.
Most people won't leave the theater let down after this one, and those of you with higher standards in movies might not have the time of your life, but you will have a few laughs. The entire idea of rebooting old TV shows is not only getting old, but it is dying and the film industry should just pull the plug. I just hope it stays alive just long enough to squeeze out a rough-neck version of Power Rangers with more explosions than cuts and Zack and Trini being so racially charged that it becomes a borderline exploitation film.
Final Grade C
Synopsis:
Space-time vortexes suck.
Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in an alternate universe full of marauding dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world"”a place of spectacular sights and super-scaled comedy known as the Land of the Lost.
Sucked alongside him for the adventure are crack-smart research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride) named Will. Chased by T. rex and stalked by painfully slow reptiles known as Sleestaks, Marshall, Will and Holly must rely on their only ally"”a primate called Chaka (Jorma Taccone)"”to navigate out of the hybrid dimension. Escape from this routine expedition gone awry and they're heroes. Get stuck, and they'll be permanent refugees in the Land of the Lost.
Based on the classic television series created by Sid & Marty Krofft, Land of the Lost is directed by Brad Silberling and produced by Jimmy Miller and Sid & Marty Krofft.