Hollywood sure went sci-fi remake crazy after CGI hit the scene, didn't it? The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Planet of the Apes: All classic science fiction films from the 50s and 60s that have earned remakes in the past ten years. Among the earlier CG-heavy sci-fi remakes is Lost in Space, the 1998 film recreating the universe of the 1960s TV show of the same name.
Now Lost in Space is available on Blu-ray!
Professor John Robinson (William Hurt) is humanity's last, best hope for survival. Earth's pollution is too much for technology to clean up, and the only way to sustain the human population is to start colonization of a the only other world deemed suitable for human population: Alpha Prime. In order for that to happen, Professor Robinson and his family are going to put themselves in cryogenic hibernation and cross the void the slow way so that Robinson can construct a hyperdrive gate on Alpha Prime and humanity can go back and forth instantly. Things go awry when terrorists bribe Doctor Zachary Smith (Gary Oldman) to sabotage the mission. The terrorists double cross Smith, navigational errors occur and everybody ends up LOST IN SPACE (and also time).
The CGI in this film is goofy, and feels like a lot of it is there just because it is possible, but it is kind of cool. All of the designs for the various spacecraft and technology that define Earth's future is also really slick, if barely used. What can I say, I like the Bubble Fighters. The film is marked by several action sequences, and the plot moves along quite nicely.
Unfortunately, the narrative itself isn't much to speak of. Lost in Space feels like an extended pilot episode for a new series: a lot of interesting subplots are established, but aren't able to get enough screen time to fully flesh out the characters involved. The central story line isn't very strong either, like the family's spacecraft, the Jupiter 2, the story kind of wanders around without direction, trying to figure out where exactly it is going. Eventually it gets somewhere involving inconsistent time anomalies, and most of the central action is resolved, but aside from an exciting and poorly conceptualized finale (Let's have them fly THROUGH THE PLANET! Am I right? Anybody?), there is very little payoff.
Despite the excellent cast, the actors never seem comfortable in their roles. Well, Gary Oldman can play a sci-fi villain any day of the week, Dick Tufeld is iconic as the voice of the robot, and cheesy acting fits Matt LeBlanc as well as his spacesuit. But William Hurt just doesn't fit in the world of the future, and Mimi Rogers and Heather Graham are playing characters that never really get the chance to display anything resembling acting. The two younger Robinson children, Will and Penny (played by Jack Johnson and Lacey Chabert) do a fine job in their parts, but those characters are written to emphasize a particular brand of 90s "attitude" which theoretically was in style at the time, but now seems stilted.
The disk is loaded with special features: commentary from director Stephen Hopkins and Writer/Producer Akiva Goldman, a separate commentary track for the Visual Effects supervisor, the Visual Effects producer, the cinematographer, the editor and a producer. There is also an examination of the development of the special effects, a music video for the Lost in Space theme song, a series of deleted scenes that hint at a more robust time traveling sequence near the end, including some scenes that involve the women actually doing something, a theatrical trailer, a short look at some possibilities for the future of space travel, and a Q and A session with some of the original cast members of the Lost in Space TV show who ended up in cameo roles in the remake.
Lost in Space isn't a science fiction masterpiece. It won't win any awards for acting. The CGI hasn't aged particularly well. Despite all this, the film serves as a wild ride through some fun concepts about the future. It has an excellent, if slightly out of place, cast, and a generous selection of special features serves as icing on the cake.
ComicsOnline.com gives Lost in Space 3.5 out of 5 Bubble Fighters.
Get your copy of Lost in Space on Blu-ray at Amazon.
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