Review of Lost World, The: Jurassic Park DTS

Introduction

Despite having been a big fan of Jurassic Park, somehow I managed to miss The Lost World at the cinema. Consequently the first time that I saw the movie was on VHS in Dolby Pro-logic, which may go someway to explain why it disappointed me.

However, when it was announced that both films were to be released on DVD with a DTS soundtrack, I decided that it was daft only having the first one, so bought both.

Video

Like Jurassic Park, the video is transferred in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is as you would expect excellent throughout.

The dinosaurs in The Lost World are even better than the first film, and there are so many more of them - and they look very good indeed.

There is a real polish to the locations, effect and details, which is highlighted beautifully by the DVD.

Audio

I`ve heard that some people are whinging about an apparent lack of bass on the DTS versions of Jurassic Park and The Lost World. Must be their setup - my house shakes when the T-Rex is on the prowl and the range and quality of the sound is of an exceptional standard throughout.

The atmosphere created by the DTS mix really adds an extra level of enjoyment - in the jungle for example you are surrounded with noises, rustling leaves, creatures etc and there are dinosaurs moving around the room!

Features

Like the first film, another good spread of extras, including a making of, trailers (well, trailers for the first two and a teaser for the forthcoming third), dinosaur encyclopedia, production notes, cast and filmakers info and DVD-ROM content promising web events.

Sadly, a commentary is again missing.

The menus are again well presented and most importantly easy to navigate.

Conclusion

The Lost World really is a quite different film from Jurassic Park.

The first film is very much more the Spielberg family film, where we have a reasonable plotline, several well acted characters and a number of action setpieces involving the dinosaurs.

The Lost World however really dispenses with the characters, plot and family entertainment and is an out and out monster movie with non-stop action from start to finish.

In many ways it is much more entertaining that the first film as the action is relentless from the moment the cast land on the island. Perhaps this is the reason that people were disappointed with the film when it came out - they maybe expected the usual Spielberg movie.

I must admit to having been thoroughly entertained - the action and effects are quite fantastic and are even better when accompanied by the visual quality and superb DTS sound. There is also a reasonable supply of extras to wade through.

Overall, both films are good, but different. The Lost World is more entertaining but perhaps not everyones idea of how to spend 2 hours. Personally, I loved it - sit down with a big screen, big sound system and you will too.