Land of the Lost-Movie Review
Universal Pictures
Land of the lost is a 1 h 42 minutes Sci-Fi adventure comedy with Will Farell as a haughty quantum paleontologist. The Brad Siberling directed movie is based on a 1974 TV series by the same name. In this film, Will Farrell takes his comedy antics a notch higher, and he is bound to elicit hearty laughter thanks to his inspired silliness and physical humor and childlike gestures. In Land of the Lost. He does not disappoint.
The film stars Dr Rich Marshall as Will Ferrell. Dr Marshall claims that his latest invention can solve the energy crisis through fossil fuel importation via a parallel dimension. His beliefs contrast those of the scientific community he belongs to. They excommunicate him because of the disgrace he is bound to bring to this distinguished society. Luckily for Dr Marshall, Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel), a young researcher, shares his beliefs. Like Will, Friel is cast out of Cambridge for agreeing with his theory. The two get to travel in a time-travel device that Dr Marshal invents.
Will Stanton (Danny McBride) who works as a clerk at a convenience store also accompanied them. Will also double as a part-time cave tour guide. The time-travel device takes them through a time warp where they land in a foreign land inhabited by dinosaurs. This is the Land of the Lost. Here, Rich, Holly and Will befriend Cha-ka (Jorma Taccone) a member of the Missing Links tribe. He looks every bit like an ape and speaks in a foreign language that only Holly can understand. The threesome also encounters “Grumpy”, a T-Rex dinosaur. They share many jokes about dinosaurs and in particular, their feelings and intelligence. In the Land of the Lost, we have carnivorous trees and blood-sucking insects as well. The trio needs to find Rick’s time-travel device to get them back home. However, they encounter a sea of Sleestaks, the bi-pedal human-like sapients.
Director Brad Silberling has superbly juggled comedy and action in the ensuing mayhem, and this is by far the main reason Land of the Lost is a blockbuster success. The film’s visual effects have a welcoming feel with Brad Silberling opting for one visual scheme. The movie’s soundtrack is based on Marvin Hamlisch’s A Chorus Line.
Dennis McNicholas and Chris Henchy are the co-writers of Land of the oat. Both have written compelling scripts for sketch comedy and TV Sitcoms. However, a few deliberate events reveal their limitations. The film’s characters are nothing more than prisoners who go out on a field trip via special effects. Also, Land of the Lost lacks cohesive cooperation that would allow the viewer to bond with the cast.
Overall, Land of the Lost is an odd sci-fi film whose plot feels disjointed. Many of the supposedly funny jokes in the movie fall flat on their face. Not even Danny McBride’s and Will Ferrell’s natural charisma is enough to turn the film into a box office hit.
