Special Movie Review - Land of the Lost

Land of the Lost


A long, long time ago, I faintly remember viewing a smidgen of a Land of the Lost episode. I can't recall anything from it, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. My parents tell me I was scared of it, but even if I did suffer from some sort of trauma at the hands of the original series, that didn't stop me from seeing this reimagining.

Will Ferrell plays Dr. Rick Marshall, a scientist who believes he can harness the power of tachyons to open portals in order to travel through space and time. Holly (Anna Friel), a fellow studier of tachyons and time travel, encourages Marshall to work on his tachyon machine, which he does with surprising results that could change all of science. They both set out to try to open a portal, and after getting sucked into a vortex with a beer-bellied guy named Will (Danny McBride), find themselve stuck in a land of dinosaurs, large bugs, and green alien-like peoples called the Sleestacks, who are led by Enik (John Boylan), who wants to open up a portal to our world. Marshall and company are joined by primitive ape Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone), and they set out on a search for Marshall's lost tachyon machine for Enik, but soon find that the adventure is more than they bargained for, especially after they find that Enik is not who they think he is.

Director Brad Silberling and his crew have done a great job with set design and costumes, making the whole film seem very hokey on purpose, a throwback to both 50s monster movies and the original series' comedic satire. Here, the soundtrack and opening title sequence remind of classic B-movie goodness, but what seemed out of place was the use of so much CGI, especially for the dinosaurs. I'd rather see good old dinosaur costumes rather than a fully animated dinosaur to fit the movie's intentional homage to tacky props and gimmicks.

Land of the Lost's story is actually quite entertaining, but it's hampered by its ability to easily explain the opening plot. The business with the tachyons gets confusing with its scientific definition and Holly seems to come out of nowhere as Marshall's partner. Also, add in the fact that Marshall mysteriously finishes his tachyon machine in one night when he's been working on it for years, and the setup of the film leaves a lot to be desired. It's appreciable that the writers wanted to jump right into the action, but a little more backstory could have gone a long ways here.

But those seeing a movie such as LotL probably don't require a lot of plot or seriousness in their movies. They'll most likely be rewarded by the film's jokes - combining Ferrell's quirky antics with McBride's more stereotypical bum persona is a ride down a strange and funny path. Coupled with Friel's more laid-back, serious approach, each actor complements the other well. I think, too, that they work together to hold Farrell's more energetic and raucous side back, which benefits both his role as Marshall and the movie more. I really went into the film expecting Ferrell to play the same character as all of his other movies but was pleasantly surprised when he was able to get across a more serious tone without becoming too manic. He's perfect as the scientist, switching from reserved to uproarious nicely, but there are times when he slips back into his immature characters. It's the times when Ferrell is able to generate laughs without his old bag of tricks that really stand out.

There's a lot of sight gags here though, folks, and for those who don't like what I like to term "stupid humor," or even jokes that don't necessarily pertain to the plot at all, it might be best to skip out on this. The humor is low-brow and exaggerated, and for the most part it remains consistently funny throughout, but there are more than one occasion where some of the scenes feel thrown into the film to get some laughs during downtime, particularly a scene where Marshall, Will, and Cha-Ka get drunk on some new fruit drink.

Even though the film gives some laughs, it feels dragged out a bit too long on a simple plot of "find-the-treasure." Boiled down to its most basic story, there's not much different here from anything else we've seen. It's a bit too risque to take the kids to as well, and there's a handful of slightly offensive jokes that seem randomly thrown in. LotL seems confused as to what its audience is consisting of: there's slapstick humor and dinosaurs that appeal to little kids, but violence, sexual dialogue, and an advanced story that kind of leaves the children out. Unfortunately, without all of its mature material, the film probably wouldn't be quite so funny and, ergo, not as good. But if you can overlook these flaws, the movie's actually not that bad; just don't expect anything mind-blowing - then again, you probably didn't anyway.

Land of the Lost on Rotten Tomatoes