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The Lost World (2001) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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Lost Again, 24 October 2002

Author: gatebanger from Connecticut

Here we have yet another remake of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World." By my count, this effort brings the total to seven, counting the TV movies (of which this is one) but NOT counting any of the Michael Crichton/Steven Spielberg efforts, since they have absolutely nothing to do with Doyle's story.

As with other film versions of this story, certain key elements of the story are brought into the film, some supporting characters are added and others are ignored or discarded entirely. One common bit of tampering is the addition of a woman to practically all the 19th and early 20th century adventure tales, and this one is no exception. The fact that the female character is generally useless doesn't seem to bother the producers or the scriptwriters, so who am I to criticize? The main characters, Professors Challenger and Summerlee, big-game hunter Lord John Roxton and newsman Edward Malone, each appear in some distorted form in every film version of the story.

Considering this is a TV movie, I suppose I have to cut the producers some slack. The story was OK and the FX adequate. Peter Falk was well cast, and his character added an interesting twist to the story. The story of Malone and his airheaded girlfriend was left as Doyle wrote it, and will have a lot of guys nodding with sad understanding at the end of the film. Roxton's character was well drawn, but I'm not sure I like how he wound up at the end. The female character was, well, there. All things considered, this version is certainly not the worst of the lot.

The real problem I have with this version (and with most of the others as well) is with the casting and characterization of George Edward Challenger. As much as I like Bob Hoskins in other parts, he was just plain wrong for this one. Physically, he isn't up to it. Doyle's Challenger is bigger than life. George Edward Challenger is a thundering, bombastic, ego-driven buffalo of a man -- a force of nature. The second you meet this man you despise him. The problem is, of course, that Challenger is right – right about the plateau, right about the dinosaurs, right about the whole crazy tale – and it drives his peers nuts. Hoskins' humble, laid-back Challenger just doesn't cut it. For this part think John Rhys-Davies, who appeared as Challenger in 1992. Unfortunately, that effort was a major dud.

The Lost World was written in 1912 and first made into a movie in 1925, five years before Doyle's death at age 71 from heart failure. Since you can't look anywhere without seeing a dinosaur these days, I suppose the producers can be forgiven for making yet another needless version of this story. If you want to find out what `really' happened, go get the book.

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