Land of the Lost

Syd and Marty Kroft cash in one of their most popular franchises and almost strike gold. From the Saturday Morning age of the 70s comes the story of Marshall, Will and Holly on a routine expedition ...... well you know the rest. The classic story of a scientist from today trapped in a world of yesterday, teaming with cave men and dinosaurs. Now, with all upgrades (reboots, re-imaginings, remakes, whatever suits you), this one needed to be loyal to the original, but appealing to today's audience and those types of movie-goers who need everything to look absolutely real. Throw in some excellent comedy led by Will Ferrell, remove the family oriented group and jack up the special effects. There is also a hint of pop-culture and a strong urge to use more adult-oriented comedy, which is fine, as long as you don't over-do-it.

The new Marshall is in the invented and totally made up career known as Quantum-Paleontology, Holly is a student from Cambridge, who has followed Marshall's career and Will is a redneck loser who runs a tourist-trap cave. The first half of this movie was great. The comedic timing of Will Ferrell and the dialogue made me split my sides. The creative way that the group got to the Land of the Lost, paying homage to the classic theme song, introducing the characters that actually made the original TV show (Cha-Ka, Grumpy and the scary Sleestak), are introduced and handled quite well.

I think the reason I enjoyed the comedy and the way they handled the story, is the fact, that when you watch the original show, the acting is so atrocious, that you already think it is a comedy, so why not stay in that line, but update it to 2009. The movie moves along quite well, but due to a small string of ridiculous scenes, it begins to run out of gas as we approach the ending. I was worried that the film might go in a direction that many types of films like this do, but I was thrilled to see it all worked out. It was an enjoyable outing until the last fifteen minutes. There actually is logic to the story and the scenes, but the line is crossed too far sometimes, with too much silliness. It then kills an excellent grade and drops it to this.

7.5 (C+ MyGrade) = 7 IMDB

I really enjoyed this movie; I think it might be the best Ferrell movie I've seen in a while. Yes it's goofy and silly, but I think a lot of the negative reviewers here are people who were fans of the original and are judging thru the haze of nostalgia. The original was every bit as goofy and ridiculous, it's just that this movie has the good sense to acknowledge it. And yes, it may not be appropriate for very young viewers as there is some sexual innuendo and cursing, but it does have a PG-13 rating so I don't know why you would be dragging young children to it anyways...

'Land of the Lost' starts with a quirky and oddly arrogant scientist, played by Ferrell, claiming to Matt Lauer on 'Today' that we can solve our energy problems by tapping into inter-dimensional blah blah blah. Of course, no one believes him but a beautiful student from England (Friel) who convinces him to build his whatsit to open the portal to other dimensions. And of course they soon find themselves trapped in what appears to be a large dumping ground for inter-dimensional portals along with a yokel (McBride). From there it's just a journey across this strange land to find their way back home.

I realize I'm glossing over a lot of details here but you really don't need to know them. The whole point is to get a kick out of the satire and broad physical shtick as they encounter the bizarre inhabitants of this world and react to them. If you don't get too hung up on the logic of it all and just roll with the jokes, I think it's quite good. And Ferrell, who I have often disliked in previous works because of his tendency to gnaw on the scenery, was reserved enough to deliver a good number of very funny scenes.

In short, don't go to this expecting a children's film, a summer action flick, or something akin to the original. And, as with almost all Ferrell movies, don't go if you don't like physical humor. But do go if you are looking for a pleasant hour or two of goofy gags and simple fun.

This movie is definitely better then most of the reviews on this page have been saying. From reading the comments it seems like it is mostly due to parents bringing their kids to see a movie including an actor from movies such as Old School and Anchorman and getting mad when they see crude humor. If you like Will Ferrell you will like most jokes in this movie, it is very funny and in my opinion close to The Hangover. This movie is not supposed to be taken seriously and as long as you don't try to compare it to the original show and go along with it you will laugh. Go in with an open mind and don't listen to the critics this movie is for sure worth checking out.

Will Ferrell is a comic genius that's a Fact & this fantastic fantasy Comedy is his absolute best film in my opinion. This campy-fun modern take on the old 60's t.v series is pure escapism fun, it's silly & ridiculous & it's supposed to be!!! This is a big budget Will Ferrell comedy so i don't care if the boring critics Didn't like it or get it? Because i loved it, the beautiful lush production design is fantastic & takes you right back to those old school t.v series or old adventure films of the past, the comedy is silly but mostly very funny & the whole movie is just alot of FUN & reminded me of the type of film the legendary Dan Aykroyd might of made back in the 90's!!! Just like Dan Aykroyd's big budget sci-fi adventure comedy "Coneheads" from 1993 this fantasy film felt like that did. I could even imagine if this "Land of the Lost" came out during the 90's then it would've have Awesome action figures & that would've been so cool. There's a fun campy 90's charm to this movie that i dug.

Basically it's about Dr.Rick Marshall (Ferrell), along with his assistant Holly Cantrell, a straight faced & very funny Anna Friel, & an accidental guy called Will Stanton the very funny Danny McBride who gets sucked into a portal with them & end up getting transported back in time to a place of Dangerous Dinosaurs, lizard people & weird primates & a fantastical world of adventure. This is just such a big fun time, a big budget summer blockbuster popcorn flick & i love it. Some comic scenes are hilarious & the creatures fx are Amazing with a big mix of old practical & new c.g.i & the gorgeous design of the jungle & desert are incredible to look at, there's so much effort put into the creation of this amazing fantasy world that it's a joy to follow our three heroes on this adventure to save the universe & get back home.

A great fun Comedy adventure

What some reviewers on here don't understand is that this was deliberately made in a 50's style with cheesy characters and dubious special effects, to mock that style, and they give it a low rating because they didn't understand this because they are thick!

It is actually a very good Sci-Fi Comedy, Will Ferrell does his usual hamming it up in the lead role very well, Anna Friel is excellent as his gullible and innocent "fan" scientist, Danny McBride is great as the stupid "trailer trash" guy, who despite being a bit rough has good intentions and Jorma Taccone does a good Chaka under all the hair. John Boylan's voice is perfect as the 50's style domineering alien.

Direction is excellent, they keep it to the same 1950's formula almost throughout, It is well timed with great scenes and good photography, my only complaint about that is that they included a couple of music clips that came from the late 1960's, however they did seem to fit the scenes, and the film score was very good.

My favorite scenes are the after when Will Ferrell states that T-Rex has a brain the size of a Walnut and later the Intelligent T-Rex drops a giant Walnut outside the cave entrance where they are staying, where the bug sucks blood out of Will Ferrell when he is trying to play the banjo, and when they drink the juice out of a fruit which turns out to be a narcotic and 'All Along The Watchtower' by The Jimi Hendrix Experience kicks in (A song usually associated with drug taking), and at the end in the interview with Matt Lauer where Will Ferrell puts him down as a payback for an earlier interview where Matt Lauer puts down Will Ferrell.

Lighten up reviewers this is one of the best Sci-Fi comedies going.