# Lost in Space (1998)

### reviewed by
Jamie Peck

LOST IN SPACE Reviewed by Jamie Peck

Rating: ** (out of ****) New Line / 2:12 / 1998 / PG-13 (violence, innuendo, language) Cast: William Hurt; Matt LeBlanc; Mimi Rogers; Jack Johnson; Heather Graham; Gary Oldman; Lacey Chabert; Jared Harris; Mark Goddard; Lennie James; voice of Dick Tufeld Director: Stephen Hopkins Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman

The summer movie season gets off to a premature start this year with the early April release of "Lost in Space," a sloppy remake of the futuristic 1965-68 television series (which, ironically, was set in 1997) and New Line Cinema's bid for franchise paradise. Upcoming installments, if any, had better be stronger than this one. After a decent set-up and a following 40 minutes or so that's considerable amusement, "Lost in Space" gets stranded with a bunch of hokey ridiculousness involving time portals, mutant spiders and older versions of several cast members; what starts off as slick, mindless entertainment slowly develops an irritating case of intrusive family values. If the first half of "Lost in Space" is satisfying junk food, then everything thereafter is an overstuffed club sandwich -- one loaded with ham and cheese.

In 2058, Earth is sustaining itself by branching out into the cosmos, and one family is selected to play a key role in the colonization process. They are the Robinsons -- Professor John (William Hurt), his wife Maureen (Mimi Rogers) and their children Judy (Heather Graham), Penny (Lacey Chabert) and Will (Jack Johnson) -- and the intended plan is for them, along with gung-ho pilot Major Don West (Matt LeBlanc), to board the spacecraft Jupiter 2 and make a many-year journey to the distant planet Alpha Prime. Once there, the crew will establish some sort of portal that will allow Earthlings to make the jump to Alpha Prime in no time. But thanks to villainous saboteur and stowaway Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman) and his Global Sedition cohorts, things don't quite go so smoothly. Around a half-day into the flight, the Jupiter 2 is thrown off course. When everyone comes to, they're in a foreign place in an unspecified time, and must find their way back home or remain lost in space forever.

In patches, "Lost in Space" is as glibly fun as a video game. Director Stephen Hopkins (that awful killer-lion flick "The Ghost and the Darkness") brings the major action sequences, surprisingly few though they are, to giddy, palpable life. Two extended bits stand out from the eventual blur: the initial siege on the Jupiter 2 by the nameless Robot programmed to protect and aid the Robinsons, and the search through a creepy ghost ship as the movie nears its midsection. That Robot (yes, he gets to say the immortal line, "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!"), by the way, is a far better way to entertain the family audiences than the computer-generated Blawp, a cuddly, Gizmo-esque creature the Robinsons pick up on their trek. The Blawp doesn't even look like it's sharing the same scenes with the human actors, but most of the other special effects work nicely, especially the movie's sleek sets.

The interesting ensemble cast is partially ill-used. Oldman always makes a good bad guy, and his "Lost in Space" work makes one wish that the movie hadn't cut to some special effect every time his Dr. Smith threatens to become a complex personality. On the plus side, Hurt and Johnson have a realistic father-and-son chemistry. Matt LeBlanc is essentially playing his "Friends" alter-ego as a hotshot hero (complete with one-liners like, "Okay, last one to kill a bad guy buys the beer!"), but his aloof swagger works, and this movie is, at least, way better than Ed. Mimi Rogers and Heather Graham (Rollergirl from "Boogie Nights"), lovely and talented though they are, are trotted out whenever a reaction shot is needed; Graham's sexual flirtation with LeBlanc is never developed and largely feels like wasted time. Spunky Lacey Chabert ("Party of Five") fares the worst, sounding like she's been sucking on a helium tank while offscreen.

"Lost in Space" was written by Akiva Goldsman, the man behind the script for the very underrated (and surely I can't be the only one to think so) "Batman & Robin." He's toned down the series' high camp factor in place of a dark, more sinister edge, which serves the first 60 minutes of the movie well. But "Lost in Space"'s murky tone and visuals just don't mesh with part two's elongated family therapy session. This year's first official summer release is a botched one, with too many distractions and flaws to even rank as pleasing eye-candy -- a big no-no as far as seasonal movies are concerned. As Robot might say, "Danger, moviegoers! Danger!"

© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "Suggestions, please, for the fourth movie in the series. How about ‘Look Who's Talking Back,' in which the audience gets its turn?" -- Roger Ebert on "Look Who's Talking Now"

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