# Lost in Space (1998)

### reviewed by
Rob Strong

    LOST IN SPACE

A review by Robert Strong (Remove "NOSPAM" from my e-mail address to reply by e-mail.)

Starring: William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Gary Oldman, Matt LeBlanc, Lacey Chabert, Heather Graham, and Jack Johnson

    Directed by Stephen Hopkins

    Rated PG-13

    **1/2 out of *****

LOST IN SPACE is undeniably entertaining and shows promise early on. Unfortunately, it never really delivers on that promise. I went into the theater highly anticipating the film and wanting to like it, but I came out feeling somehow unfulfilled.

The plot? Well, there's not much of one. Earth is dying at an alarming rate, so much so that in twenty years, it will be incapable of supporting life. Enter ace scientist John Robinson (William Hurt). He is the head of the team sent to colonize Alpha Prime, the only other habitable planet that humans have found. Dr. Robinson has pioneered a new type of technology called hyperspace that enables instant transportation from one place to another, provided you have a large device called a Hypergate. Without a Hypergate, you could end up anywhere. Robinson's expedition is supposed to build a Hypergate at Alpha Prime, and when it and the one at Earth are completed, people will be able to instantly escape Earth. Unfortunately, Dr. Zachary Smith (Gary Oldman) sabotages the mission and the whole Robinson family, ends up lost in space. How did the whole brood end up in space? Apparently, Dr. Robinson's only condition for accepting the mission was that he was permitted to bring his family along. Which really doesn't make much sense, since he had been severely neglecting them while working on his hyperspace technology.

Several questions beg answering. One: Dr. Robinson said that he would oversee the construction of a Hypergate at Alpha Prime. With who? Just his family, a robot, and the pilot of the ship to take them to Alpha Prime, Major Don West (Matt LeBlanc)? Two: The people who hired Smith to sabotage the mission, why are thdey doing this? If you only have one shot to live, I'd take it whether I like the people or not. The movie mentions that this terrorist organization is building its own Hypergate. So, where did they get the technology to build said Hypergate? Three: At one point, Smith is betrayed by the terrorist faction. They electrocute him with a device he they had supplied to him. Then, later, he comes to with just a bad burn on his hand. How? He was getting some serious juice sent through him. I could go on. Then there is when our fearless heros get lost. They are caught in the sun's gravitational field and they only way to escape is to activate the hyperdrive--which I can see--but this somehow enables them to go _through_ the sun. How, I dunno, but they do.

There were also problems with the acting. For one thing, none of the actors really convinced me that they were about to be sucked into the sun and incinerated. Another thing was that Mimi Rogers delivered many of her lines poorly. She never seemed really scared when her family members were about to be devoured by intergalactic spiders.

Speaking of the spiders, it was a case of too little too late. The spiders themselves were done well, but after STARSHIP TROOPERS these bugs just don't seem that scary. Plus, there was the case of the alien monkey, Blarp. For one thing, how excatly did he get on the ship where he was discovered? And, really, did he serve a function beyond marketibity?

Still, the actors can't take all the blame. When you have bad dialogue, nobody can save it all. Still, I shouldn't be too shocked since the writer/producer Akiva Goldsman also penned the wonderful dialogue of 1997's BATMAN AND ROBIN. There are several confusing elements, such as the whole time travel business. In addition, the movie tries to introduce some things that it just doesn't have time to deal with. A case in point: apparantly John Robinson's father was a military hero and...that's it. The movie tries to go somewhere with it, but eventually gives up.

Well, I think that I've ramble on long enough about the negative aspects of this film. Let's get to the positive. The special effects are well done. Very well done, in fact. I believe that the exact tally was somewhere around 750 CGI's, a new record. Some actors do in fact manage good preformances, most notably Hurt and Oldman. Chabert shows promise, but her character is relegated to background scenery eventually. Director Stephen Hopkins (1996's THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS) keeps the movie moving along well, and handles the special effects quite nicely. There are also some good action sequences. Be sure to stay for the end credits sequence, but not if your the type who has seizures from strobing lights and like. The banter between Heather Graham and Matt LeBlanc is amusing at first, but grow tiresome. Plus, you have to wait almost the entire film to hear "Danger, Will Robinson!"

All in all, LOST IN SPACE requires severe suspenion of disbelief to be enjoyed at all, but belief can only be suspended so far.

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