Movie Info
Movie Name: Land of the Lost
Studio: Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures
Genre(s): Comedy/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): June 5, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13
We’re going to wish we were dead instead of lost…
Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is the laughing stock of the science community with stories of parallel dimensions. After a humiliating appearance on the Today Show with Matt Lauer, Rick decides he has to attempt to locate this world with the help of a fan named Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) and a tachyon amplifier. When Holly and Rick learn that a portal could be hidden under a desert attraction, Rick, Holly, and their tour guide Will Stanton (Danny McBride) find themselves in a world filled with dinosaurs, lizard men called Sleestaks, and strange furry humanoid creatures. Rick, Holly, Will, and their furry friend Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone) must find the tachyon amplifier and escape the land of the lost.
Just hangin’ in the land…of the lost.
Directed by Brad Silberling, Land of the Lost was an adaptation of Sid and Marty Krofft’s TV series which originally ran from 1974 to 1976 on NBC. The movie was met with poor reviews and even worse box office returns. The movie was nominated for Razzies for Worst Actor (Ferrell), Worst Screen Couple (Ferrell and anyone), Worst Director (Brad Silberling), Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Supporting Actor (Jorma Taccone) but won the Razzie for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.
Land of the Lost ran on TV throughout the ’70s and ’80s and even had a relaunch in the ’90s. I would watch Land of the Lost and could see it for its goofiness. The show was bad, cheesy, and laughable…even for a kid, but it was fun. Unfortunately, Land of the Lost became a film which kept the bad and cheesiness but lost the fun.
At least Sleestaks still have the cool name.
The movie version of Land of the Lost modernized the story by making the characters all adult and apparently took any sense of intelligence from them. Throughout the weak plot of the movie, the characters fumble and bumble with little to do. The movie should have committed to an R-Rated raunch-fest or gone PG-13. It seems like it falls in between and wouldn’t interest younger viewers or older viewers. The nostalgia isn’t strong enough to make the movie good.
Ferrell is at his worst here. He doesn’t seem to have much direction, but the character isn’t a crazy character that he can really go crazy in the Will Ferrell way. Danny McBride plays the even dumber character of Will…I expected there to be one smart character but even Anna Friel as Holly behaves like an idiot for most of the film. Fortunately, they are all out classed by the dumb Cha-Ka played by Jorma Taccone (who even makes the original Cha-Ka appear less annoying).
Yabba-dabba-dooo, Grumpy!!!
Visually, Land of the Lost didn’t dive into the Sid and Marty Krofft style that made the original kind of fun, but it also didn’t commit to quality effects. The show falls into some middle ground where the effects are cheap looking, but don’t look like they were made intentionally cheap looking…which is not a good thing.
Land of the Lost is not a great disappointment…because I didn’t expect anything from it. In that sense, it lived up to my expectations. I love when I am pleasantly surprised by a movie like this which actually turns out to be smart or fun, but Land of the Lost loses on both accounts and can’t even wow visually. I wish this film stayed lost.
Related Links:
Land of the Lost—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
