tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post1800335164409137553..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Cult Movie Review: Lost in Space (1998)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-77027123447518786952012-07-13T21:00:04.076-04:002012-07-13T21:00:04.076-04:00I always felt that Lost in Space was a great premi...I always felt that Lost in Space was a great premise that got tangled up in the camp movement of the 1960s.I always felt Lost in Space deserved better,than it got after the first,quality black and white season.As Gary Ordman portrayed a bit sinister and abit cowardly.Sorry,other creating a few insults for the Robot,Jonathan Harris just wasn't to the job,nor were the creative talent.They just went with Smith as a Gilligan Frack up and mix the rest with the cheepnest and campyness of Bat-Man.I didn't some of the changes.The Robinsons,started a bit disfunctional in the old series.John and Don didn't always see eye to eye,like the movie.The movie was a good attempt.I Brother liked it more me,being an old Lost in Space,like me when we were young.<br />This that bug was trying to please everyone,while make the concept fresh.Did we need the old Jupiter 2 disguised as the Jupiter 1 ?No.Did we need the old Robot showing up as a semi pile of junk,while bigger,better designed Robot way out match the old,beloved B9/Guther.Yeah,I liked the old one-the old series,but I also like the new guy,too.He looked like something,I'd want to have around,if I was Lost in Space.They crap pile at the end,make Tiki look like Robbie the Robot.Nor did I care for the Glarp.I wasn't expecting Debbie the Bloop,as a monkey with fake water buffalo hat,but something between the old and new could have been done.<br />I problem,biggest was it was done as a movie and not a tv series.Some of this might have on a week to week series,while trying to capture,what was old about the old series-while dumping all the crap,mostly surround Doctor Smith.<br />CHECK MY Maveric Universe Wili for more.Doc Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255204147754923490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-5567081291930795492012-05-19T16:35:44.747-04:002012-05-19T16:35:44.747-04:00Hi,
I saw the movie without knowing the series. A...Hi,<br /><br />I saw the movie without knowing the series. Also William Hurt was nobody to me, same with Gary Oldman and Mimi Rogers. The only one that I knew was Joey (aaa... I mean Matt LeBlank). I was a noob, yeah.<br /><br />I liked the movie, but thought it was missing something. I didn't know exactly what, but it definitely was missing something. I liked the beginning a lot, but then it got downgraded somehow, from a great epic to a room with a view and a pond type story.<br /><br />Maybe I'll give it another try. Thanks for the review.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06741077654926599386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-7855119978049311332012-05-19T08:27:08.698-04:002012-05-19T08:27:08.698-04:00Hi Cannon,
I love your even-handed assessment of ...Hi Cannon,<br /><br />I love your even-handed assessment of the film, sussing out what worked and what didn't. I agree with you about Gary Oldman 100%. He was really terrific in this movie. The script played to his strengths and he was funny, scary and always interesting.<br /><br />I'm glad you pointed out the technical innovation of the film. The pre-Bullet-Time moment as the ship "jumped" into the sun, for instance. Blawp, an early CGI creation, is crude looking today, which I accept, as the format was in an early stage of development. What I have a tougher time accepting is his design and appearance. He looks like he's come in from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, not an action/space adventure. <br /><br />I think the film started off quite well. And through the spider adventure, it had me. It was different than the series, yes, but also quite entertaining...a slick roller-coaster. For me, the last act borders on incoherent, so that even the set-pieces (like the journey through the planet core) becomes just a lot of sound and noise, and not something we feel emotionally connected with.<br /><br />Great comment!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-89368953065075081772012-05-19T08:23:11.080-04:002012-05-19T08:23:11.080-04:00Hi Anonymous,
I've learned -- writing reviews...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />I've learned -- writing reviews and books for so many years, now -- to take remakes on a case-by-case basis. <br /><br />Some remakes, after all, can be amazing: John Carpenter's The Thing, the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and so forth.<br /><br />I'll even go on record as defending as brilliant Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 (2009), which is not how I would EVER make a Halloween film, but which expresses the director's style and world view in very artistic (if ugly...) terms. <br /><br />I agree with you that the BSG remake was really just an attempt at brand identification. The series had more in common with Wing Commander (1999) or Space: Above and Beyond (1995) than the original BSG. <br /><br />The original BSG was about a sturdy family unit dealing with a terrible threat from the outside. The remake muddied everything with misplaced moral relativism, in my opinion. I like and understand moral relativism as much as the next guy, but the characters of the new BSG were always hypocrites. They wanted to murder Cylons unless the Cylons happened to be their friends. <br /><br />By the way, I've noticed, with interest, the fall-off in popularity of BSG over the last two years. It was a show, like 24, that was extremely popular when it aired because it had a kind of exciting, breathless quality. Viewers were "in the moment" experiencing the tension. But in the cold light of day, after you know how the show ends, who really wants to revisit a world of such despicable people?<br /><br />And I agree with you that 1998 was really, truly, a horrible year for the sci-fi cinema. The summer of our discontent!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-72743483509459001982012-05-19T08:17:05.983-04:002012-05-19T08:17:05.983-04:00Hi Le0pard13,
You make a good point, my friend. ...Hi Le0pard13,<br /><br />You make a good point, my friend. Without a familiarity with the show, some of the changes may not seem upsetting or galling. Absolutely. I can understand the rush of excitement you get in the film. As I wrote, I feel that the first half of the film is really pretty good. It moves along at a great clip, has some zingy dialogue, and is infused with a sense of fun. I think it's when the film gets to the planet that it goes awry. Some clarity and cohesion is lost, and the "emo" parts take over.<br /><br />This is my first time using threaded replies. I hope I'm doing okay. I like it, it's just new, and I'm something of a technological dinosaur, trying to keep up.<br /><br />But this is good, because I can respond to each comment as I read it, rather than try to hold seven comments in my mind at one time, and respond meaningfully to all of them, if that makes sense.<br /><br />Great comment, my friend!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-68339061316683417072012-05-19T08:13:11.699-04:002012-05-19T08:13:11.699-04:00Hi SGB:
I don't know why, but starting in the...Hi SGB:<br /><br />I don't know why, but starting in the mid-1990s Hollywood assumed that all families are dysfunctional. It's naive, of course, to think all families are "perfect" or "healthy" but why must every family in the modern genre (LIS, the new BSG) be portrayed as flagrantly dysfunctional? <br /><br />It's a little insulting, and I don't think it truly reflects reality, either. <br /><br />However, it does make things easy for writers. How can we make Colonel Tigh stand out? Let's make him a divorced alcoholic! <br /><br />I'm not saying there should be no dysfunctional people in sci-fi, only that Hollywood ought to keep the matter in perspective a little bit. Some families are happy, and some families would certainly, in my words, "suck it up" to save the human race!<br /><br />I like your formulation: united we stand, divided we fall.<br /><br />Great comment!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-60868733238928363292012-05-19T07:23:29.938-04:002012-05-19T07:23:29.938-04:00Meh, it’s no worse than Abram’s Star Trek.
For m...Meh, it’s no worse than Abram’s <b>Star Trek</b>.<br /> <br />For me, 1998’s <b>Lost in Space</b> = 'generic space adventure movie'. I never watched the TV series which is why I didn’t walk away from this one feeling particularly wounded. Regardless, it is a mediocre film, mostly due to the script and shallow studio sensibility; basically, the reasons you already covered, though I didn’t mind the casting of Le Blanc. However, I don’t think director Stephen Hopkins is really to blame here, as he was likely a director-for-hire. Again, it was the shoddy scriptwriting. Hopkins for his part fashioned a pretty slick action movie; some neat set-pieces coupled with polished camerawork and editing. Cool scenes included Don West activating his Iron Man-like headgear armor before blasting away at space spiders and the big finale where they have to fly the Jupiter II through an exploding planet. <br /><br />Also, it’s worth noting that this film was actually the first to introduce mainstream audiences to the early stages of 'bullet time' special effects (something I remember being quite impressed by when I first saw it theatrically) and it further pushed the facial motion capture process for rendering the mutant Smith. So I give Hopkins props for being technically innovative. At the same time, I agree that Blawp was just plain awful. I admire their attempt to incorporate a digitally animated character and perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, we can look back on it as the growing pains of a then adolescent CGI. But it’s one best forgotten nonetheless. The following year saw Jar Jar Binks. Those who criticized how bad he looked should seriously reference this film in comparison.<br /> <br />One point you made that I agree with the most was Gary Oldman’s contribution as Dr. Smith. Easily the most enjoyable character. Yeah, the film suffered from some brain dead dialogue but Oldman managed to score the best material, perhaps because the writers and director both recognized his knack delivering lines with such devious wit:<br /><br /><i>"Unhand me, you mechanical moron!"<br /> <br />"Major West, I highly recommend you never breed. That, by the way, is my medical opinion."<br /><br />"I never liked me anyway."</i><br /> <br />And my personal favorite: <i>"Farewell my platinum-plated-pal. Give my regards to oblivion."</i>Cannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12886860130286869992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-83222544790432600072012-05-18T18:17:22.761-04:002012-05-18T18:17:22.761-04:00John, you certainly hit the nail on the head about...John, you certainly hit the nail on the head about the downside of remakes. In my opinion, remakes are only a cheap way to make a profit and a lack of artistic quality, originality, and integrity. Most of all, a lack or creative disrespect to the original source material. If only Ronald Moore had realized this before he made that colossal mistake of re-making Battlestar Galactica. It would be great if Jace Hall would learn from this and not remake Space:1999. He already made the error of remaking V, so honestly, he should not be making the same mistake twice.<br /><br />All that aside, while the Lost In Space movie boasted some excellent production design, sfx, and an interesting environmental message(it was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, England), the rest of the film wasn't all that great. Granted I was not much of a fan of the late Sixties TV series, but still, the film just only proved how serious of a decline the cinema had taken in 1998(the second worst year I have ever experienced). The only decent films that came out that year were only Deep Impact and Halloween - H20. <br /><br />This film, along with Godzilla and Armageddon, just proved only one thing. 1998 was definitely not the best year for science fiction, period.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-49892457068911955972012-05-18T18:13:37.538-04:002012-05-18T18:13:37.538-04:00Fine look at this Lost in Opportunity film. I thin...Fine look at this <i>Lost in Opportunity</i> film. I think you covered well why it didn't work in general and to what was lost in regard to the original series. You know I remain a big fan of the b&w season 1 for this show. Yep, the filmmakers missed what made the series so very much enjoyable fun for the fans of the program (whether they saw it first-run in 60s TV [me], or caught it later on VHS/DVD or cable). Still, when I screened this to my kids a couple of years back, they got a kick out of it. And that's probably because they had no history, or favorite episodes or moments, to hold them up. It was all new and enjoyable to them, which unintentionally seemed to mirror my own giddiness of the show when I first saw it). That's why I actually picked up the Blu-ray Disc of LiS (plus, it was dirt cheap, but don't tell them that ;-)). Thanks, John.<br /><br />p.s., how do you like Blogger's new threaded comments? Took them long enough ;-)le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-79803945765957136832012-05-18T15:25:44.578-04:002012-05-18T15:25:44.578-04:00John, well done. Your review is very honest to wha...John, well done. Your review is very honest to what we all saw on the theater screen in 1998. Director Stephen Hopkins just did not grasp what you simply, yet brilliantly, stated that made LOST IN SPACE (1965-1968) series so special. Simply that it’s about a functioning family unit overcoming adversity which is was what also made Michael Landon’s ’70s series LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE successful too. My brother and I first saw LOST IN SPACE in reruns(weekdays Mondays through Fridays) as young boys. However, I disliked the screenplay because this 1998 movie was trying too hard to be like an ALIEN horror movie (space spiders and Dr. Smith-infected) instead of an high adventure movie like STAR WARS(the original trilogy). I always saw the Millennium Falcon as a George Lucas revision of the original series Jupiter 2. Speaking of Jupiter 2 design, I hated the new Jupiter 2. Stephen Hopkins teased us all with the Jupiter 1 booster design that blows apart in Earth orbit to reveal the new disappointing Jupiter 2 design. Since it was faithful to the original design, I wish he had just used the Jupiter 1 booster as the new Jupiter 2. That is why STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE production design worked with a refit U.S.S. Enterprise that was updated, but faithful enough to the original starship. To the point, Swiss Family Robinson, Space Family Robinson, Lost In Space and Little House On The Prairie all, as you stated, about a family learning “united we stand, divided we fall”. <br /><br />SGBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-68555664745022883982012-05-18T13:52:36.661-04:002012-05-18T13:52:36.661-04:00I always thought "My Friend, Mr. Nobody"...I always thought "My Friend, Mr. Nobody" had a lovely, lyrical essence that reminds me of Jean Cocteau's version of "Beauty and the Beast". Mr. Nobody's cave was this incredible fantasy world in a very "real" environment. Something as simple as having the water bubble up to give Penny a drink provides just the right amount of fantasy into what could have been a completely scary episode where a disembodied voice starts speaking to the very lonely Penny.<br /><br />What I liked the most about the 3rd season is that they were space-born again and the opportunity for interesting adventures seemed much more ripe. The show also seemed more "mature" as well. The children were suddenly young adults, everyone had lovely new costumes, they had a really cool Space Pod to fly around with and the out and out camp of the second season was gone. Certainly Smith remained a thorn in their sides, but being able to go to new planets was terribly liberating for the show's format. "Visit To A Hostile Planet" ranks up there with my favorite episodes, as does "The Anti-Matter Man" and "Hunter's Moon".Pierre Fontainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12234433885943798554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-68196851349663761872012-05-18T13:32:05.335-04:002012-05-18T13:32:05.335-04:00Hi David:
Apparently, Lost in Space (the movie) w...Hi David:<br /><br />Apparently, Lost in Space (the movie) was known as "the iceberg" because it finally sunk Titanic at the box office. Funny. <br /><br />I also dearly love that first season of the 1960s series. There's something magical and terrifying and wondrous about many of those stories. I also LOVE "My Friend, Mr. Nobody." Great episode.<br /><br />You're making me want to haul out my DVDs. I last watched the first season in 2006, right after Joel was born.<br /><br />best wishes,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-23576873131182890572012-05-18T13:30:51.143-04:002012-05-18T13:30:51.143-04:00Hi SFF!
I am very much like you. I suddenly feel...Hi SFF!<br /><br />I am very much like you. I suddenly feel the need to update my DVDs to blu ray, and I look at titles like Lost in Space (or, guilty admission here...The Postman), and say...Why? Why on Earth am I spending my money on something that I don't like that much? I can still watch the bloody thing on DVD if I get the inclination. <br /><br />But you and I are collectors, and we like to see these movies at their best, I know. I'm exactly that way. <br /><br />Golly though, Lost in Space is a huge disappointment. I love the first season Lost in Space, and would have been tremendously content to see a movie that followed along those lines (maybe the first five episodes or so, which were all a "serial" as it were.)<br /><br />Great comment my friend. Loved your commentary, as I always do.John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-6190100917335275812012-05-18T13:28:06.133-04:002012-05-18T13:28:06.133-04:00Hi Pierre,
I am also a big fan of the first seaso...Hi Pierre,<br /><br />I am also a big fan of the first season of the show, that eerie black and white. The second season is largely unwatchable, but the third season did feature some gems. <br /><br />I think the producers would have been wise to stick to the Space Family Robinson template, as you rightly suggest, and give a rest to the Smith/Will/Robot troika. <br /><br />I cannot agree with you more about the toys. I am looking at in my office right now the Trendmasters Lost in Space robot, and remote control robot. Great toys.<br /><br />Now if I could just get my hands on an affordable series Jupiter 2...<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-66174406198918325362012-05-18T13:26:18.874-04:002012-05-18T13:26:18.874-04:00Hi Neal,
I love your comment. I especially love ...Hi Neal,<br /><br />I love your comment. I especially love your story about meeting your wife. Given the fact that you two met during Lost in Space, I hereby soften my opinion of it. :)<br /><br />With a little bit of thought and nurturing, this movie indeed could have been a new franchise like M:I. The idea would have been just as you describe the original series: "a logical blend of Swiss Family Robinson with the modern challenges of space exploration." I would still very much like to see that movie, or a new tv series with that theme.<br /><br />Great comment!John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-14046267559391770132012-05-18T13:08:51.017-04:002012-05-18T13:08:51.017-04:00I only remember two things about this film. 1-It k...I only remember two things about this film. 1-It knocked Titanic off the top spot at the box office. 2-Mimi Rogers' impressive rack. As an aside about the TV series, I dearly love the BW first season and it's more mature storytelling. I think "My Friend, Mr. Nobody" is it's finest hour. I can't get into the Will/Smith/Robot camp fest it turned into.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03097420555737415471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-44562909509841351492012-05-18T12:18:41.500-04:002012-05-18T12:18:41.500-04:00Great coverage here John. I have been very close t...Great coverage here John. I have been very close to upgrading my DVD to blu-ray on this one, but I kept asking myself why? Why do it? I never really liked the film when I saw it. Am I paying for the idea of completing my collection with the franchise in name? This, after all, is LINO, Lost In Space In Name Only to use a play on words for GINO [Galactica in Name Only or Godzilla in Name Only].<br /><br />Your article certainly dissects the many many porblems that accompany this effort. I really enjoyed your breakdowns.<br /><br />Though, as you correctly note about poor casting and in the case of LeBlanc terrible dialogue, that the original Lost In Space couldn't even imagine such dreck [in so many words], but, and I know you'll agree, at least the dialogue in that series, which may have lacked the grand ideas of Star Trek, was authentic and real and believable. We connect to those characters because they are likable and have depth. These cookie cutter characters of the film should have been given a script that drew on that genuine nature. People already had a good feel for those original characters and they could have built on that. What a shame.<br /><br />So yes, dim-witted is right and is there anything with a sense of innocence about it today? Maybe that's why I liked Captain America so much. It had a touch of that, which was a rare thing.<br /><br />In fact, perhaps your point about Smith's remark speaks volumes about the creator's general disdain for the original. Gosh, how pessimistic and generally dissatisfied with the source material was this film? I'm not sayin they felt this way, but perhaps subconsciously it just became part of the weave of their new creation because that's how it feels.<br /><br />I also thought your take on all of the character assignments by actors was spot on. Oldman is such a great actor, but why the hideous transformation? That always bothered me.<br /><br />William Hurt is a bore and everyone else is flat. The whole thing is a giant special effect populated by actors not entirely invested in their roles.<br /><br />And though I probably didn't quite harbor a distast for Blawp at the time, you are so right about the incongruous inclusion of that character.<br /><br />And like this work of general space fiction or refuse, so too is the war on women. I had to say. : )<br /><br />Seriously John, the film is a mess overall apart from the segments you mention at the beginning which I enjoyed.<br /><br />The creators really needed to BLIP rather than BLAWP with Lost In Space. Shame.<br /><br />Best, <br />sff<br /><br />Additionally I enjoyed Neal's story, it's great to see something good came out of the dreadfully hollow movie experience, but he's right too, what a superficial, insincere mess. I was pretty disappointed.<br /><br />In fact, the series still remains a classic and this thing didn't even sniff it.SFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-5869195573188417952012-05-18T11:49:02.682-04:002012-05-18T11:49:02.682-04:00Great story Neal!
I loved the first (and to a les...Great story Neal!<br /><br />I loved the first (and to a lesser degree the third) season of the TV show and totally hated the second, even as a kid.<br /><br />I went to the movie with high expectations and to some degree, those expectations were met. I didn't mind the design upgrades but I thought that the ship was awfully large and spacious for just a few people. <br /><br />But John's criticisms are right on the ball. The premise should have been about the family's struggles to survive. The movie's producers obviously knew that the appeal of the original was the interplay between Smith, Will and the Robot and this is what they gave us at the sacrifice of the other family members. Yes, the attraction between West and Judy was touched upon. Penny ended up being the most updated so that she becomes a bit too precocious and emo-oriented.<br /><br />The biggest bonus for us fans though was the two-tiered toy line. One tier was geared towards the movie and the other was based on the original TV show. We finally got to make our own Jupiter 2 models, and the various Robot toys were a dream come true. For this reason alone, I'm really very grateful for the movie's release.Pierre Fontainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12234433885943798554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-915285191503282542012-05-18T10:13:58.410-04:002012-05-18T10:13:58.410-04:00Wow, where to begin. I was so looking forward to t...Wow, where to begin. I was so looking forward to this movie since I always felt that Lost in Space was a great premise that got tangled up in the camp movement of the 1960s. What a terrific chance for a do-over! There was so much momentum behind Lost in Space leading up to the movie (comic books, model kits, memorabilia, etc.), I thought this would be a great new franchise like Mission: Impossible.<br /><br />I went to the movie opening night with a bunch of friends and friends of friends. The place was packed and finding seats was tough. Most of my friends went near the front, but I had no interest in looking up William Hurt's nose for two hours, so I moved to the back. One of the friend-of-friends whom I did not know followed and sat down next to me. I tried to talk a little about Lost in Space with her, but she didn't seem to know much about it.<br /><br />The movie started and all my hopes and expectations were dashed. The original series was a logical blend of Swiss Family Robinson with the modern challenges of space exploration. It was all about American can-do-it-ativism and the excitement of facing great danger, not because one is fearless, but because one must for survival. The movie had none of that. It was all dark and emo and straining to be hip while making a few superficial nods to the original.<br /><br />Then, right when we get to part with grown-up Will and monster Dr. Smith, the soundtrack went haywire. The critical exposition came out as "Eep-ack-erp-ark-ibit-gak." I hung in until the end, hopelessly trying to lip read. Then I realized that I didn't care anyway.<br /><br />Afterward, we spilled out of the theatre where an apologetic manager gave us free passes for another movie. We all headed to our cars ripping apart the movie mercilessly. It wasn't all bad though. The friend-of-a-friend who sat next to me ended up being my wife.Neal Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053148427058126745noreply@blogger.com