Lost in Space posterLost in Space (1998)

Starring William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Matt LeBlanc, Lacey Chabert, and Jack Johnson.
Written by Akiva Goldsman based on the television series created by Irwin Allen.
Directed by Stephen Hopkins.

Grade: F

Review by Carlo Cavagna.

This 90 million dollar disaster should have been called Lost in Script. (For the record I note that the script was "written" by the same person who "wrote" the abysmal Batman and Robin.) I suppose Lost in Space was made with children in mind, but that's no excuse. The only reason I rented this film was because a friend said that if you threw out the "insipid family moments," it was fairly entertaining. Actually, if you throw out the "insipid family moments" (and boy-o-boy are they insipid), you're left with a story that's completely incomprehensible after the first hour, a non-ending ending, special effects not much better than Star-Trek-on-UPN quality, atrocious dialogue, and bad overacting by Matt LeBlanc and Gary Oldman. I should cut the actors some slack--I doubt Olivier could have done anything with this material. Maybe that's why William Hurt wears his patented "I'm constipated" expression for the entire length of the film. By the end, you'll be wearing it too.

Review © March 1999 by AboutFilm.Com and the author.
Image © 1998 New Line Cinema, Inc. All rights reserved.

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