Episodes recut for different markets
L.S. all the way! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/cool.gif[/img]
I give the 1998 [i]Lost in Space[/i] film four stars, and the no. 29 slot on my list of top 50 science fiction movies.
The original [i]L.S.[/i] series started out all serious, and had some pretty well-thought-out stories, but there was a big problem with suspension of disbelief. It’s hard to make a realistic space show whan you’ve got a butget less than the original [i]Star Trek[/i]. And after a while they stopped trying to make it believible, and started running out of ideas for new shows, and et ended up deteriorating into typical 60s camp. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif[/img]
But the movie changed that. It brought the best elements of the series together into two hours of high-quality science fiction like nothing on Earth. I’m not very fond of time-travel stories, but [i]L.S.[/i] wasn’t as confusing as most and followed a reasonable plotline. Also above par was the artistic design, with much more creative aliens and locales than what one usually sees in sci-fi.
But it was not just about exploring the farthest reaches of outer space, but of the human mind. The way I see it, the movie is about obsession. Smith’s obsession with sabotaging the mission (and later with hurting mankind as a whole), Will’s obsession with changing the past, Don’s obsession with his own self-image, and everyone’s obsession with finding Earth. The willingness to put yourself and those around you in danger to achieve a chimerical personal goal. If you ask me, the [i]L.S.[/i] movie was better than the show (on average).
[i]The Fifth Element[/i], on the other hand, was a little weak. I give it two and a half stars. The basic premise was a good one, and it could have been great if they didn’t try to cram so many plotlines into it. You won’t know whether to laugh or to throw empty Mr. Pibb cans at the screen. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/confused.gif[/img]
The design is superb, I’ll give them that (the art department didn’t get bogged down in trying to give an optomistic [i]Star Trek[/i]ish view of the universe). But it suffered from serious problems, not the least of which being Bruce Willis’ stiff acting. And nobody even [b]tries[/b] to disguise the fact that it is a horrendous ripoff of the [i]Star Wars[/i] films. Oldman and Tucker make it worth watching.
The special effects are above average, but get tiresome. There reaches a point when you just want to say “enough, already! We get the idea: The Universe is full of flashy lights and C.G. objects. Just bring us to some sort of conclusion.” [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/eek.gif[/img]
As for Mr. Giger, some of his work is okay but there is a lot that’s too weird for my taste. Give me Barlowe any day. Who is Moebius?
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Lee P. Sherman, code name DalekTek790
Whovian, Froudian, Lexxian, etc.