Land of the Lost (2009)

Land of the Lost was a series for children that ran on NBC from 1974 until 1976 and we have seen the last couple of years, Hollywood likes looking at old shows to use as a basis for a movie. Recent examples are Starsky and Hutch, Miami Vice, Dukes of Hazard or the A-Team. So Land of the Lost is one that can be added to the list. The thing with this movie is that to me it was very unclear which kind of audience the movie caters to, because there were a lot of things in the movie that are not aimed at children, but at the same time there isn’t much to enjoy for grown-ups either. Don’t be fooled by the picture I’ve added above, it may look spectacular, but in reality it will dissapoint you.

Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is a scientist who is convinced that he has found the solution for the energy crisis, which is using energy from parallel dimensions. No one believes him or takes his claims serious, but when Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) shows him a fossil proving that modern man with Zippos were already present in the prehistoric age he decides to go on a trip with her to continue his work. They end up at a local shop and together with the clerk end up in another world. They meet a monkey (which is really one of the worst characters I’ve seen in ages) and somehow Holly is able to talk with it (she claims because she worked with monkeys before). It was one of the many indications that this movie wasn’t going to be very good.

Other signs were the horrible sets, a lot of unconvincing CGI and jokes that weren’t funny. When you are making a comedy and the number of jokes that are actually funny can be counted on one hand, you need to get back to the drawing board. Because all the shaky special effects work you never have the feeling that the characters are in any danger, nowhere you get the feeling that they are trying to reach a specific goal. The movie just doesn’t have a heartbeat, it all feels very sterile and when even Will Ferrell, who has played this type of role many times, can’t add anything to your movie not much is left to say about it.

I think it is valid that the film earned a big number of Razzies (the awards for the worst movies, opposite to the Oscars), Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor (Will Ferrell), Worst Screenplay and Worst Supporting Actor (Jorma Taccone). I guess that sometimes it’s good to see a bad movie, as it will remind to really appreciate the good ones. The only thing I do hope is that it’s going to take a while before I see another one which is as bad as this one.

Score: 1