Jurassic Park III may receive a lot more fan hate, but The Lost World is actually the worst of Jurassic Park's first two sequels. Since its 2001 release, Jurassic Park III has frequently been called the weakest movie in the entire Jurassic Park/World universe. Its predecessor, 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, had the benefit of director Steven Spielberg returning, but his ending to Jurassic Park didn't really leave a lot of room for the story to be expanded upon.

Spielberg's original 1993 blockbuster was always going to be a hard act to follow. Hollywood always finds a way, though, and The Lost World was quick to introduce another island as the setting of the sequel’s action. The movie is no mere Jurassic Park retread, however, choosing instead to introduce a slew of new characters and tell a more complicated story. Yet The Lost World’s plot holes and plodding runtime ultimately make it a comparably inadequate follow-up.

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The simpler, more critically maligned second sequel, Jurassic Park III, comes closer to recapturing the magic of Jurassic Park. Its lean plot and shamelessly monster-centric action make it more akin to Spielberg’s original movie. While neither installment could fully duplicate the appeal of one that started it all, there is an argument to be made that, despite what the fan and critical consensus say, Jurassic Park III is the better of the two Jurassic Park sequels.

What Jurassic Park III Got Right

Spinosaurus Jurassic Park 3

The simple, fast-paced story of Jurassic Park III concerns a couple enlisting Dr. Alan Grant to save their son, who is stranded on the now-abandoned island from the original Jurassic Park. The movie offers tension, scares, dinosaurs, and memorable chases. It's true that Alan's character arc is mishandled, and it is hard to deny that the sequel’s set-piece-driven story isn’t particularly deep. However, when taken as a messier, less polished, and well-plotted follow-up to Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III reclaims the scares of the original movie and introduces viewers to some impressive new dinosaurs while still making room for old franchise favorites.

How Jurassic Park III Shaped The Series

Jurassic Park 3 How The Spinosaurus Was Supposed To Die

Jurassic Park III’s decision to go back to basics is mirrored in the next movie installment, 2015's Jurassic World as well as the animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous. The former opted to essentially retell Jurassic Park’s story with new dinosaurs and a new park, whereas its less acclaimed 2018 sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, takes The Lost World’s route by telling a more complicated story that also involves poachers and again eventually results in an underwhelming sequence wherein dinosaurs encroach upon human civilization.

Thus, the simplicity of Jurassic Park III and the decision to hone the franchise’s appeal down to its most basic elements — a survival story focused on kid characters needing to be saved from an island overrun with dinosaurs — is the preferred direction. The appealing simplicity of this premise likely accounts for part of the superior critical reception of both Jurassic World and the Camp Cretaceous series in comparison to Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom and The Lost World.

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What The Lost World Got Wrong

Jeff Goldblum in The Lost World Jurassic Park

There are many Jurassic Park sequel struggles that The Lost World couldn’t avoid, a lot of which shaped the approach of later movies in the franchise. For example, the return of Ian Malcolm sees the character neutered beyond recognition, with Jeff Goldblum’s lovable lothario from Jurassic Park turned into a nebbish academic. Also, the stakes here are lowered, as almost every character survives — the only hero given a gnarly death, Eddie Carr, is one of the most likable.

Meanwhile, The Lost World seems to cram two movies into one. A team of poachers facing off against Ian and company would be one good plot, and poachers accidentally unleashing dinosaurs on a civilian city would be another, but both can’t fit within a single blockbuster. As a whole, Spielberg's Jurassic Park sequel introduces too many characters, takes too long to get to its titular location, and should have begun its city-set climax a half-hour earlier. These same issues — Goldblum’s character failing to find his charm again and the plot following two separate stories — recur in Fallen Kingdom, leaving Jurassic World Dominion with the task of fixing the franchise as the story of Jurassic Park comes to a close.

What The Lost World Got Right

Roland Tembo with the hunters and heroes in The Lost World: Jurassic Park

While The Lost World has a lot of issues, there is no denying that the sequel’s high points sing. The first scene of the movie is superb — a dark, creepy delight that rivals Spielberg’s iconic Jaws opener. And Pete Postlethwaite’s character, Roland, is probably the most morally complex villain in the Jurassic Park franchise. A surprisingly thoughtful and morally ambiguous figure, his poacher actually challenges the rest of the cast rather than being a leering, over-the-top monster.

Jurassic Park III’s Secret Strength

Sam Neil in Jurassic Park 3

More than anything else, the secret strength of Jurassic Park III lies in the fact that the sequel doesn’t overstay its welcome. This admittedly sloppily plotted and uneven franchise outing feels more like a B-movie knock-off of Jurassic Park than a legitimate follow-up. Jurassic Park III fails to find the original movie’s balance between thrills and a surprisingly smart script, yet the sequel still offers the simple joys of seeing a mismatched group of characters evading dinosaurs on an island and just about surviving the process.

Related: Steven Spielberg Explains Why The Lost World: Jurassic Park Wasn't A Hit

While ending the Jurassic Park franchise proper would have meant a better story for Alan, a more satisfying resolution to the question of what happened to the other islands, and a tighter script, none of these problems stop Jurassic Park III from being a solid standalone adventure. In contrast, Spielberg's initial sequel commits the cardinal sin of dragging out a monster movie for so long that the sight of T-rex becomes tiresome. The Lost World tries to do much more and trips over itself in the process, becoming the more ambitious but also more fatally flawed Jurassic Park sequel compared to the straightforward Jurassic Park III.

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