Lost in Space *** (1998, Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Heather Graham, Mimi Rogers) – Classic Movie Review 3700

The fondly remembered Irwin Allen 1965-68 family sci-fi TV series lives again in director Stephen Hopkins’s daft but likeable mega-budget ($90million) 1998 big-screen re-creation.

A cast of actors rather than stars take the parts of the old ‘space family Robinson’ crew, who are sent to a far-off colony on their Jupiter II spacecraft, sabotaged by villainous stowaway Dr Smith (Gary Oldman) but saved by the professor dad (William Hurt) and a gung-ho major (Matt LeBlanc).

The ensuing adventures try to offer something for everyone: nifty hardware and neat special effects for boys; romance between LeBlanc and teasing grown-up daughter Heather Graham for the girls; a feisty mom (Mimi Rogers) for the ladies; scientific mumbo-jumbo for sci-fi buffs; cute youngsters for the kids; a cuddly animatronic toy (Blawp) for the tots; and a robot for… well, people who like robots.

This fun movie looks great, the pace is lively, the tone is happy, Hurt and LeBlanc score strongly and Oldman overacts outrageously yet again. Go, get Lost!

The TV version edits language for family-friendly viewing.

Also in the cast are Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson, Mark Goddard, June Lockhart, Edward Fox, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, Jared Harris, Lennie James, Marta Kristen, Adam Sims, John Sharian, Abigail Canton and Richard Sapperstein.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3700

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