Land of the Lost poster & wallpaper

Will Ferrell, Danny R. McBride, Anna Friel

On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell) is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant (Friel) and a redneck survivalist (McBride). In this alternate universe, the t...( read more  read more... )rio make friends with a primate named Chaka (Taccone), their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures. Can they all make it back to our world alive, and if so: Will Dr. Marshall can go from zero to hero with his discoveries?

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38% liked it

514,715 ratings

Critics

26% liked it

168 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Brad Silberling

Release Date: June 5, 2009

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DVD Release Date: October 13, 2009

Stats: 15,190 reviews

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Land of the Lost FIRST LOOK AT THE LAND OF THE LOST SLEESTAKS Will Ferrell in "Land of the Lost" Sleestak Will Ferrell Land of the Lost Land of the Lost Land of the Lost Land of the Lost Land of the Lost Land of the Lost Land of the Lost" Land of the Lost my idol Land of the Lost
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Flixster Reviews (15,190)

  • Chiefilms
    November 11, 2009
    Chiefilms
    Of course the critics ripped this movie, hard. It is a big overblown ball of hollywood junk, like a big-budget version of the show, which was popular due to it's cheese and phoniness. You ain't gonna get a good review by making a movie out of a bad tv show. A lot of people hav...( read more)e grown tired of Will Ferrell's man-child antics and dumb remarks, but I still enjoyed them in this movie. This movie is bad but a decent watch.
  • cheojackson
    November 8, 2009
    cheojackson
    Because life is too short to waste on bad movies, we turned this one off about 30 minutes in. I watched the series when I was young, but I never called myself a fan and this film wasn't doing anything to help. Stilted acting and a dearth of funny moments makes this film imminentl...( read more)y skippable.
  • Godless
    October 27, 2009
    Godless
    While I did laugh at times I was bored for 95% of the movie with a horrible story based on a horrible TV show.
  • PvtCaboose91
    October 16, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "If you don't make it, it's your own damn "vault." That's a bitch slap of truth right there."


    The 1970's television series Land of the Lost was ripe for hilarious parody. If a screen adaptation was produced that poked fun at the series and the low-budget, stop-m

    ...( read more)otion genre, a gem would be imminent. However, as it is, 2009's Land of the Lost is just a lightweight adventure in the form of a standard Will Ferrell movie. Throughout the feature, Ferrell's character runs from things and screams, and between these sequences he's engaging in semi-improvisational speeches designed to make himself look like a moron. One can watch Ferrell doing the aforementioned in literally any movie in which he features, so why would anyone want to see him repeat his same old routine under the guise of a cinematic reimagining of a '70s TV show? From the outset, it's unclear who this movie was meant to be pitched to. Was the aim to introduce the show's campy zest to a new generation of children? Or appeal to the now adult fans of the show with a combination of cheesy nostalgia and postmodern mockery? Unwisely, Land of the Lost tries to be both; peppering the story's juvenile antics with smutty adult humour. That said, it at least makes the cut in the dumb but fun department, and it's still watchable.


    In the TV series, a father and his two children on a rafting trip become sucked into a portal which teleports them to an alternate universe that fuses elements of the past (namely dinosaurs) with elements of fantasy and science fiction. This fundamental concept remains in the movie adaptation, but rather than a family of protagonists there's an unlikely trio of mere acquaintances - Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell), Holly (Friel), and Will (McBride) - who plunge into an alternate universe as the result of Rick's invention, a "Tachyon Amplifier", which was the cause of his banishment from mainstream science several years prior (following a career-ending appearance on The Today Show with Matt Lauer (who gamely played an extra-glib version of himself)).


    Once in this alternate dimension, the protagonists forge a tenuous friendship with a primate named Chaka (Taccone), and encounter the kind of scenarios that the two screenwriters (Dennis McNicholas and Chris Hench) were able to conceive when given $100 million to play with - namely, loosely connected skits tailored to the improvisatory skills and free-wheeling talents of the primary stars. There are rampaging dinosaurs, fast-crawling bugs, a race of lizard people (called the Sleestaks) and an assortment of cultural signifiers from different eras of human history (a Viking Ship, the Golden Gate Bridge, a roadside motel) scattered throughout the desert. Those involved with the production preserve creature designs and locations from the original series, as well as adding the occasional inside joke to please old fans. But the inconsistent quality of the special effects is jarring. The Sleestaks, for example, look very phoney, and the sets frequently look goofy. This is all well and good, since it's an obvious homage to the low-budget origins of the show. So why is it, then, that the dinosaurs were brought to life with state-of-the-art CGI? Early in the movie, Matt Lauer asks Rick Marshall in disbelief "You've spent $50 million studying time warps?". Meanwhile, the filmmakers blew $100 million making this motion picture when it could've been produced for half that amount to better effect.


    Contrary to common sense, Land of the Lost is absolutely not for children. Perplexingly, the filmmakers elected the hard PG-13/borderline R-rated route. Sex jokes, abrasive profanities, vulgarities, breast grabs, drug-induced hazes and a few expected bits of rather graphic violence are all incorporated into the film; imparting a darker edge to the material that's foreign to the franchise. It'd be one thing to fully commit to a gross-out, hilariously violent, curse-ridden R-rated send-up of the television program, but the filmmakers seem afraid to pursue this. The alienating approach they end up taking will most likely charm teenagers and young couples who enjoy such films as Anchorman or Talladega Nights, but it will appeal to very few others. Admittedly, there are several amusing moments scattered throughout Land of the Lost. A few one-liners delivered by McBride and Ferrell, which feel improvisational, at least achieve chuckles. The fact that this cast is better suited to a vulgar comedy environment and that the raunchiness affords the best comedic moments is compelling evidence that the filmmakers should have selected the R rating option.


    Director Brad Silberling - who was responsible for the 2004 screen adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - serves up a wonderful visual feast, supported by the efforts of production designer Bo Welch. A peculiar universe has been accomplished here, so it's a shame that the movie built around it isn't up to standard. Another key problem with Land of the Lost is that of unbelievably sloppy filmmaking. The editing in particular is simply ghastly. For instance, whenever the Tyrannosaurus Rex is chasing the characters, the spatial relationships are a mess. One moment the T-Rex is within biting distance of the characters...then in the following shot the characters have magically jumped forward about 10 or 20 metres. In a scene towards the climax, Marshall and Will rescue Holly from about eight or nine Sleestaks...they end up dispatching three or four, and suddenly they're all gone. Do the filmmakers assume we're not paying attention?


    It's possible to see the flop-sweat of desperation on Will Ferrell's forehead as he battles to mine laughs from this barren screenplay. However Ferrell's ability to play self-deluded and conceited is admittedly somewhat amusing. Danny McBride has his moments and happily pings off Ferrell, while Anna Friel delivers a pretty stoic performance as the scientist incarnation of Lara Croft...which is all the script asks of her. The only other member of the cast worth mentioning is Leonard Nimoy, who is given a cameo.


    Land of the Lost has its pleasures - the always-charming Anna Friel in small outfits, a few funny Will Ferrell moments - but it's ultimately forgettable and uneven. It's too schlocky and adult-minded in its humour for a family audience, but too dumb in its broad strokes to appeal to adults. To its credit, though, it's still enjoyable fluff, and it qualifies as one of the trippiest movies of the 2009 summer season - think the prehistoric version of Anchorman as written by Hunter S. Thompson...except it's no-where near as awesome as that sounds.
  • stuartb1234
    October 8, 2009
    stuartb1234
    Amusing but not great
  • kkantas
    November 24, 2009
    kkantas
    How did this film ever get made. BAD BAD BAD
  • ab1102
    November 24, 2009
    ab1102
    I watched this with my kids, and even though it, at times, was a bit inappropriate, we couldn't get enough
  • drumpappyhq
    November 23, 2009
    drumpappyhq
    Well It's true, this movie really does suck. Don't get me wrong, there was no amount of slacking on McBride and Ferrell's side. Performance and animation wise all's good. The suckyness lies within the mentally handicapped decisions made by the producers, writers and director. It ...( read more)is not possible to combine adult language and innuendos with a full-on kiddie centered story (an originally dumb story at that)! It will NOT work! You have to chose one or the other. I'd love to ask the makers exactly what they wanted to accomplish with all this. It sure wasn't to make money...
  • xtremeandy
    November 23, 2009
    xtremeandy
    wow the only one that I liked in this movie was the T-Rex and the thing he did with the walnut to not go into any other thing.. everything else sucked and was more of the same no wonder a couple of people lost their jobs after this humonguous flop!!

    Three years after being kic...( read more)ked out of the science department for his theory of Time warps, and his attempt on Matt Lauer's life, Rick Marshall is reduced to working as a teacher at the George C. Page Museum until he meets Holly Cantrell whose finding urges him to create a tachyon amplifier to enable time warp travel. They go to the Devils Cave attraction where the finding was found, hiring its tour guide Will Stanton. But once they've activated the tachyon amplifier, losing it in the process, the three end up in a parallel universe where all timelines converge. They soon meet some ape men, Pakuni, two of whom were going to kill the younger one, when Stanton unintentionally gives the other two the secret of fire as they run off. The gang then proceed to help the other one, named Cha-Ka, until he runs off with them in pursuit.

    Once catching up to Cha-Ka, they are trapped by a tree which turns out to be a dinosaur feeding site, being attacked by a Tyrannosaurus. The T. rex chases them until they come to a small land bridge. Marshall is convinced they are safe as he explains how a T. rex has a walnut-sized brain, and is incapable of judging depth and distance. Hearing this as he stalks away, the T. rex stops in his tracks, turns, and runs full speed to jump across the chasm. Chasing them until they reach a crevice in a cave, it gives up, though still wanting to eat Marshall. Holly, knowing the dinosaur's attitude, gives him the name "Grumpy". Though Marshall didn't believe it to be possible, Grumpy's vendetta becomes more apparent when he leaves a gify, beach-ball sized walnut, gift-wrapped.

    The next day, Cha-Ka brings fruit full of spiders. Rick pours dinosaur urine all over himself as a way to masks his scent from "Grumpy" he then has visions about a strange creature begging for his help, running out into the Lost City. The others follow as Cha-Ka gets agitated and attempts to tell them they should leave as they are attacked by the slow yet deadly Sleestaks. But when the Pylon opens, Marshall and company enter, meeting the creature who contacted them, Enik. Enik tells them that the evil Zarn is out to control the universe and needs the tachyon amplifier.

    In spite of Will's feelings, Marshall offers his aid as Cha-Ka takes the group through the jungle and onto a salt flat landscape that is a feeding site for Compsognathus and Velociraptors, who proceed to tear an ice cream man to pieces until Grumpy comes and scares them off. However, a female Allosaurus arrives as well. The two territorial predators prepare to fight when the both of them catch Marshall's urine-drenched scent and chase after him. Though managing to outsmart Grumpy, Marshall runs from "Big Alice", the Allosaurus, until he reaches Holly and Will, using the tank of liquid nitrogen to freeze the Allosaur before she explodes with the tachyon amplifier among her remains. After that, a Pteranodon steals their time machine.

    Though down in the dumps, Marshall regains his confidence as he attempts to apologize to his friends in song (The theme song to the original TV series) while unknowingly attacked by a giant mosquito. After managing to get the tachyon amplifier back from a nest of pterosaurs, they return to a motel back in the salt flat. While Marshall, Will and Cha-Ka laze in the pool, Holly goes, finding a Pylon. Inside, she finds dinosaur eggs lodged in dinosaur feces, taking one out before she find a holographic message from the Zarn, learning that Enik is the real villain and being taken by a Sleestak to stand trial for aiding him.

    Meanwhile, after eating a Giant Crab, which killed itself by stepping on a geyser while advancing on them, the three realize Holly's missing and go find her. They meet two mating Sleestaks, that shed their skin, which Marshall and Will use to disguise themselves while Cha-Ka goes to get Enik. Arriving to Holly's aid as she is condemned to death by the Library of Skulls, Marshall and Will learn that Enik was the one who wiped out the Altrusians while confirming Will's feelings about the villain's tunic. After saving Holly, the gang confront Enik and his Sleestak slaves, taking the tachyon amplifier while revealing his plans on using the Sleestaks to overpopulate the worlds. He then leaves Marshall and company to their fate as Grumpy arrives to get his revenge.

    Seeing no other way, Marshall takes on Grumpy one-on-one, ending with Marshall vaulting into the dinosaur's mouth. Though Holly chides him for it, Grumpy shrugs her off and leaves as she and Will attempt to fight off the numerous Sleestaks. However, after being excreted out while taking out some intestinal trouble, Marshall and a "less grumpy" Grumpy make their peace as they arrive to kill most of the Sleestaks. Entering the Pylon, Marshall and company manage to destroy the crystal shard that powers it, with Will choosing to stay with Cha-Ka in the Land of the Lost while holding Enik off so Marshall and Holly can return home. Will takes advantage of his new life by meeting Cha-Ka's harem which he was told earlier by Cha-Ka that they were ugly only to find them to be very hot Caribbean tanned women wearing only a loincloth. He almost immediately get surrounded by half a dozen women who start rubbing him all over. He responds to this by saying " I made the right choice."

    Back on Earth, Matt Lauer reluctantly gives a second interview with Marshall this time proven right and proceeds to rub it in Matt Lauer's face by bringing a dinosaur egg back and giving him a signed copy of his new book. But after being forced to show off the title of Marshall's new book, ''Matt Lauer Can Suck It'', history repeats itself with Matt trying to kill Marshall. Soon after the show ended, unaware of what Marshall and she left behind on the set, the dinosaur egg Holly found hatches into a baby Sleestak.

    On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell) is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant (Friel) and a redneck survivalist (McBride). In this alternate universe, the t...( read more )rio make friends with a primate named Chaka (Taccone), their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures. Can they all make it back to our world alive, and if so: Will Dr. Marshall can go from zero to hero with his discoveries?


    On his latest expedition, Dr. Rick Marshall is sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant and a redneck survivalist. In this alternate universe, the trio make friends with a primate named Chaka, their only ally in a world full of dinosaurs and other fantastic creatures.
  • iranovicki
    November 23, 2009
    iranovicki
    Adicionar uma revisão ...

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Critic Reviews

July 31, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Will Ferrell capers earnestly through a Journey to the Center of the Earth-style comic romp witless of script, wan of invention and pasty of imagery. full review

June 7, 2009
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

This big screen re-invention of the hokey old saturday morning series is a passably silly summer guilty pleasure thanks to the antics of Will Ferrell and Danny McBride. full review

June 5, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

This isn't the Land of the Lost you remember from childhood, but get on its antisocial wavelength and it's fitfully laugh-out-loud funny. full review

June 5, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

It all amounts to a certain brand of comedy -- something closer to long-form Dada than conventional humor. full review

June 5, 2009
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Land of the Lost is harmless enough. It just isn't, with the exception of a few odd air pockets, particularly funny. full review

June 5, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

This dramatically, thematically and artistically bankrupt comic fantasy cost something in the neighborhood of $100 million to make and isn't worth the celluloid it's printed on. full review

June 5, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

The only discernible intention in Land of the Lost, the latest comedy starring Will Ferrell acting like Will Ferrell, seems to have been to take a slight idea and make the least of it in a very expens... full review

June 5, 2009
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Will Ferrell and Danny McBride can find the dumb fun in anything. Too bad that Land of the Lost is so much less than anything. full review

June 5, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Not exactly a hundred million dollars' worth of classic comedy. full review

June 4, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Genially terrible, Lost is lazy, sloppy multiplex filler, good for a few solid giggles and not much more. full review

View more Land of the Lost reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • sportboy
    August 7, 2009
    sportboy
    It will be a kids movie and will always be it wasn't offensive enough for it to be an adult one.

    However the story was bad the effects were awful this was a bit like Jurassic Park but 2 times worsed the dinasours were awful in it this doesn't stand a chance to win an award.
  • thomasbrown87
    June 25, 2009
    thomasbrown87
    Damn funny, but otherwise stupid. Should be considered a kid's movie if it didn't have as much swearing.
  • josephdunphy
    June 11, 2009
    josephdunphy
    Fun fact - the movie wasn't released until June 5, yet we have somebody reviewing it in May. This movie would seem to have been prejudged, a lot.
  • gengaligo7
    May 23, 2009
    gengaligo7
    it sucks!
  • welice93
    January 30, 2009
    welice93
    Space-time vortexes suck.

    Will Ferrell stars as has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, sucked into one and spat back through time. Way back. Now, Marshall has no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts to survive in an alternate universe full of marauding dinosaurs and fantastic creatures from beyond our world—a place of spectacular sights and super-scaled comedy known as the Land of the Lost.

    Sucked alongside him for the adventure are crack-smart research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride) named Will. Chased by T. rex and stalked by painfully slow reptiles known as Sleestaks, Marshall, Will and Holly must rely on their only ally—a primate called Chaka (Jorma Taccone)—to navigate out of the hybrid dimension. Escape from this routine expedition gone awry and they're heroes. Get stuck, and they'll be permanent refugees in the "Land of the Lost".

  • Grimjack1
    August 4, 2008
    Grimjack1
    I thought it sounded cool before it had Will Ferrel's stink all over it. Now I hope it bombs.
  • markclarno1
    May 1, 2008
    markclarno1
    Please do not rate movies you have not seen. If you want to see it or not interested use that feature. Please rate movies that you have actually seen. If you walk out after the first ten minutes please do not rate either. You are not interested.
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Land of the Lost Trivia

  • In the movie "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" the character Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly (played by Will Ferrell) is a veiled reference to what 70's TV show?  Answer »
  • In the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly's name is a direct reference to which 70's children's show?  Answer »
  • "Batman" (1966)- The props used in this show, (such as the computers and guns) also were used in "Lost in Space" (1965), "Time Tunnel" (1966), "Land of the Giants" (1968), and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964).   Answer »
  • Will Ferrell movie quotes: Name the movie. "Matt Lauer can suck it!"   Answer »
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