Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLost in Space (1998)
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It's an axiom of modern SFX-dominated blockbusters - and this spin-off from the '60s TV series (itself a reworking of Swiss Family Robinson) boasts 750 such effects - that story and characterisation limp along in the rear. And despite the hard work of Hurt (as Prof Robinson who is rocketed with his family on a ten-year journey to Alpha Prime for a colonisation recce), deadpanning LeBlanc (his cocky top-gun captain Don West), and villainous Oldman (mad stowaway saboteur Dr Zachary Smith), this proves the rule. The response of a family under duress (while avoiding a collision with the sun, they get lost in deep space and time the other side of the 'Hyper Space Gate') is addressed in only token fashion. Most effort has gone into the impressive Star Wars-style opening dogfight and the edge-of-your-seat closing sequences, leaving a drawn out mid-section on the ship, with only a standard mutant insect invasion to pass the time.Author: WH
Cast & crew
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Producer: Mark W Koch, Stephen Hopkins, Akiva Goldsman, Carla Fry
Cast: Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Jared Harris, Edward Fox full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Duration: 130 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now