Movie Review Rewind: Land of the Lost (2009)

I want to start off by saying I am writing this after the weekend box office numbers have come in. And Land of the Lost is being considered the first summer flop of 2009. It made under $20 million and had a budget of $200 million. But I have no idea why this movie didn’t make more. Well maybe I do. It’s called The Hangover. Even so, I’m glad just to see Will Ferrell not being in a sports movie.

Land of the Lost is a big-screen version of the TV show. Ferrell is funny in it, but it also has some action and adventure, which Ferrell’s movies hardly have any of. The movie spends money on its EFX while also keeping it true to the original with costumes of aliens with people actually in them. It looks cheap and that’s a compliment.

Ferrell plays Dr. Rick Marshall, who believes you can travel between time and space, creating the machine that will allow him to do just that. This takes a research assistant/fan of Marshall named Holly (Anna Friel), and Will (Danny McBride), a redneck survivalist to the Land of the Lost. Ferrell does play a character with an ego, which is no different than all the other characters he has portrayed. But at least this type of character is set in a world we have never seen before.

The movie still has some of Ferrell’s humor, but toned down quite a bit. McBride is so good at being white trash, delivering some of the funniest lines in the whole movie. Ferrell and McBride work well off each other because of them working together on more than a few projects and having the same humor. The cast and director Brad Silberling (Casper, City of Angels) deliver on everything Land of the Lost promises. It’s funny, entertaining, and fun to watch.

Lastly, I have to mention the character of Chaka (Jorma Taccone). Chaka is a primate that almost steals every scene he’s in. His relationship with Dr. Rick Marshall is definitely fun to watch. It really is a love/hate relationship, but between a man and a primate. The movie wouldn’t have it any other way.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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