I never really watched the original Lost In Space
series. Saw it a couple of times but it never
really interested me. Now, along comes a re-vamped
version of the adventures of the Space Family
Robinson. Not knowing much about the original
series, I can only review this film based on its
own merits. From the very beginning, the movie
explodes with action and great special effects.

You become completely immersed in a fantastic
future world. Unfortunately, this future earth is
dying due to environmental damage. The Robinson
family is inexplicably chosen to travel to the
only other planet fit for colonization. Their
plan is to build a hypergate (orbiting the new
planet) which will allow ships from earth to
instantaneously make the jump to the new home.
Don West (Matt LeBlanc) is the cocky pilot chosen
for the mission.

Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman), while attempting to
sabotage the ship, is knocked unconscious and is
unwittingly onboard when the ship leaves earth.
After the Robinsons thwart Dr. Smith's sabotage
attempt, they are forced to use hyperdrive to
escape the sun's gravitational pull. Hyperdrive
sends them to a distant and unknown quadrant of
deep space.

While the Robinsons are grappling with the problems
at hand, they are also trying to keep their family
from falling apart. John Robinson (William Hurt)
struggles to balance his family life with his work.
Maureen Robinson (Mimi Rogers) is trying to make her
husband and children communicate on a more personal
level. The kids are like most young people of our time.
Will Robinson (Jack Johnson) is a kid genius who is
starving for more attention from his father.

Judy Robinson (Heather Graham) is very much like her
father in that she is a scientist who consumes herself
in her work. And Penny Robinson (Lacey Chabert) is an
adolescent rebel struggling to find an identity. I would
guess that this is a much more complex version of the
Robinsons compared to the original family. The gang runs
into a race of giant spiders and other sinister stuff
as they search for a way back home. Time travel comes
into play as an interesting plot twist.

Always engaging and very fast-paced, Lost In Space is
different from most science fiction fare because of the
family element which adds a little more urgency to the plot.
Imagine what it would feel like to undertake a dangerous
mission with your loved ones along for the ride. I think
director Stephen Hopkins had a difficult job in trying to
splice together tender family moments with non-stop action.
I don't believe that this was successful overall. The real
drama of the film was smothered by the state-of-the-art
special effects. Oldman's Dr. Smith stole the show, looking
and acting the part. This is a role that Oldman was born to
play and he was fun to watch throughout the film. Lost In
Space is essentially an action film, and a pretty good
one at that. Don't expect a touching family drama, though.