Lost In Space 4K UltraHD

With its Wonka-style production design and colorfully clad alien life forms, Irwin Allen’s TV Show Lost in Space was like crack for kindergartners. Meaning there was plenty of material there to kickstart New Line’s  big screen reboot in 1998, featuring a new cast of Robinsons (and one ex-Friend) sent hurtling through the galaxy in a cosmic game of connect the dots.  Only this time instead of a mission to explore strange new worlds - which is what most fans really wanted – audiences got a family therapy session interrupted by metal-mouthed spiders.

John Robinson (William Hurt) and family are on a mission to Alpha Centauri to build a “Hypergate” that will open up migration from a dangerously polluted Earth. But after sabotage by Doctor Smith (Gary Oldman) everyone aboard the Jupiter 2 is now lost in a strange star system that, mysteriously, contains one of their own ships.

Director Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, The Ghost and the Darkness) gives the entire production a nice polish, overcoming some sketchy CGI with impressive model work and convincing future tech.  At the very least, LOSlooks nothing like the familiar Alien and Blade Runner knock offs.  Every set is drenched in high-intensity oranges, yellows and blues that make it a singularly unique sci-fi film…from a visual perspective.

Story wise, Akiva Goldsman’s script picks up so much baggage as it goes along that the plot collapses under its own weight.  That initial sense of adventure (the film absolutely nails the opening 45 minutes or so) gets trampled underfoot by a loopy time travel story and some “Cat’s in the Cradle” sappiness that ends things with a whimper rather than a bang. The cast isn’t half bad.  Gary Oldman is an inspired choice for the simpering Doctor Smith while Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham and Lacey Chabert pop up as needed.  And, lest we forget, Matt LeBlanc performance as Captain West, a one-note lothario only too anxious to drop a “So, how youdoin’?” 

Netflix’s reboot a few years back pulled it all off better, but that doesn’t make Lost in Space 1998 a total loss.  It’s still marvelous to look at.  Which means Arrow’s new 4K Ultra HD is a very welcome upgrade.  Not only does the HDR work wonders on Hopkin’s colorful cinematography, but the special features make this the end-all-be-all of limited editions.  New stuff includes interviews with Hopkins, DP Peter Levy, Akiva Goldsman and effect technicians plus a new video essay by critic Matt Donato.  That’s along with a full cargo of archival commentary tracks, deleted scenes, featurettes and a new collector’s booklet.

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