Most of the reviews I have read (okay...all of the reviews I've read!)
have not been very kind to this score. That's too bad because I happen to like it. One
explanation may be that I had the soundtrack before I saw the movie. Yes, the movie stunk
(read the book!), but I think that the score is pretty good. It's a whole lot darker than
Jurassic Park as is the movie. Some have complained at
the lack of the original JP theme in The Lost World, but I feel that the music is
out of place in this movie to be used too much. Why use a theme that speaks of mystery and
wonder? We KNOW what's on the island...total carnage! The original Jurassic
Park theme surfaces in some of the quieter moments (tracks 5, 8, and 14), but for
the most part the score is filled with action cues.
That said, I think the main theme works very well in the
context of the movie. It sounds like a cross between the theme for Lawrence of Arabia
and music for an African safari flick. The main theme also gives you a small taste for
what the rest of the score is like. The Hunt is an interesting track and it does manage to convoy a sense of big game hunting
(especially at the end where the music trails off and resembles the hurried footsteps of
large creatures scampering off.) Rescuing Sarah is another good track with plenty of action as Eddie Carr attempts to keep the
trailer from going over. The Raptor's Appear is another scary piece of music with "jungle sounds" all around and an
underlying sense of fear and helplessness. I also like Finale and Jurassic Park Theme
which is almost the same as the end credits from Jurassic Park,
but played a little faster.
If you like dark action music, The Lost World gives
you plenty of it. Just see it for what genre William's was shooting at and forget that
the original Jurassic Park ever existed.
****
