I saw this TV two-parter this Christmas, and I think it is one of the best adaptations of this story sofar. In fact, it isn't all that faithful to Conan Doyle's original book about the cantankerous professor Challenger and his expedition to a plateau in the Brazilian rainforest where dinosaurs allegedly still roam.
First of all, several attributes of Conan Doyle have been toned down somewhat for modern consumption. This is most noticeable in the band's treatment of the 'ape-men': where the novel characters happily assisted in the slaughter of these 'pithecantropine' creatures, in this adaptation it is exactly their wish to save them that nearly leads to their destruction. Also, Bob Hoskins' Challenger is a much more normal and therefore likeable character than the professor in the book. An important addition has been made in the form of Peter Falk's creationist missionary, which takes the place of the mischievous natives in exiling the expedition on the plateau. Far from detracting, this actually tightens the plot considerably, although the expedition members are, in all truth, a tad slow on the uptake.
A final addition is that of Agnes Cluny in what seems to be a legacy of the 1925 film adaptation. Again, this addition is a useful one, since it explains how the expedition members are able to communicate with the indians atop the plateau.
Having said this, the film is very much loyal to Conan Doyle in spirit: it is giving an accurate portrayal of late Victorian mentality, and it basically remains an adventure romp. Conan Doyle's novel is somewhat unspecific as to the expedition's activities once on the plateau, and this adaptation makes good use by inserting some interesting scenes. The CGI sometimes comes straight out of the BBC series -Walking with Dinosaurs-; take, for instance, the Diplodocuses, the Iguanodon, and Allosauruses. Most of the time this works quite well, sometimes it doesn't, and the protagonists look like they're watching a bluescreen (which I presume they were). Still, a very good adaptation, which is in many respects better than its written original.
First of all, several attributes of Conan Doyle have been toned down somewhat for modern consumption. This is most noticeable in the band's treatment of the 'ape-men': where the novel characters happily assisted in the slaughter of these 'pithecantropine' creatures, in this adaptation it is exactly their wish to save them that nearly leads to their destruction. Also, Bob Hoskins' Challenger is a much more normal and therefore likeable character than the professor in the book. An important addition has been made in the form of Peter Falk's creationist missionary, which takes the place of the mischievous natives in exiling the expedition on the plateau. Far from detracting, this actually tightens the plot considerably, although the expedition members are, in all truth, a tad slow on the uptake.
A final addition is that of Agnes Cluny in what seems to be a legacy of the 1925 film adaptation. Again, this addition is a useful one, since it explains how the expedition members are able to communicate with the indians atop the plateau.
Having said this, the film is very much loyal to Conan Doyle in spirit: it is giving an accurate portrayal of late Victorian mentality, and it basically remains an adventure romp. Conan Doyle's novel is somewhat unspecific as to the expedition's activities once on the plateau, and this adaptation makes good use by inserting some interesting scenes. The CGI sometimes comes straight out of the BBC series -Walking with Dinosaurs-; take, for instance, the Diplodocuses, the Iguanodon, and Allosauruses. Most of the time this works quite well, sometimes it doesn't, and the protagonists look like they're watching a bluescreen (which I presume they were). Still, a very good adaptation, which is in many respects better than its written original.