“Land of the Lost” has tasty ingredients, but doesn’t mix them in the right proportion. It blends comedy, adventure and cheesiness (as per the old TV serial it’s based on), but I can’t recommend the finished concoction. Among goofball sci-fi rides, it’s easier to watch than the painful “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” but not as fun as “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D.”
There’s too much comedy (or rather, too much of an attempt at comedy at the expense of adventure) in the mix. Will Ferrell is his usual amusing self, and Danny McBride takes the lazy-but-effective approach to laughs that worked for him in “Pineapple Express.” Throw in Anna Friel of “Pushing Daisies” as the token honey and a monkey-man from the dimension they’re traveling through, and you have an appealing quartet.
However, the humor is only worthy of grins, not guffaws, and it’s provided by the cast, not the screenwriters. For example, Ferrell’s antics save a scene where he’s dumping hadrosaur urine all over himself.
Ferrell plays the scientist who thinks he’s a genius (it turns out he is, but that’s beside the point); he makes a steady stream of wise pronouncements even in the midst of the adventure. You might have seen the preview clip where he’s speaking about running in a serpentine pattern to overcome a T-rex’s inability to make quick directional changes; of course, the T-rex catches him anyway (but doesn’t rip him to shreds, because it’s not that kind of movie).
Because the main character doesn’t take the predator too seriously, and because the Rex doesn’t behave in character, the tone is light and you never really feel like anything’s at stake. Last year’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” by contrast, was an adventure with genuine perils. It was just as scientifically silly as “Land of the Lost,” but it was a better ride.
Fans of Ferrell and the T-rex (who has built up an impressive body of work himself since “Jurassic Park”) will feel a little let down by this one. For fans of the TV show, I suppose there are insider references to appreciate. But after seeing this play out on a giant screen, some of those fans might be wondering why they liked the show in the first place.