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thearkhound · 3 years

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Kojima Cinema Vol. 4: Lost World

Greetings from Kojima Cinema in the U.S.

At the end of the previous month we went to the United States to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), as well to research data for Metal Gear Solid. For this installment of Kojima Cinema, I'll discuss Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, which I snuck out to see after attending E3, as well as its creator Michael Crichton (who happens to be one of my favorite authors).

By the way, Lost Warld (as in a combination of World and War) was the title of a canceled project that was planned to be my first game.

Lost World from Atlanta

I saw Lost World in a movie theater inside the CNN building in Atlanta. Since it hasn't been released in Japan yet, I was able to see it without any preconceived notions, but it ended up being very disappointing. Certainly there's a lot more CGI than the first movie and the dinosaurs are even better animated, but the story was way too much like a Godzilla movie. (Or maybe it was more like King Kong? Perhaps it's closer to Gappa: The Triphibian Monster?) At any rate, what happened to Michael Crichton's original story? I felt like going to Steven Spielberg and tell him "please, don't ruin Crichton's work anymore!"

Better CGI, But Half The Impact

I'm already used to seeing CGI dinosaurs, so there wasn't as much of an impact as there was for the first movie. I remember being moved to tears during the first movie when the Brachiosaurus, the first dinosaur, showed up as if I was glad to see one alive. There's a similar scene in this movie where they encounter a group of Stegosauruses and then Dr. Ian Malcolm says something along the lines of "everyone is impressed at first, but then they all run away" (there were no subtitles, so I'm not certain), which is nothing but ironic.

Jurassic Park: The Ride: The Movie

Ultimately the movie's priority is to charm the audience by showing off dinosaurs. It felt as if the plot and the characters were only added there as an excuse to showcase all the popular dinosaurs like the Compsognathus, the raptors and the T-Rex. It felt less like a movie written to tell a story and more like a film version of the "Jurassic Park: The Ride" attraction at Universal Studios. If you look at it with that perspective, it's a well-made and calculated film.

Despite A Noticeable Rut in the Production, Spielberg's Style is Still in Good Health

Spielberg's heart-pounding style is still in good health despite all of this. The scene where the trailer is falling off the edge of a cliff could be said to be one of the highlights in Spielberg's career. I don't like it very much, but the succession of one crisis after the other makes my hands sweat. Especially the gimmick of the glass gradually breaking is a novelty that no one else has done before. But I was left with one unanswered question. Why does the rear hatch of the trailer only has one sheet glass?

Unfortunately there were many scenes that ended up being not very interesting due to the usual hackneyed direction. There are many indirect effects that we're already familiar with, such as the camera tracking used since Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the use of lost limbs as seen in Jaws, rivers and waterfall turning red due to bloodshed, also seen in the original movie, and the swaying of trees and vibrations of water surfaces that gives the dinosaurs a sense of speed and weight... Perhaps the film would've been very different if the direction had been more creative. Was this the result of relying too much on CGI?

The Movie is Not The Novel

It's been two years since I've read the original novel by Michael Crichton, so I might not remember the details clearly, but it contained a certain message. He portrayed the habits of dinosaurs more extensively than in his first novel and even unraveled the dinosaur extinction theory with his novel ideas. In that sense, the book was less of a story and more of an academic study on dinosaurs. It also carried poignant criticisms and messages, such as warnings about technology and human society. As a fan of Crichton who was aware of the original novel, this film adaptation with its strong giant monster movie flavor left me dissastisfed.

About Michael Crichton

My introduction Michael Crichton was naturally The Andromeda Strain. Since then I've read all of his novels and essays that were translated to Japanese, including his work under the John Lange penname, all the way up to Airframe, with the exception of Eaters of the Dead. Crichton is one of the few authors whom I buy the first edition hardcovers from without hesitation. I've also seen many of the films he has directed such as Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery, Runaway and even Looker. I like him as a filmmaker, even if he hasn't been holding the megaphone lately.

The Appeal of Crichton

Perhaps Crichton's appeal is that he has a visionary focus, creates a chaotic reality that is difficult to distinguish what is fact from fiction and skillfully embeds valuable information that few people know into his entertainment. The amount of data based on ideas and meticulous research is skillfully blended into products of entertainment. I aspire for the same thing Michael Crichton does in the games that I want to make. That's how I developed Snatcher and Policenauts, and it's the same thing with the upcoming Metal Gear Solid. The reason why I'm so fixated over creating a backstory or universe that doesn't really affect how a game works is because I want to get those aspects right.

Is A Fiction That Exceeds Reality Possible?

Lately there have been novels written by doctors, former mercenaries and even active policemen that ended up becoming hits. The realism and persuasiveness of such works is not something an average novelist can compete with just their imagination alone. Even I realized that when watching ER, a TV series that Michael Crichton created. What you create with knowledge will end up being completely different from what you create without. That's why asked for military advisor Motosada Mori to supervise the action and backstory in Metal Gear Solid. Recently, alongside Mr. Mori, we were able to gather research at a SWAT drill and a military base, where even saw an M1 tank. I think I was able to understand some things with such experience that I wouldn't able to from working at a desk alone. With Metal Gear Solid I hope I will able to create a video game with a Crichton-like aspect to it and not be lost in direction.

Source: Game Hihyо̄ Vol. 16 (September 1997), page 58-59

#Hideo Kojima #Jurassic Park #steven spielberg #michael crichton #Game Hihyou

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