Using the tried and true, small child in peril plotline, the cast finds itself back in dino land trying to rescue the lost child. The child is found and cast members begin to be digested one by one, until the survivors are rescued. Ho-hum.

      What is good about the film? Stan Winston's dinosaurs are great! The fictional Spinosaurus is a terrifying beast. This guy kicks T-Rex's ass in one of the film's better scenes. Spiny likes to eat. There is nothing on the island that he can't kill. There is a tense scene when the cast first lands on the island. The 2 mercenaries brought along for protection run into the beast. Everyone runs to the plane, but of course, they crash. Spiny tears at the fuselage like he's opening a can of Pringels. The film is once frightful situation after another until the abrupt ending. The film ends jarringly, without a climax (I hate when that happens!) I guest Mr. Buchman's creative juices stopped flowing. Would it have hurt to have a massive showdown between the Spinosaurus and a whole heard of raptors? Or how about having Spiny step out on the beach at the end to take on the 6th fleet?

      In addition to the three Spiny sequences, there is an exciting sequence which takes place in a prehistoric aviary. The pterodactyls are very lifelike and threatening.

      The acting is fairly bland. Mr. Macy is excellent in one of his usual "little man" performances. Ms. Leoni is horrid. She gets to deliver on of the film's worst lines: "We have even booked seats on the first commercial flight to the moon!" (She and her husband are trying to convince Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) to be their tour guide on a special aerial sightseeing tour of the island. Didn't Dr. Grant check to see if the exorbitant check they gave him was any good?!?) I did enjoy Michael Jeter as the pilot hired to take the rescue team to the island. He is a macho mercenary type. He pulls off the role quite well. (Gotta root for my fellow Memphian!) Laura Dern appears in a mindless cameo which betrays the ending of the first film. She is just as dopey here as in the original. I hope she was well paid for what looks like one day's work. I hope Sam Neill was well paid also. He was missed in the second film, but he should have passed on this one.

      Movie fans who like to spot goofs will love this film. There is an in-joke stolen from Peter Pan involving a satellite phone. Apparently the phone ended up inside a dinosaur after it ate one of the first victims. However, other cast members are seen using the same phone after that cast member has been eaten. There are many more goofs to spot.

      If you want to see some great dinosaur sequences, then go see this film. Just be prepared to be disappointed by the overall product.

Rusty White, 2001