Lost in Space (1998)
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A family's voyage to a new planet is derailed by a saboteur, forcing them to survive in uncharted space.
The story
In 2058, Earth becomes uninhabitable due to pollution and ozone depletion. To save humanity, the United Global Space Force sends Professor John Robinson and his family on the spaceship Jupiter II to construct a hypergate over the planet Alpha Prime. However, the mission is compromised when a mutant terrorist group assassinates the pilot and a spy sabotages the ship's robot. After the ship is thrown off course and transported through hyperspace to a remote planet, the family must navigate dangerous distortions in time and space while attempting to find a way back to Earth.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2058, the Robinson family travels on the Jupiter II to Alpha Prime to build a hypergate for Earth's refugees. A terrorist group kills the pilot, and a spy, Dr. Zachary Smith, sabotages the ship's robot. The robot malfunctions, causing the ship to crash into a remote planet. The crew discovers abandoned ships and a camouflaging creature called 'Blarp'. They encounter time distortions where they meet a future version of Will, who reveals that spiders killed the rest of the family. The future Smith reveals he killed the Robinsons to populate Earth with spiders. John manages to destroy Smith, but the planet becomes unstable. The family uses the ship's gravity well to slingshot into space. Finally, the future Will sacrifices himself to send John back to his family, while the present family escapes into hyperspace toward Alpha Prime.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 130
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Stephen Hopkins
- Writers
- Akiva Goldsman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Gary Oldman · Doctor Zachary Smith; William Hurt · Professor John Robinson; Matt LeBlanc · Major Don West; Mimi Rogers · Professor Maureen Robinson; Heather Graham · Doctor Judy Robinson; Lacey Chabert · Penny Robinson; Jack Johnson · Will Robinson; Jared Harris · Older Will Robinson
- Genres
- science fiction; action-adventure
- Themes
- survival; family; time travel; environmental collapse
- Tone and mood
- action-adventure; science fiction
- Setting
- The future (2058) in space and on a remote planet.
- Premise and plot tags
- space adventure; time travel; robot; terrorism
- Source material / true-story basis
- The 1965–1968 CBS television series Lost in Space, which was loosely based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.
- Franchise connections
- Lost in Space
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics, with some calling it 'dim-witted' and 'the dumbest and least imaginative adaptation'. It was a box office success, grossing $136.1 million on an $80 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 4.9 · scale: 10 · review count: 84; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 19
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actor · Nomination; Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Remake or Sequel · Nomination; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst Supporting Actress · Win
- Production trivia
- Lacey Chabert made her first feature film appearance in this movie.; Several actors from the original television show made cameo appearances.; The film was New Line's hope to launch a multimedia franchise, including animated and live-action television series.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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