May 11, 1997 -- "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" is one of those rare sequels that is better than the original. It is more intense, more suspenseful and definitely scarier and, unlike the original, it has a plot.

The sequel, picks up where the original left off. We discover that there was a second island of dinosaurs "site b." One of the original actors from "Jurassic Park," Jeff Goldblum, reprises his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm. He is talked into returning to the jaws of danger by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) who informs him his girlfriend is on the island studying the dinosaurs.

Malcolm takes the job, intending to talk his girlfriend into returning. His daughter, Kelly (Lee Chester) stows away, all plans go awry and the cast spends the rest of film running from dinosaurs. Quite a number of them end up as dino dinner. This film is intense enough that parents ought to think twice about bringing young children to see it.

Although the film carries the usual Hollywood environmentalist-leftist-animal-hugging-anti-capitalist-anti-technological message, there are some surprises. A hunter, Dieter Stark (Pete Postlethwaite), is actually portrayed in a positive light.

This film, like the original, is directed by Steven Spielberg, who shows he still knows how to direct a thriller. It reminds me a bit of "Jaws." There's a good introduction with Dr. Malcolm and his daughter and there are some interesting scenes between Malcolm and his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore).

The special effects are great. The dinosaurs look more realistic than they did in the original film. The only fault I found with the movie is the last part, which seemed unnecessary. It was an almost comical caricature of dozens of other films from "Godzilla" to "King Kong." The cinematic clichés overwhelmed the screen. In spite of that, I'll give it an A.

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