10 Wildly Popular Films That Are Actually Rubbish

If it hadn’t been for Titanic, The Lost World would’ve been the biggest movie of 1997. As it turned out, James Cameron’s film made $1.8 billion worldwide, while Steven Spielberg’s sequel had to settle for a “mere” $614 million.

Back in ’93, the original Jurassic Park made $920 million, so Spielberg and co slapped together a story about “site B”, threw in a child protagonist, added some too-dumb-to-be-believable victims to the mix and – presto! – scored another runaway hit. If you think that’s being unkind, consider the opening scene, which must rank among Spielberg’s worst work as a director.

It’s the kind of sequence you’d normally see in a Syfy cheapie: too stupid to realize they’re on Dinosaur Island, some ghastly rich people drink champagne on the beach and end up having an encounter with the island’s residents. Judging by their accents and mannerisms, Spielberg must’ve gone to Central Casting and said, “I’m in a hurry, just give me a plumber’s idea of a rich family.”

The daughter here is played by Camilla Belle, and being around dinosaurs proved to be good training - she later played Steven Seagal’s daughter in The Patriot.