© Universal Pictures

You know what, when I first saw the trailers for Land of the Lost I didn’t get it.  I’d never seen the TV show and I figured the movie was just a shitty vehicle for Will Ferrell and that they’d skimped on the effects as a way to cut the budget.  I still haven’t seen the TV show but after watching the film I think I have a good understanding of why it is like it is.

The film tells the story of Dr Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) who’s the laughing stock of the scientific community because of his outlandish theory of time travel and alternate dimensions.  Three years after a meltdown on early morning TV he is approached by Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) about finishing his research and a couple of days later she convinces him to take it out on field trip.  That field trip takes place at a run down “cave” attraction operated by Will Stanton (Danny McBride).  Marshall turns on his device and they’re sucked into another time/dimension.  Whilst in this new world they encounter an intelligent T-Rex, a monkey man called Cha-Ka (Jorma Taccone) and the lizard-like Sleestaks, all whilst trying to recover Marshall’s device so that they can get home.  Hilarity or mediocrity ensues, depending on your sensibilities.

I really enjoyed this film for what it is, a riff on a goofy Saturday morning TV show from the 1970′s and a vehicle for Will Ferrell and Danny McBride to do their thing and Anna Friel to look smoking hot in those short shorts.  The special effects are terrible on purpose so as to mock the quality of the TV show the film adapts and to provide another humourous element, and this is something I didn’t really get when I first saw the trailers to the film.  I had just about zero knowledge of the TV show and this film was only on my radar because of Will Ferrell’s and Danny McBride’s involvement.  The trailers made it out to be an adventure flick with some comedy thrown in and it looked terrible.  A better way to approach the film is as a straight comedy with the barest bit of adventure added.  Also the barest bit of a plot too as the story is paper-thin at best.

Ultimately I think anyone’s enjoyment of this film will come down to how much they like Will Ferrell and Danny McBride.  If like me you think that neither can do any wrong then you’ll almost certainly enjoy this film, however if you’re one of the people who are tired of either guys schtick then you’ll probably want to pass on this one as they stick to their routine pretty tightly.  I love what both guys do in just about everything the make so needless to say I enjoyed this flick.  Plus there’s the added bonus of Anna Friel in those tiny shorts and white singlet talking in her natural English accent.

Final Grade: C

Conclusion
Yeah, Will Ferrell and Danny McBride play the same character in just about everything they do, but I like that.  It’s not a knockout final grade but it’s not a knockout movie either.  Watch it for Ferrell, McBride and Friel and not for any semblance of a story.  Know this going in and you should enjoy it.