Jurassic World hasn’t even opened yet and people are already talking about a sequel. And why not? The fourth film in this ever-beloved franchise is on track to make a ton of money in its opening weekend. Unless the movie is a total critical disaster that everyone hates, a follow-up will happen, even if director Colin Trevorrow won’t be around to yell “Action!” and “Cut!” It’s inevitable.
So that brings us to the question of the moment: where do you go after Jurassic World? After all, they’ve already upped the ante from “park” to “world,” which is one helluva jump. The next step is obvious and natural: it’s time to send the dinosaurs to outer space.
Okay, this is where I’ll get serious. No, I do not think a fifth Jurassic Park movie should take place in space. That’s a terrible a terrible idea. Granted, it’s a terrible idea that I would pay big bucks to see, but I would never actually endorse it…even though the thought of a T-Rex floating through a zero-g pen desperately trying to devour hapless astronauts makes the caveman corners of my brain light up with idiotic glee. The real reason I bring this up is because Jurassic World is currently saturating the market with all things dinosaur and I can’t stop thinking of one the best bad science fiction movies I have ever seen: Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet.
Since no one has actually made “Jurassic Park in Space,” Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet has the unique honor of being the only film to remotely come close to that delirious logline. Released in 1965, the film follows a team of space explorers who land on the surface of Venus, only to learn that the Earth’s next door neighbor is, inexplicably, home to dinosaurs. The result is 74 minutes of poorly dubbed actors running around inexpensive but surprisingly gorgeous sets while getting in firefights with people in dinosaur costumes.
To be fair, the version that you will find in every B-movie box set is the ruthlessly re-edited American cut of a supposedly superior Soviet movie. However, we will say this much for what the American distributors did to the film: they did everything in their power to make the whole thing incomprehensible.
No one will ever accuse the American cut of Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet of being good, but I will stand here and accuse it of being one of the best movies you will ever watch when you’re under influence of your choice substance. Like many cheap genre movies, it takes a little while to get going (and there are endless scenes of characters flying or driving nowhere in particular), but the good stuff is so good that it has to be seen to be believed. This is the only movie ever made where astronauts, with glass bubble helmets and everything, fire handguns at velociraptors.
And while you will find plenty to laugh about when you watch this movie, a part of you, deep down inside, will realize that this thing is ripe for rediscovery. Hell, it’s ripe for a remake! Imagine astronauts battling dinosaurs on a $150 million budget! Imagine a certified genius like Guillermo del Toro calling the shots. If that doesn’t stir up your nerdy interest than you have to answer an important question: what is it like to not know joy?
Don’t take my word for it. Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet has fallen into the public domain and you can watch it in the YouTube embed below. I can guarantee that you will have as much fun with this movie as you will with Jurassic World (even if you have fun for all of the wrong reasons).
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Source:: http://www.movies.com/movie-news/voyage-to-prehistoric-planet/18590?wssac=164&wssaffid=news
