Arrow Video, out now

The Robinson family take off – and get lost in an over-convoluted plot… er, I mean, space…

CBS famously turned down the original Star Trek because they already had Lost in Space – but the two shows, certainly as the latter progressed, were very different creations. This 1998 big screen feature loses a lot of the goofiness – and charm – that characterised the original, but try to divorce it from its TV roots, and does it hold up?

Sort of.

There’s a lot that works better than I remembered from seeing it at the cinema at the time, and the 4K does allow many of the effects shots to be seen at their best. Unfortunately, it also lets the ropier effects come into full view (“The pain, the pain” really does seem appropriate for Dr Smith at times). Lacey Chabert’s Penny is a wry counterpoint to some of the po-faced portions, between William Hurt and Mimi Rogers in particular, and Gary Oldman doesn’t so much act as imitate Jonathan Harris’ performance. There are some fun moments for fans of the old show – the Jupiter 2’s launch, and some of the moments with the Robot (not Robbie!) – as well as the odd familiar face from that cast. But then you get the “easy sexual banter” between Matt LeBlanc’s Don West and Heather Graham’s Judy, which honestly is a reminder of that period we could do without, and assorted different plotlines which don’t quite gel together…

The movie, though, is almost secondary to the excellent package that Arrow has put together to accompany the feature. As well as the archive commentaries from the time, there are new interviews with many of the key creatives – notably director Stephen Hopkins and writer Akiva Goldsman – that bring to mind the old saying about distance lending enchantment… or maybe not.

Verdict: While the movie isn’t by any means a prime example of late 90s sci-fi filmmaking, kudos to Arrow for a top package, giving this an extra point! 7/10

Paul Simpson