It's pointless to go into all that went on behind the scenes of this monumental turkey, superb articles and a truly excellent documentary (Lost Soul) have already done so. Suffice to say, had we gotten the original Richard Stanley film (the script is to be found online), we might have gotten a modern Science Fiction/Horror masterpiece along the lines of John Carpenter's The Thing. Instead we got one of the biggest film fiascos, perhaps, of all time. Marlon Brando looks (and acts) an utter fool as Moreau. So sad to see what was America's greatest actor as an overweight mime/clown, his glory days long gone. Val Kilmer is equally horrible in his role, on an incredible ego trip via the Batman film he was in, he gives a truly embarrassing performance that rightfully helped to derail his career. Fairuza Balk, at least, tries real hard. She was utterly disgusted at Stanley's firing and wanted desperately to quit the film. But contractually bound, she was forced to stay. She does well to hide the strain and give a good performance. But it's a shame she has to be associated with this. Other than that, it's the magnificent make up FX of the Stan Winston Studio that shines, and the beast men and women are very, very impressive.In the end, it gives misfire a new name and only further sullied the later, downward spiral, career of John Frankenheimer. Island of Lost Souls easily trumps this. Even the 1977 version is better. Honestly.

One needs to have a serious sense of humor to watch this epic disaster of a movie which I luckily have about this film.This reboot of H.G. Wells's classic mad scientist tale maintains its roots in the original material. The story is straightforward in staying relatively faithful to the novel on which it is based. As with every book to screen adaptation there is of course Hollywood changes such as adding in a love interest for the hero. Sadly that lowers the quality of the story a bit, but does not derail the plot.What does hurt the film is its horrendous miscasting of the lead roles. The story of switching cast members around on this project is highly infamous. In particular is the switch of star Val Kilmer from the film's hero to the film's secondary antagonist; this was at the actor's request due to his on- set rampage over personal issues that he took out on his fellow actors and the crew. Kilmer is not convincingly villainous as Montgomery, rather a crude caricature of a wannabe baddie. Taking Kilmer's spot as the hero, Douglas, is a terribly miscast David Thewlis after actor Rob Morrow bowed out due to the chaotic nightmare of the film's delaying production. Thewlis is visibly uncomfortable in the lead role that it shows during the entire film. And finally in a disastrous turn as the mad Dr. Moreau was the infamously uncooperative Marlon Brando (he won the Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor over co-star Val Kilmer for the film). Brando clearly demonstrates his lack of preparation for the role as he recites dialogue just as someone reading it to him; one of Brando's infamous tactics in all his later work. Chemistry between all members of the cast is absent and is completely evident from the start.I do recommend seeing this film more for the notoriety of the production process. It's one bad "B movie" though like a "D movie"

This is adapted from the story by HG Wells in 1896, which was famously filmed as 'The Island of Lost Souls' in 1932, concerning animal/human hybrids.Initially, Douglas's (David Thewlis) disrespectful comments about Moreau's cross-bred children, whilst in their presence, grinds alongside their exemplary manners. Indeed, the agent is told there is not one note of malice in them. However, it soon becomes obvious that Moreau's control over them is far from humane, and the good doctor is – not that there was ever much doubt – insane.Marlon Brando wrestles with an upper-crust British accent and some outsized false teeth. The accent is perfect, the prosthetics less so, rendering occasional moments of dialogue incomprehensible. His performance though, is terrific. Dangerous and a lot of fun. From his first appearance, draped in white, outsized sunglasses and a full face smothered in white 'sunblock', he is delightfully bizarre.The film loses something when Brando's presence is removed, and events become a bit of a jumble. Val Kilmer's Montgomery, who takes Moreau's place, is good, but he's no Marlon Brando.Ultimately, 'The Island of Doctor Moreau' is a thoroughly enjoyable film. David Thewlis (who joined the film after shooting had started, replacing another actor) initially seems miscast as Douglas, but he soon proves himself as the talented actor he is. The same can be said for the various hybrids, most of who really take advantage of the excellent make-up jobs and imbue them with tangible emotion which would be lost if everything was achieved with CGI.It is difficult to ignore the critical mauling the film received, due in part to a series of unfortunate occurrences behind the scenes. Viewed almost 20 years after its release – and I speak as someone yet to see the original Charles Laughton version, so therefore have no other film to compare this to – I found it hugely enjoyable.

Ever wonder where Col. Kurtz would've ended up had he survived the end of "Apocalypse Now"? Well, now we know: He exiled himself to a deserted island to create humanimals -- the horror, the horror.The 1996 version of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" was such a troubled production that articles, books and documentaries have been made about it, like the 2014 documentary "Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau." Stanley championed the project and wrote the screenplay, but was fired after a few days of filming due to conflicts with Val Kilmer, who wasn't in the best of moods due to being served divorce papers while on set. The production was so bad that Fairuza Balk (the cat-lady, Aissa) literally tried to escape the set, but was caught at the airport in the nick of time. Add to this Brando's well-known eccentricities - not helped by the recent suicide of his daughter, Cheyenne (!) - and constant rewrites and you have a formula for cinematic chaos! In light of the horrible production and the ensuing bad press you would think this would be a lousy movie, but it's actually not that bad. I can see WHY some people don't like it because parts of the third act are pretty insane and don't flow very well, but if you're a sucker for lost-on-an-island type yarns and appreciate the mood & insanity of films like "Apocalypse Now" and the original "Planet of the Apes" ("It's a madhouse, a MADHOUSE!") you'll probably appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, it's nowhere near the caliber of either of those films, but comparisons are inevitable and it IS entertaining despite its flaws.WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The flow of the movie seems off and, as such, the story isn't that compelling, which is mostly apparent in the mounting craziness of the third act, which tempts the viewer to tune out. However, it's not THAT bad. WHAT WORKS: The title sequence is kinetic and dazzling, perhaps one of the best in the history of cinema; the score by Gary Chang is varied and all-around phenomenal ('nuff said); the plot is intriguing; the humanimal make-up and actors are quite good with Daniel Rigney's 'Hyena-Swine' standing out (Rigney would be dead a mere year after the film's release); the movie possesses an undeniable creative pizazz; Marlon Brando's 35-minute stint is as captivating as always; the inclusion of Dr. Moreau's "Mini-Me" is hilarious in hindsight of the Austin Powers trilogy; and there are definite flashes of greatness, like Edward's revelatory talk with Aissa in the third act. Marlon's Dr. Moreau is a variation of Kurtz (i.e. nutjob in the jungle), albeit twenty years later. For Brando fans it's enjoyable seeing him in his old age. This was one of his final films and it shows that he had his magnetic charm until the end.Furthermore, there are some interesting themes if you look closely: The humanimals who get to live in Dr. Moreau's abode are more human-like in appearance than the animals living in the smelly humanimal 'village' in the forest; the most human-like one, Aissa, he even refers to as his daughter. Wouldn't this lead to tensions between the factions? While Moreau is a benevolent dictator he's still a dictator and dictator's are rarely good. When Hyena-Swine usurps the crown he immediately becomes a malevolent dictator. The original version runs 96 minutes and the DC 99 minutes. The film was shot in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. GRADE: B-