The Lost City (English) Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
THE LOST CITY is the story of an adventure novelist who lands up in a real-life jungle adventure. Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a reclusive middle-aged author. She has retreated into her shell after her husband’s demise. She writes romance-adventure novels and the protagonist in these stories is a fictional hero named Dash McMahon. He’s portrayed by cover model Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum), a failed actor. However, thanks to being featured in Loretta’s novels, he has managed to achieve a fan following. She has recently published her new novel ‘The Lost City Of D’ and her publisher, Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), has forced her to go on a book tour along with Alan. Sadly, the promotions start on a disastrous note. On top of that, an eccentric billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) kidnaps her. He has realized that Loretta has based her books on actual historic research she did with her deceased archaeologist husband. Based on her writings, Fairfax has discovered a lost city on a remote Atlantic island and is convinced that this is the location of a priceless treasure. He asks for Loretta’s help to decipher an ancient map of the treasure. Loretta refuses and Fairfax sedates her and takes her to the island. Alan, meanwhile, witnessed the kidnapping. He is in love with Loretta and he decides to save her. Thanks to her smartwatch, Alan and Beth are able to find out about her location. Alan hires Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt), an ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative, to help him rescue Loretta. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Seth Gordon's story is entertaining and adventurous. Oren Uziel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee and Aaron Nee's screenplay is effective. The writers have fleshed out the characters of Alan and Loretta very well and their banter is quite fun, while they are being chased by the villain’s henchmen. The dialogues are funny and very witty.
Adam Nee and Aaron Nee's direction is first-rate. In 112 minutes, they pack in a lot of action, adventure and humour. One of their biggest strengths is that THE LOST CITY is based in the same zone as some of the films in recent times like UNCHARTED [2022], RED NOTICE [2021], JUNGLE CRUISE [2021] etc. Yet, not even once, do we get a déjà vu of these films. On the flipside, the film’s action scenes could have been better. The film does go on a high during the scene where Jack Trainer attempts a rescue. However, the subsequent action scenes aren’t as exciting. The villain, Fairfax, meanwhile is weak and should have been menacing. Lastly, the finale is unexpected but it might be underwhelming for some.
Sandra Bullock delivers a wonderful performance and impresses with her subtle comic timing. Channing Tatum is a pro at such roles and he delivers yet another excellent performance. His entry scene is adorable. Daniel Radcliffe is okay and is let down by the characterization. Brad Pitt looks hot and leaves a huge mark, despite having just a 10-minute role. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is funny. Patti Harrison (Allison, Loretta's social media manager) gets no scope. Oscar Nuñez (Oscar) is okay in a small role.
Pinar Toprak's music is fit for a film of this sort. Jonathan Sela's cinematography is spectacular. Jim Bissell's production design is very rich. Marlene Stewart's costumes are appealing, especially the shiny costume worn by Sandra Bullock for most of the film. Action is great in the Brad Pitt track but is average in the rest of the scenes. The other big Hollywood films have set a benchmark when it comes to eye-popping action and THE LOST CITY fails to reach that level. VFX is top-class. Craig Alpert's editing is super-slick
On the whole, THE LOST CITY is a timepass fun entertainer. It has the chance of attracting some audiences due to its family-friendly theme, entertainment quotient and terrific casting.