The Lost City is finally here. Now just to clarify, I will not be reviewing the Lost City of Z or Dorah and the Lost City of Gold. These “masterpieces” will stay quiet for now. Instead, I will be diving into the newest blockbuster comedy – The Lost City.
Before I started writing this, I was sitting there thinking what the fuck do I talk about. That’s for one simple reason – this movie is very “straight down the line.” What I mean by that is that it is an extremely formulaic and simple Hollywood movie. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad but its just that and nothing more. There is so much wasted potential – let me explain.
The Writing
If you haven’t watched the trailer yet I would seriously recommend you skip it. This movie is everything you see in the trailer and nothing more. Call it Sony because they hide absolutely nothing. But even if you haven’t watched it, you could guess exactly what is going to happen. There is no twists, no reveals, no interesting character arcs. This plot is very simple, and it almost worked – except for one key problem.
The movie is not funny. Overall, it has some solid laughs (all of which are shown in the trailer) but apart from that it is pretty flat. I have a theory that this film is filled with a lot of improv. Maybe I am completely off the mark, but it always feels like the camera is just placed on Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock and they are told to just be funny. Now Channing Tatum is a very good comic actor, but Sandra Bullock is not, and I think that’s why it doesn’t work. He is trying to carry this movie, but he has no one to bounce off like in 21 Jump Street. His lines are good, he just has no one to keep it moving like Jonah Hill.
The biggest writing fuck up in this film is the location. For what feels like half the film, it is just Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in a jungle. I do not understand why they weren’t exploring caves, going underground, or solving puzzles. Now I realised that this was because Sandra is keeping it all a secret from Mr Tatum. But this also made no sense. They should have made her tell him straight away and then have the two exploring ancient puzzles and booby traps like in Indiana Jones, The Mummy or even Moon Knight. Imagine how much more entertaining and funnier this could have been. It would have led to so many more and better-quality jokes.
The Acting
As I previously said, Channing Tatum carries this film. He brings such a charismatic energy to this movie that would have been dead in the water if it wasn’t for him. Not only for his comedic performance but also the dramatic elements. He really sells these heartfelt moments and adds layers to a pretty standard comedic character.
Sandra Bullock is shooting about 30%. She doesn’t seem to care or want to go for it in any way. Maybe its just her plastic surgery but she genuinely doesn’t do much with the comedic moments or even the dramatic ones. I truly believe she was given the role because they knew it would draw in 50-year-old woman.
Daniel Radcliffe is solid. I do like how he progressively gets more and more insane until he is just a ball of anger and fury. He often over acts but it seems to work for the most part. Realistically, he is just playing the same character as Now You See me.
Brad Pitt however is incredible. He has some great action scenes that were almost definitely all stunt double. Nevertheless, he really steals the spotlight for the short amount of time he is on the screen. He is funny without trying and as usual, very charismatic. As you would expect, he is introduced to the film by eating. Very nice.
Honestly, there is not much else I have left to say about the Lost City. It is ultimately a good film that could have been great with funnier actors and better writing. Instead, it is a simple and straight down the line blockbuster comedy that focuses on star power instead of comic writing.
Should you see it?
Yes definitely. This movie is perfect to go the movies and watch something easy that doesn’t require to much (or any) brain power).