Title – The Lost City (2022) 

Director – Aaron & Adam Nee (Band of Robbers) 

Cast – Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt

Plot – Novelist Loretta Sage (Bullock) and her books cover model Alan Caprison (Tatum) get caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse deep in the jungle after a kidnapping from the determined billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Radcliffe). 

“Jungles eat people like us” 

Review by Eddie on 19/04/2022

While far from a laugh riot or a product that in anyway, shape or form tries to rewrite the romantic comedy adventure rulebook that has long been a staple of such well liked films as Romancing the Stone, Aaron and Adam Nee’s The Lost City is a consistently enjoyable and pleasing Hollywood ride that coaxes along off the chemistry between its leading duo to produce a now rare type of studio film that never tries too hard while embracing what it is and what its end goal entails.

Following the exploits of Sandra Bullock’s widowed novelist Loretta Sage and her cover model Alan Caprison (played by a once-more dimwitted Channing Tatum) as the two mismatched adults find themselves on an exotic jungle covered island that Daniel Radcliffe’s resentful billionaire Abigail Fairfax has partially claimed in order to find some fabled lost treasure, City surprises little in any of its narrative beats or formulaic delivery but like comfort food the Nee’s film provides exactly what has been prescribed in any of the films trailers or marketing campaigns, allowing the film to be one of the more successful high-profile comedies of recent memory. 

Wasting little time on anything that could be considered attempts at providing anything deeper than getting easy laughs from Bullock’s double wedgies or Tatum’s battle against blood sucking leeches, City understands what it is and who its for as Bullock brings her Miss Congeniality comedic skills and Tatum brings his 21 Jump Street smarts to the film that gives its duo plenty of material too work with, even if their both overshadowed by a scene-stealing Brad Pitt as mysterious son of a weatherman Jack Trainer.

Bouncing off one another with ease and clear enjoyment, Bullock and Tatum make for perfect partners in crime as they battle Fairfax’s incompetent goons, the dangerous jungle and inappropriate footwear and their interplay with one another goes a long way to cover over the films cracks that are constantly appearing in the rather daft story and adventure components and the fact the film suffers from genuinely killer set pieces that the best of Hollywood comedies have alongside the filler chuckles. 

These cracks and missteps of the film matter rather little in the overall proceedings of the film and while City is a film you’re unlikely to be quoting to your friends or remembering months down the line, City reminds us all that sometimes middle tier films such as this that exist merely for easy wins and mindless entertainment have a place in our movie going lives as much as any other products we consume. 

Final Say – 

Getting a boost from its on song leads and easy going charm, The Lost City isn’t groundbreaking stuff buts its a perfectly fun and harmless comedic adventure that is sure to entertain the masses. 

3 CrossFit certifications out of 5