On a level all crust and no substance, this souffle of a comedy film nevertheless successfully entertains and teaches us a little about the absurdity of the Action-Adventure genre and ourselves.
Picture: Paramount Pictures
Premise
In the midst of a crisis of confidence, a romance novelist (Sandra Bullock) is kidnapped by a ruthless treasure-seeker (Daniel Radcliffe) because he believes she can interpret an ancient text that will lead him to the Lost City of D where he expects to find a trove of riches.
Distraught at the kidnapping, her enamoured cover model (Channing Tatum) enlists the help of a ransom expert (Brad Pitt) and they embark upon a rescue mission, whereupon crazy mayhem breaks loose.
Opinion
On one level, THE LOST CITY is a ridiculous movie. It’s a souffle, all crust and no substance. Probe more deeply however, and the film mocks and ridicules the potential absurdity of the Action-Adventure genre, and also offers a commentary on society’s attitudes about its response to celebrity and social media.
The film is at its best when focusing on the inevitable romance sub-plot and developing chemistry between Bullock and Tatum, which is just as well because throughout the second half of the film the action plot is a mere fig-leaf for that.
Bullock renders a strong performance as the disillusioned romance novelist, and, although corny at times, the edgy, comically double-entendre, tat-for-tat dialogue between her and Tatum is highly entertaining.
At first, I thought that Radcliffe lacked the gravitas to be a convincing villain; but in fact his understated British demureness lent an ominous, creepy tone to his performance that worked well in the end. I doubt, though, if he will ever match up as an archetypal Bond villain. Perhaps, though, that's the point.
Tatum fits well and easily into his role, delivering one core motivational speech with such conviction in nearly brought a tear to my eye.
Pitt played a ludicrous action hero with absurd conviction, and in some ways his was the stand-out performance. A pity then that he was written out of the movie so early, but I suppose his character had to make room for the developing romance between Bullock and Tatum, and leave them exposed in the jungle.
With Pitt around everything would have been too easy and the outcome might have been very different. It would have been nice, though, to have seen more of that emerging sparring bristle between Pitt and Tatum.
It's beautifully filmed with the lush backdrop of the Dominican Republic, and well-directed by the Nee Brothers, although there are one or two jarring cuts. The denouement works well with a wonderfully ironic conclusion to the treasure-trove plot, and a predictably corny one to the romance one. Come on – the movie’s inspired by a romance novel after all.
Finally, the plot points are satisfyingly nuanced and knit together well, which isn’t inevitably going to be the case with four writers on board.
Another film in the vague genre of JUNGLE CRUISE and ROMANCING THE STONE, as a "popcorn movie" THE LOST CITY is well-worth checking out. On the whole its’s a souffle; but it’s well baked. And a well-baked souffle is a delight to consume from time to time.
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