The Lost City – Movie Reviews by Ry!

The Lost City – Treasure of the Heart: A Novel Adventure Awaits …  

Going into film, I always leave my expectation at the door.  If you go in with a certainty of thought, it will make or break your own enjoyment.  Taking the experience as is will provide a clarity of what is the journey … even if it is a throwaway adventure.  In this review, I look at the latest romcom/adventure film.  A fusion that blends genre, it becomes a journey of comedy and fun.  Even with a mix bag of tropes, The Lost City shows what it means to be … an awkward adventurer.

The film centers around two characters: A romance novelist, Loretta (Sandra Bullock) and a cover model, Alan (Channing Tatum).  Loretta has not been able to complete her new novel, The Lost City of D, since the passing of her husband.  Eventually (plot devices) she completes it and embarks on a book tour with Alan (the books cover model).  Through convenient plot devices, the two get swept away to an island by the billionaire, Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe).  This leads to the main plot: a crazy adventure to find the lost treasure of the city of D.  The foundation is routed in the aspect of a high concept film.  You have the collective of ideas (adventure, lost treasure, unlikely character pairing), that is bunched together with star power.  This jumbling of ideas creates an uncertainty of enjoyment.  In the first act, everything is generalized, creating a sense of one-dimensional storytelling.  Everything seems to be surface level humor, not straying to far from the island adventure concepts.  Once all the characters are on the island, it leads into a second act that slowly deviates from its generalization to become a journey routed in personal growth.  With the awkward pairing of a romance novelist, a crazy billionaire and an aloof cover model, it manages to strike a colorful tone of relationships that brings out dynamism of the characterized tropes.  The actors/actresses lift each situation to create uniqueness in the adventure tale.  Each interaction provides a lighthearted fervor, creating enjoyable individual moments that counter any slapstick or situational humor that don’t always hit the mark.

As the journey continues, each new moment provides revelation to the characters and the lost treasure.  Moments provide a connection to the world, expanding the world building to create a more relative environment.  This helps bring in the rom com aspect, providing a whimsical touch to the cliché thread of opposites attract.  The bulk of the journey continues a repetitive schtick of folly situations, comedic one-liners and adventure tropes, but there is this fun aspect to the comradery between the characters.  As everything comes to head, it leads to the uncovering of the treasure.  This heads into a familiar climax of triumph, providing an epilogue that showcases that ‘where is everyone now’ perspective.  The Lost City is a fun adventure, providing enough laughs in a high concept film.  If you are a fan of rom com/adventure hybrids or those involved, I say check it out.  There is plenty of fun at the theaters for the right price.

Full Score – 3 out of 5 (Theater Discount)