Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: A reclusive romance novelist on a book tour with her cover model gets swept up in a kidnapping attempt that lands them both in a cutthroat jungle adventure.
Review: If you’re under the age of 30 or not into 80s movies, you’ve probably never heard of the romantic adventure film, Romancing the Stone. No worries though, The Lost City is basically that movie in a brand new nutshell.
While it’s obviously inspired by the Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner movie (which had a sequel by the way called Jewel of the Nile, though it wasn’t as good as the first one so feel free to skip it, but I digress) The Lost City stars Sandra Bullock as romance novelist Loretta, who has lost her inspiration and her zest for adventure after her husband died. While on a book tour for her next and possibly last novel, she’s kidnapped by millionaire and rare antiques collector Fairfax played by Danielle Radcliffe, who thinks she can help him locate a priceless crown. And it’s up to her cover model, the sweet but not too bright Alan/Dash, played by Channing Tatum, to rescue her.
I don’t really like describing a movie as the kind you can “switch your brain off” to, but if the crown fits right? The Lost City is one of those movies that doesn’t require much to be fun, and fun it is. Bullock can play roles like these in her sleep by now and Tatum is no stranger to comedy, but what really adds the shine to the jewel here (I’m sticking with the crown metaphors, don’t @ me) is their chemistry. These two not only have great on-screen chemistry but they also know how to improvise a funny line or two. Radcliffe seems to be having the time of his life playing the villain for once, and although I give him props for committing to the role, I didn’t quite buy it. He’s just too damn cute. Oscar Nunez (The Proposal, The Office) is always good for a laugh and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name, The Last Shift) takes your typical generic “best friend” role and made it her own.
There’s not much else to say about The Lost City though; it knows what it is, and even makes fun of itself in a way that isn’t too self-depreciating. There’s a line from Tatum’s character Alan that goes, “Don’t minimise the people that love your work, by calling it schlock.” In other words, who cares if it isn’t Shakespeare (or if the most popular movies right now tend to feature people with super powers) feel free to love what you love! The Lost City is a simple, fun romantic adventure comedy, the kind of movie you can just sit back and enjoy. No metaphors, no deeper meaning, no lessons to be learned, and you know what? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Sommer’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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