The Lost City brings much needed comedy to the action-packed adventure genre
By Sienna Thompson, First Year, English Literature
If you’ve ever wondered what Sandra Bullock would look like in a purple sequin jumpsuit, kidnapped and taken to a Caribbean jungle, while being pushed in a wheelbarrow by Brad Pitt and Channing Tatum as explosions go off in the background- then do I have the perfect film for you.
The Lost City follows Loretta (Sandra Bullock), a witty and intelligent romance author who is grieving the death of her archaeologist husband. Feeling that she is not taken seriously academically due to her book series, there is immediate tension between her and her charming, handsome book cover model, Alan (Channing Tatum). We then encounter Abigail (Daniel Radcliffe), as our villain of the film: A greedy billionaire who kidnaps Loretta to help him find lost treasure on a mysterious island.
The storyline is very simple, taking a comedic approach to movies such as Romancing the Stone (1984) or Jewel of the Nile (1985). There is a mix of slow and fast-paced scenes that don’t ultimately reach a climax, but given the aforementioned genres, this means it isn’t as serious as it could have been portrayed. Besides this, the film is visually stunning, and the action sequences are very realistic given that it wasn’t a priority for this plot.
Radcliffe is most well-known for his role in Harry Potter, and audience members can sometimes struggle to separate this character from his new and upcoming roles. However, he handled this comedic role brilliantly as well as creating a slightly menacing and insane character. Unfortunately, his character does not have as much screen time as I had hoped for.
After watching her kidnapping, Alan sets out to rescue Loretta. This ignites the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum and begins to add the perfect amount of romance needed for this film. Tatum plays the goofy and boisterous, but devilishly handsome love interest.
This made excellent character development for Loretta as she changes from uptight to adventurous throughout the duration of the film. This slow-burn romance also developed between the two characters as the film continued.
The humour throughout the film ranges from silly and childish, to dirty but subtle. An example of this would be Loretta urinating in the river and telling Alan to walk around it. On the other hand, Tatum and Bullock engage in sexual banter as Loretta talks of her book and being ‘filled up’. There was no reliance on expletives and sexual jokes to make the film entertaining, but it kept enough subtle innuendos to keep every age range entertained.
Nonsense filled and brimming with moments to make you laugh out loud, this is a perfect film for all age ranges in need of a light-hearted film and an easy-to-follow plot.
Featured Image: IMDB
What did you think of The Lost City?