Film Review: THE LOST CITY (2022): Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum Steam Up the Jungle in a Fun Adventure Picture

The Lost City Review

The Lost City (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Aaron Nee and Adam Nee, written by Oren Uziel, Dana Fox and Adam Nee and starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Brad Pitt, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar Nunez, Patti Harrison, Bowen Yang, Joan Pringle, Hector Anibal, Thomas Forbes-Johnson, Sli Lewis, Adam Nee, Raymond Lee, Omar Patin and Anthony Alvarez.

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum make The Lost City, a romantic comedy which is incredibly self-aware, a terrifically entertaining good time. What makes this movie so downright appealing is the presence of the two charismatic stars in the picture and they are more than adequately supported by a fine cast of characters headed by the always reliable Daniel Radcliffe and Academy Award winner, Brad Pitt. Credit goes to filmmakers Aaron and Adam Nee who have delivered a winner. This movie also looks very polished thanks to its use of visuals, hairstyles and costumes.

Bullock portrays an author named Loretta Sage who writes those types of books that showcase a hunky male heartthrob on the front cover. Any similarities to Fabio are surely coincidental. Having become hardened a bit by life due to the passing of her archaeologist husband, she is going through the motions in her career which seems to be more of a showcase for the book cover character Dash McMahon (who is actually a model named Alan Caprison, played by Tatum) than for her actual writing techniques. However, when she is kidnapped by a billionaire fan of hers, Abigail Fairfax (Radcliffe, cast against type), the film’s enjoyable plot kicks into gear. Fairfax thinks Loretta can help him locate a lost city treasure because her writing seems to have a certain accuracy about it. Fairfax needs to get to the treasure before a volcano gets in the way of this key to his ultimate dream of happiness.

Brad Pitt’s character in the movie, Jack Trainer (a CIA operative), is enlisted by Alan to rescue Loretta. Pitt has a tremendous amount of fun playing his initially heroic supporting role in the picture and the sex symbol actor is actually closer in age to Bullock than the younger Tatum. However, forget about the age difference between the stars for a moment because the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum is nothing short of perfect as the two stars play off each other like gangbusters in a crowd-pleaser that has all the markings of a movie that will ultimately become one of Bullock’s most beloved pictures.

Of course, Alan and Loretta seem like complete opposites at first and romance would never happen for their characters at the beginning of the picture but as the story develops, they learn they can actually get along with each other a lot better than they probably thought they could. It’s not all about looks–it’s also about their personalities playing off one another’s witty banter and the two characters grow fond of each other’s company while managing some daring, adventurous (and at times, perilous) escapes in the interim. Nothing can bring a couple together like a good jungle adventure. Tatum’s Alan has much to offer Loretta besides his good looks and turns out to be more than just your average handsome stud as the film progresses. He proves to be a perfect match for Loretta actually. Loretta’s shoes and outfits make her seem high maintenance but, underneath it all, she just wants to be happy.

The supporting cast is in fine form. Radcliffe has never been better than in his work in this picture. As Fairfax, he is the perfect baddie whose wicked schemes we want to see our leads overcome. Radcliffe is the quintessential movie villain here and plays his role wonderfully and very distinctly. This role was one Radcliffe was born to play. Da’Vine Joy Randolph expertly plays Loretta’s publisher, Beth, who early on, urges Loretta to go on a book tour to promote her latest story and the fabulous Patti Harrison (Together Together) is sensational as Loretta’s social media consultant, Allison. Harrison has the quirkiness that is required for a supporting part in a comedy such as this one and she comes up aces adding another perfect turn to her growing resume.

More must be said of Pitt’s turn here. This is one of the most enjoyable, though admittedly brief, roles the actor has played and Pitt has wonderful charisma here (complete with his long hair reminiscent of his Legends of the Fall days) making the audience have a great time during his screen time in the picture. It’s always a pleasure to see Pitt on screen and he keeps the action moving while offering viewers a performance full of the movie star qualities that remind us why he’s such a great actor with an Oscar win a couple of years back to prove it.

The Lost City is a picture that actually holds a candle to similarly themed 1980’s films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone. This film could have been released years ago with its fun, old school premise with throwbacks to both of those aforementioned films and all I can say is that it’s a welcome surprise to see a movie as entertaining as this one which could have fallen victim to being a slave to its action scenes like Jungle Cruise did. Instead, The Lost City features a character driven story chock full of action which will surely be a big box-office hit. It’s not perfect (it’s a bit too long and there are some plot contrivances) but its stars are perfectly matched and it’s a very entertaining picture as a result.

Rating: 8/10

Leave your thoughts on this The Lost City review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flipboard.