The Lost City is a breezy romantic adventure: Blu-ray review

By Tribute on July 26, 2022 | 1 Comment

The Lost City knows what it’s serving and does it well. Lighthearted adventure, humor, mildly high stakes, and a warm love story give a refreshing spin on classic romance adventure films such as Romancing the Stone while still providing something new to the genre.

Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a burnt-out romance author whose grief after the loss of her husband has left her reclusive. As a result, her book sales are dwindling, and her fanbase is less interested in her writing than they are in the book’s male cover model, Alan (Channing Tatum), who is secretly in love with Loretta.

After an embarrassing event promoting her latest book, Loretta is kidnapped by British media mogul billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), who believes Loretta can lead him to the treasure she writes about in her books. Alan, having seen the abduction, enlists the help of former Navy SEAL turned CIA operative Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt), and the two embark on a journey to save Loretta.

Jack manages to free Loretta but is shot dead before they can make it to the airport, forcing Loretta and Alan to escape into the jungle alone. On the run from Fairfax’s henchmen, Loretta begins seeing Alan in a new light.

The film’s performances are the highlight. Tatum has mastered the hunky airhead, who provides emotional intelligence to Bullock’s cold exterior. While Bullock reprises a role as an uptight leading lady, she still embraces the physical awkwardness that the role demands of her. Together, the pair ooze with genuine chemistry. Additionally, Pitt is exceptionally fun as the over-the-top cool guy, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Loretta’s overworked editor, grounds the story’s wackiness.

Through Loretta’s doubts about her work, the film can poke fun at the genre without mocking it. While the film never entirely breaks the fourth wall, it does play around with the audience’s expectations, especially regarding the leading men.

When we first meet Fairfax, he greets Loretta with a charcuterie board and a glass of wine, leading with a kind of artificial charm that might make him perfect for a different type of romance story. More so, Jack seems like the ideal romantic interest – brave, intelligent, brooding – but the film shoots this possibility in the head (literally). Instead, having Alan as the lead shows that the filmmakers, Adam and Aaron Nee, know what modern viewers want. Alan, who brings a scented candle into the jungle, is the archetype for the soft masculinity that modern audiences love.

There are some deeper notes, and though they are only lightly explored, it enables the film to remain lighthearted without coming off shallow. Bullock plays the mourning widow seriously, giving space for her character to feel loneliness authentically. Also, the film takes time to note the cultural insensitivities of Americans searching for lost treasure in foreign lands and the damage it often causes.

The movie’s messages are simple enough – never judge a book by its cover, love is more important than gold, life moves on – but they deliver it with enough perspective that it never feels too mushy.

Overall, The Lost City gives us what we expect from it. It plays into nostalgia while still fitting into the modern landscape – not an easy task. But, most importantly, the central romance is emotionally tender and profound amongst the silliness surrounding it.

With the Blu-ray/Digital release, fans are given behind-the-scenes access to filming, including interviews with the cast and crew, bloopers, deleted scenes, and a deep dive into the set design in the tropical shooting locations. Some of the best bloopers include Channing Tatum making both Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt double over in laughter as he riffs one-liners between takes. Notably, we also see how a certain character survived a shot to the head in never-before-seen deleted scenes. ~Megan Parsons

Bonus content:

1. Deleted Scenes—More fun you didn’t see in theatres!
2. Bloopers—Laugh along with the cast at their hilarious on-set bloopers
3. Dynamic Duo—Behind-the-scenes fun with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to see how their comedy chemistry perfectly aligns for this odd-couple comedy adventure
4. Location Profile—Take a trip to the exotic Dominican Republic movie location and find out how the crew dealt with heavy rain and mosquitos!
5. Jungle Rescue—See how the movie’s incredible action set pieces and crazy stunts were filmed
6. The Jumpsuit—Discover what went into designing Loretta’s eye-catching purple sequin jumpsuit
7. Charcuterie—A hilarious breakdown of Loretta’s big kidnapping scene and what it’s like to come under attack from a giant charcuterie board!
8. The Villains of The Lost City—Meet the bad guys: Abigail Fairfax and his henchmen
9. Building The Lost City—A look at building the film’s incredible island world

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1. Emma • July 27, 2022 @ 4:29 PM

   Great movie, I loved it in the theatre and can’t wait to see the bonus content!

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