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.
Chuck says:
Chemistry is everything in movies like “The Lost City,” a sometimes funny, sometimes exciting adventure film starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. The two stars have just enough of a spark between them to make their characters’ coupling seem plausible, while the reversing of the movie couple paradigm – this time the woman in question is obviously older than her male counterpart – is a welcome change. The plot…well, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.
Bullock is Loretta Sage, a burnt-out romance novelist going through the motions on her latest book tour with Alan Dash (Tatum), the male model who graces the covers of her bodice-rippers. Seems she lost her mojo when her archeologist husband died five years prior and is less than thrilled to be promoting what she knows is by-the-numbers effort (no wisecracks about art imitating life please…) That most of the attendees are there to see Alan take his shirt off doesn’t help.
Things take an unexpected turn when the author is kidnapped by Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), an eccentric billionaire in search of a lost artifact. After reading Sage’s latest novel, he thinks she has clues to the whereabouts of the Crown of Fire, a priceless treasure of legend. Jetting her to an island in the South Pacific, Sage is unaware that Dash, who secretly loves her, is in hot pursuit hoping to pull off a daring rescue.
The movie runs in fits and starts, a laugh or a thrill generated here and there. Had co-directors Adam and Aaron Nee not cast the film so wisely, this would have floundered from the start. Da’Vine Joy Randolph offers solid support as Sage’s determined publisher, who also sets out to find her. Not opting for cheap laughs, she gives us a strong woman who proves amusing because of her determination in the face of ridiculous circumstances. Equally effective is Radcliffe who puts any notion of living in Harry Potter’s shadow permanently to rest. He realizes Fairfax’s unhinged nature, never going over the top, but giving a broad, yet effective performance that’s convincingly menacing.
As for Brad Pitt…the less said about his character Jack Trainer the better. An adventurer by trade, he’s hired to bring back Sage and there’s nothing he can’t do, getting out of one tense situation after the next without breaking a sweat. This guy makes Indiana Jones look like an amateur, the actor making an impact on par with Tom Cruise’s turn as Les Grossman in “Tropic Thunder.” Pitt steals every scene he’s in and leaves us wanting more, which in this case is a double-edged sword.
Initially, Bullock and Tatum don’t seem to work, a feeling of awkwardness just beneath the surface. However, as their characters’ situation becomes more dire, the veteran performers form a connection that suggests perhaps this pairing is plausible. Whether this was done on purpose and is incredible acting on the pairs’ part or something clicked between the actors behind the scenes, I don’t know, however their bond makes the rest of the film bearable and at times, entertaining.
“City” is a movie that you’ll likely not give a second thought to after you leave the theater and I suspect it will play better in your living room after a couple of drinks with a group of friends. It’s not necessarily good or bad, but it’s fine. With a budget of $74 million, I suspect all involved wear aiming for a more enthusiastic response.
2 1/2 Stars
