The Lost City

• Directed by the Nee Brothers
• March 12, 2022 (SXSW) / March 25, 2022 (US)

A romance novelist is kidnapped by a billionaire obsessed with finding a legendary lost jeweled crown.

I went into The Lost City with extremely low expectations. Why? Two words: Channing Tatum. I am one of many people out there with a low opinion of him. His presence has ruined films and just scenes of films that he has not been a major part of. I do not get how he keeps getting employed. For every good performance he has there are 9 others that suck the big one.

Well, I am happy to report that Channing Tatum not only avoided ruining the scenes he was in here but he also avoided ruining this entire film. The pairing of him and Sandra Bullock provided a great adventurous romantic comedy that’s as exciting as it is entertaining. They played very well off of each other and had genuine chemistry.

Much of the humor comes not only from two mismatched individuals that Tatum and Bullock play interacting, but also from these people who are out of their depth trying to function in a world that they have only imagined. And it works. Loretta Sage (Bullock) is now thrust into a world she’s only ever written about in her room.

But it also comes from cover model Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum) trying to live up to the completely false persona that he has only played on the covers of her books. He’s had a long unrequited love for Loretta and sees the kidnapping as a way show her. Don’t think about the idea that he can finally make a move now that her husband is dead. If I follow the timeline right she was writing the books and met Alan while her husband was on this side of the dirt.

There are some smiles there no big laughs in The Lost City. My fiancé and her sister would disagree on that but that’s another matter. Rather I found it entertaining and just enjoyable. It surely entertains at the right points and gives you the feels at the others. It never tries to reach beyond itself.

Sage when the film starts is mourning the death of her husband and going through the motions in her life while starting a tour for the latest book in her series. She had wanted to write intelligent and scholarly works but unable to find a publisher she turned to romance using her and her husband’s work as a basis.

One thing this movie does effectively is parallel the myth that they’ve created for the movie with what is going on in the life Loretta Sage. And that gives some real emotional weight to what looks to be a largely disposable piece of fluff. I’m surprised as I expected something enjoyable, yet completely forgettable. I didn’t expect to find anything with any level of emotional impact or attempt at creativity.

The story involving the legendary crown, whose recovery is the villain’s ultimate goal, is rather sweet and romantic. Much of it parallels the feelings of Loretta but not necessarily in the destructive way as she has been living largely.

The relationship begins to develop as Loretta realizes that her assumptions about Alan were wrong. While not the hero of her books, he has depth and feeling. Alan has taken his role to heart upon realizing that he brings joy to people while Loretta chafes under having to write the books. Alan steps up to the challenge of being a hero even if he does so rather badly.

Daniel Radcliffe was surprisingly entertaining as villain Abigail Fairfax. He was just comedically evil enough that you could believe he would do what he was doing and he came off as a genuine threat to our main characters. And he was charming as well. I found Fairfax kind of likable somehow.

My main gripe is the pilot character of Oscar (Oscar Nunez). Paired with Loretta’s publisher Beth Hatten (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) as he was, he could have been part of a quirky romance. Instead he was weird and kinda creepy. Like keep him away from children and small animals creepy. His poor goat…

That being said, The Lost City was a well done and entertaining adventure romance. The characters grow and it hits all the right emotions at the right times without being overly sappy or just plain stupid. This is something I strongly advise you to watch, but only with a significant other. It’s perfect for that.