The Lost City is a 2022 action comedy film directed by Aaron and Adam Nee, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox, from a story by Seth Gordon. The premise of the film is very similar to the 1984 Robert Zemeckis film Romancing the Stone, and even includes a few clever odes to the classic.

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.

The film stars Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in the lead roles, with Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt, Oscar Nuñez, and Patti Harrison, in supporting roles.

The Lost City made its debut in theaters on March 25th, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Watch the official trailer below.

THE GOOD

My wife is pretty much obsessed with the 2009 film The Proposal, which is admittedly one of the ultimate classics of the rom com (romantic comedy) genre. I mean, you get Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, with a bit of the legendary Betty White thrown in for good measure (RIP). It is just a fantastic all around movie. Though I have yet to verify this information, the rumor is they actually tried to get Reynolds to star alongside Bullock as a bit of a reunion, but after a deal couldn’t be reached they went with Channing Tatum. They didn’t exactly settle that’s for sure, because my guy Channing Tatum is an absolute stud. So once we saw the trailer for The Lost City and felt the nostalgia of The Proposal oozing out of it, we knew we had to see this movie immediately. Plus, considering my wife and I had yet to see a movie together in over two years thanks to the fact that we have two kids now, it was time to finally get her back on the saddle and this was the movie to do it! So, was it worth all of the excitement? Keep reading to find out!

First things first, we were visiting family in Texas when the movie released so naturally we made plans to see it while we were there. We had this great kid free “day date” planned out that included a showing at the AMC theater in Katy, Texas. We sat down in our fancy powered recliners with our overpriced Reese’s Pieces and warm buttered popcorn, only for the movie to play for 15 minutes and have the sound cut out completely. Theater staff assured us for the next 35-40 minutes that the movie would be restarted, before finally telling us sorry this showing would not happen and we can happily wait in line for a refund. Nice job AMC, I hope this mishap impacted your stock price significantly. So anyway, once we returned home we made sure to right this wrong and went to one of our local, and reliable, movie theaters to finally watch The Lost City, with sound and all! Wow are we spoiled, take that AMC! I am happy to say that it was well worth the wait as my wife and I had a blast with this movie and laughed nearly the entire time. Whether it was Channing Tatum looking like Clay Matthews with his flowing blonde hair, or Sandra Bullock getting carried around zip tied to a chair because there simply wasn’t enough time to free her, this movie is full of top-tier humor. From the cast, to the writing, the the overall tone and feel of the film, The Lost City has a little something for everyone.

I really just can’t say enough good things about this movie, it is just so much fun. I mean just look at Channing Tatum in his neck pillow and sleep mask, the image in itself just cracks me up. More than anything else, The Lost City never takes itself too seriously. The storyline is entertaining and immersive, the cast seems to be genuinely enjoying themselves, and everything just comes together in such a way that you will be smiling from start to finish. I wanted to see what happened next, but I was also completely content just hanging out with the characters as hilarity ensued. We’ve had our fair share of treasure hunt style action adventure comedies with Disney’s blockbuster Jungle Cruise (our full review here) starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, or the recently released video game adaptation Uncharted (our full review here) starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. But I will say without a doubt that The Lost City is more than deserving of it’s place in a crowded genre, and will surely warrant several repeat viewings for the sheer enjoyment of it.

As far as the acting is concerned, I would use just one word, and that is superb. Now the cool thing about an action comedy like The Lost City is you don’t have any misconceptions about Oscar nominations or anything like that, it’s just not that kind of movie. And that is more than okay. The dynamic duo headlining the film is of course the gorgeous 57-year-old Sandra Bullock, who somehow hasn’t aged in the past 20 years. I mean seriously, whatever she is doing is working. I pray to look half as good as her when I am her age. Plus, she previously dated Troy Aikman, Matthew McConaughey, and Ryan Gosling, all man crushes of mine in no particular order of course. Okay fine, Gosling jumps the line. But not The Notebook Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love meets The Place Beyond the Pines Gosling. I’ll move on before it gets weird. Bullock has been a fixture in the world of cinema for as long as I can remember, and she is still doing things at a very high level. Her character in The Lost City is vintage Sandra Bullock, feeling like a mix of her characters in Miss Congeniality (2000), and The Proposal. I just loved her in this movie, and more than anything else I genuinely cannot see anyone playing the role as well as she did.

Now on to my guy Channing Tatum, who I swear is a brother from another mother. I will try to avoid talking to much about yet another man crush of mine (I realize I have many), but if you are so inclined to go down that rabbit hole you can check out my recent review for Tatum’s drama film Dog, that released a few months ago (full review here). Bottom line, Channing Tatum has got it. He has the charisma, the talent, and of course the chiseled jawline. Tatum has proven he can play a hardened hero just as easily as he can play more of a good-looking dummy, which is where his character of Alan/Dash finds himself, at least in the beginning anyway. Tatum is able to effortlessly toe the line of real-life and fantasy, which is a massive selling point of the films premise and a big reason of why it works so well. He struggles to separate real-life and the fictional character that has made him a polarizing celebrity, and he will have you laughing your butt off. Bottom line, the Bullock and Tatum duo is a home run, and I hope to see them together again. Who knows, perhaps a sequel?

Daniel Radcliffe is fantastic as per usual as he takes a rare stab at playing the villain role. His undeniable charisma is on display as he balances his role as a wealthy known public figure turned cutthroat criminal who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I also really enjoyed the role played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and felt like she made herself right at home amongst some of Hollywood’s greatest talents. The young Philadelphia native is still working towards making a name for herself, having played roles in This Is Us, Office Christmas Party (2016), Kajillionaire (2020), and the new Prime Video series Only Murders in the Building. Randolph has a powerful on-screen presence in The Lost City, and I genuinely enjoyed her character. She could have easily felt over-the-top or corny, but I felt like she managed to even things out in such a way that she was one of the many bright spots of the film. I loved the decision to bring on Oscar Nuñez, who famously played the only male stripper in town in The Proposal. Most know him as Oscar from The Office, but either way the guy is hilarious without even trying. He has a small role in the film but still manages to play what felt like a key role.

“Why are you so handsome? My dad was a weather man”

I promise the above quote is not a spoiler because it is in the trailer, but I felt like I had to add it in to the review mainly because it has been on repeat in my head for a few months now. Brad Pitt is hands down one of the greatest working actors of my generation. I mean the guy is as versatile as they come, and with 84 acting credits to date according to IMDb, what hasn’t he been in?! As far as his versatility is concerned, I go back to films like Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999), Burn After Reading (2008), which is a super underrated film for him if you ask me, Killing Them Softly (2012), and one of my more recent favorites of his, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood. Bottom line, Brad Pitt IS that dude. Now granted his role in The Lost City is without a doubt a smaller supporting role, but that doesn’t even matter because he will surely leave an impression with you like he did with me. Long live Jack Trainer!! You’ll get it once you see the movie.

Okay, so as far as the technical elements of the film are concerned, the soundtrack is huge. So much of the movie relies on the music and they made sure that it all lines up perfectly, with several impactful slow-mo scenes with a catchy tune playing in the background, like Pat Benatar’s 1982 classic “Shadow’s of the Night”. Filmed in the Dominican Republic, the film offers ample eye candy as far as scenery is concerned and was beautiful throughout, and will make you want to take a vacation. Ideally something with less insanity of course. I also loved the tank/jeep Daniel Radcliffe’s character decides to use on his jungle adventure. At one point he points out that it was his dream to have a tank that also had a mini bar, and he made that dream a reality. Those of you who are fans of Jeep’s and off-roading adventures will be drooling over this thing. The Lost City is naturally packed to the brim with great action sequences as well, with each one successfully adding a little extra to the overall fun-factor of the film.

Brothers Aaron and Adam Nee, who direct the film, really brought their A-Game here. Adam even worked overtime as he made a cameo early on in the film. It is nearly unheard of for an unknown director to helm a project with such star power, let alone two unknown directors who happen to be brothers, but they made the most of their opportunity. I felt like the camera work was fantastic as it took full advantage of the action and the beautiful setting, and felt creative and always immersive. I just can’t say enough great things about these guys and what they accomplished behind the camera in The Lost City. Sometimes referred to as the Nee brothers when they collaborate, Aaron and Adam have proven they have the talent and we will surely see more of them in the near future. They also directed the 2015 crime drama Band of Brothers which you can watch now on Prime Video. The film, which has received mostly positive critical acclaim, is a spin-off of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer characters.

THE BAD

I’ve been sitting here pondering what I didn’t like about The Lost City, and to be honest I got nothing. It was never boring, the writing and the acting kept me engaged throughout, and the film as a whole managed to include more substance than I expected. This is simply one of those movies meant to entertain, while still adding enough layers to avoid feeling cheesy. If you can honestly criticize this movie, you either have a personal vendetta against the cast, or have some serious personal issues to work out. Perhaps both.

THE VERDICT

An action comedy that always plays to it’s strengths while never taking itself too seriously, The Lost City is a hilarious and always enjoyable adventure featuring some of the best acting talent working today in Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, with a bit of Brad Pitt as the icing on the cake. My expectations were admittedly high, and to say they were met would be an understatement. The Lost City is simply one of those movies that reminds you exactly why you love movies so much in the first place. An experience like this just makes it easy, like seriously if they can keep churning out stuff like this go ahead and take my money. Plus, the film is paced extremely well considering it nearly reached the often dreaded 2-hour mark. I touched on the issue we had at the AMC theater earlier in the review, but I wanted to point out that even though we watched without sound for a solid 15 minutes, people were still laughing. It was the craziest thing. Bottom line, please go ahead and support a bright light in the film industry and see The Lost City in theaters, you won’t regret it.