Who, other than Sandra Bullock, could pull off a sparkly jumpsuit and high heels in the jungle? Probably no-one. People still criticise Bryce Dallas Howard's choice of footwear in Jurassic World, though there isn't really a convenient place for her to change them of course. There doesn't seem to have been the same offence taken regarding Sandy's Loretta. Despite her clothes being even more impractical in The Lost City.
Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is an author of erotic adventure novels who doesn't seem to really like erotic adventure novels. Her husband, a “real” archaeologist died a couple of years ago, and she flits between hiding in her home writing/not writing (all writers will know this is how it works) and being forced into book tours with her cover model, Alan (Channing Tatum). One such event ends with her being kidnapped by Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) and taken to an island where he wants Loretta to translate what he believes is the location of a tomb and some treasure. Alan follows the tracking on Loretta's smartwatch to the island in an attempt to rescue her, taking Brad Pitt's Jack Trainer – a more typical adventure hero along with him as a guide.
So far, it's your standard adventure story.
Where it sets itself apart is in its modernity. Loretta's novels bleed through the story, and the shameless innuendo crosses over into the names of places and the dialogue. So, despite the story itself having minimal sex and nudity (though we do get a very extended view of Channing Tatum's bum) there is enough childish humour to keep you giggling. The director and writer pairing of Adam and Aaron Nee, clearly pride themselves on telling a story that doesn't fall into a lot of the traps of older ones. Sandra Bullock is of course no wallflower, and comparisons to Kathleen Turner's Joan Wilder (Romancing the Stone) fall flat beyond the initial premise. Most of these tropes are flipped, Bullock is the older of the romantic pairing, whilst also being the smarter and more worldly party. Radcliffe's villain is more typical, but he is brilliant as the spoilt and jealous Fairfax.
The Lost City isn't perfect, it does feel a little overlong at times. And there is a point around halfway where Tatum's character seems to suddenly gain about 60 IQ points and change into a different character for no reason. That said, it's an enjoyable romp, and you could do much, much worse.
The Blu-ray includes a crowd pleasing selection of bonus features. Nothing too intellectual (you'd be wrong to expect that really) but there's a surprising amount included considering it's a standard release.
Special Features and Technical Specs:
- Deleted Scenes—More fun you didn't see in theatres!
- Bloopers—Laugh along with the cast at their hilarious on-set bloopers
- 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
- Location Profile—Take a trip to the exotic Dominican Republic movie location and find out how the crew dealt with heavy rain and mosquitos!
- Jungle Rescue—See how the movie's incredible action set pieces and crazy stunts were filmed
- The Jumpsuit—Discover what went into designing Loretta's eye-catching purple sequin jumpsuit
- Charcuterie—A hilarious breakdown of Loretta's big kidnapping scene and what it's like to come under attack from a giant charcuterie board!
- The Villains of The Lost City—Meet the bad guys: Abigail Fairfax and his henchmen
- Building The Lost City—A look at building the film's incredible island world
- Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature
The Lost City is available to Download & Keep now and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-Ray™ & DVD July 25
