Adventure cinema experienced a small boom in Hollywood after the premiere of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. Among the many who tried to drink from the success of Indiana Jones, ‘After the Green Heart’ is probably the most outstanding film that was released during the 80s. Its success was such that just a year later its sequel came ‘The Jewel of the Nile’but, although there was talk at different stages of a possible third installment, the saga never went beyond that.
Now Hollywood has clearly drunk on the film directed in 1984 by Robert Zemeckis to give shape to ‘The Lost City’, a vehicle for showcasing Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum that this Wednesday, April 13, arrives in Spanish cinemas. She does it with the intention of giving the viewer a good time, and she succeeds despite the fact that it is not particularly memorable either.
A mix of genres with a predilection for comedy
‘The lost city’ plays mix comedy, adventure and romance, a cocktail that we haven’t seen too much lately, so, at least a priori, something like this is always appreciated. That said, the order I have chosen to arrange them is no accident, as that is exactly their order of importance. Above all, it is a comedy, in which adventure has a strong presence, while romance is relegated to last place.
In fact, that is something that is perceived from its funny prologue with the protagonist having serious problems to finish her new novel. That game with fiction within fiction is very nice and also serves to place the viewer within the dynamics that the character played by Bullock is currently going through.
The first act serves to briskly and efficiently organize all the elements around her before embarking her on an adventure similar to the one in her books. It is until then that ‘The Lost City’ is more reminiscent of ‘Tras el corazón verde’, a feeling that never disappears but does fade a bit as the events outlined by the script of Oren Uziel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee and Aaron Neethese last two also directors.
One of the big deviations is the main male character, since ‘The Lost City’ turns Tatum into a poor bastard who doesn’t really know what he’s dealing with. To this end he even plays brilliantly introducing a hilarious brad pittthe best of the function by far, by way of contrast, being in those minutes when the film is more daring in what it can and cannot do.
In its own way, it could be said that there is an evident parallel between Kathleen Turner in ‘After the Green Heart’ and Bullock here, while the character of michael douglas it does not have such a clear equivalent in the film at hand. That leads to the dynamic between the protagonists of ‘The Lost City’ being different and focusing more on how unlikely it is that they will be able to face the elements when under normal conditions they should be caught at the first opportunity.
functional and compliant
That is what leads ‘The Lost City’ to the comedy being in the foreground during the first two thirds of the footage, to the point that the peculiar villain played by Daniel Radcliffe he comes across as a poor wimp instead of a serious threat to be reckoned with.
The great consequence of all this is that ‘The Lost City’ tends to lean heavily on the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum. Here the visual component of the adventure is not so important, where the Nee brothers are competent but without offering any particularly remarkable scene or shot in that way, as that everything has enough agility and lightness for the viewer to buy what is happening.
Against him plays that maybe it’s a little too long for what you propose. It is not that there is anything in particular that clashes negatively, but perhaps the adventures of the two protagonists could have been lightened a little more or eliminated all the part of the agent of him beyond the start.
All in all, nothing really remains, but there comes a time when the rhythm suffers a bit, being a shame that it happens just when ‘The Lost City’ should put all the meat on the grill. What is a pity is that he ends up settling for not get out of the mold or the formula of its predecessors, but as such it is very enjoyable.
In short
‘The Lost City’ is not a great movie, but it is a satisfying pastime at the service of the talent and chemistry of Bullock and Tatum, who comfortably comply. However, it is Brad Pitt who steals the show with a small role that is the only really unforgettable thing about this obvious heir to ‘Behind the Green Heart’.