Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a romance novelist who has written a string of successful novels featuring a hero named Dash and heroine Lovemore. Since the death of her husband, Loretta has become quite reclusive and unsatisfied with writing and well…life. After finishing her latest, and perhaps final novel, she is forced into a book tour by her publicist, Beth.
Along for the ride is Alan (Channing Tatum), the cover model who poses as Dash on Loretta’s books. On the first stop of the tour, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric millionaire, Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe). A lover of all things unattainable, Fairfax believes that the treasure featured in Loretta’s novels is real, and he knows where it is. He just needs her help locating the exact spot. Having witnessed the kidnapping, Alan springs into action to rescue Loretta, only he has zero survival skills.
I was really looking forward to The Lost City ever since I saw the first trailer. I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed! The Lost City is an entertaining ride with some great performances by the entire cast. No, it’s not an overly original premise. In fact, the story itself is pretty cookie cutter. But what makes the movie so much fun is that it has two leads with surprisingly strong chemistry, a brilliant innuendo-filled, villainous turn by Daniel Radcliffe and plenty of genuine laughs.
Sandra Bullock, in my opinion, is wonderful in just about everything she does so I already knew I would enjoy the film because she was in it. Daniel Radcliffe, in my opinion, has had the most eclectic post-Harry Potter career (except for maybe Robert Pattinson) and I really adore him as an actor.
While I have never been a huge fan of Channing Tatum as an actor, I can admit that he has a lot of comedic talent, and it’s on full display in The Lost City. He’s got the beauty and the brawn, but not necessarily the brains so it’s a real joy to watch him try to match Brad Pitt’s cameo as Jack Trainer, a former Navy SEAL turned CIA agent who is hired by Alan to help rescue Loretta.
Bullock and Tatum play really well off of one another. Alan may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but Tatum does a great job at giving him dimension instead of just making him your average himbo. Bullock is a grieving widow who has lost her way and refuses to see Alan past his cover model-good looks. Their adventure in the jungle certainly pushes them into the kind of forced proximity that is needed for them both to overcome their own insecurities and grow as people, which of course, makes my rom-com heart really happy.
I definitely recommend The Lost City. It has some fun action sequences, plenty of humor, and a lovely romance line. I know there have been a lot of comparisons to Romancing the Stone (1984), but I wouldn’t recommend going into The Lost City expecting that movie. Just enjoy it for what it is… and if you have ever wanted to see Channing Tatum’s bare ass, you’re going to be very happy.
