Film Review: The Lost City pays homage to Romancing the Stone - but is a bit more meta
Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum star in Paramount Pictures' The Lost City
(12A) stars Sandra Bullock as Loretta Sage, once an archaeologist and now a best-selling romance novelist.
Abducted during her latest book tour by Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), who wants Loretta to use her expertise in deciphering ancient languages to help him find a fabulous treasure, Loretta finds herself marooned on a tropical island that features lush jungle, the ruins of a recently excavated city and a volcano on the verge of eruption.Â
Happily, help is on the way; unfortunately, it comes in the shape of Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum), who seems to have confused his role as Loretta’s book cover model with that of her swashbuckling fictional hero, Dash McMahon...
Written by Oren Uziel, Dana Fox and Adam Nee, with the latter co-directing alongside his brother Aaron, is clearly an homage to (1984) — Loretta’s book tour is titled ‘Romancing the Page’ — although is a more meta affair: as the hapless Alan blunders around the island attempting to rescue Loretta, their adventure gradually comes to resemble one of Loretta’s steamy romance novels, which are, according to Loretta herself, ‘history seasoned with a smidge more nudity'.Â
A superb physical comic, Sandra Bullock is terrific here as she staggers through the jungle in high heels and a ridiculous cerise sequinned jumpsuit, and she gets very strong support from Channing Tatum as the charmingly inept knucklehead, and also Brad Pitt, who shows up for an all-too-brief cameo as a grizzled army veteran commissioned to bring Loretta home.
(cinema release)
