First Take: The Lost City - cheesy fun for all the family

SYNOPSIS: 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.

I went into this film with no expectations- having been in development for 7 years, only to go into production at the height of the Covid lockdowns, it is a miracle that the once titled Lost City of D actually seen the light of day. But the fine folks at Paramount got there in the end, and having finally opened in UK cinemas on Good Friday, it’s safe to say that they can be happy with how it turned out.

It’s co-directed very well by Adam and Aaron Nee (directors who will soon helm the Masters of the Universe reboot for Sony), who make a decently paced 1 hour 52 minute movie that has enough in it to make it fly by, something which is aided very nicely by the script they’ve created with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox (based upon a story by Seth Gordon) that passes the 6 laugh test with flying colours). Handling the cinematography duties is Jonathan Sela, who once again provides camerawork befitting of an adventure film like this, and providing the score is Pinar Toprak, who continues to build a solid career for herself off the back of her work on Captain Marvel.

Onto the cast, and they are brilliant - Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum are two very likable leads, who are able to make this film come alive in a variety of ways. They bring two very different demographics to this film, and the way they work together has had the more high profile critics likening this release to Romancing the Stone. Supporting them is Daniel Radcliffe, for whom it is brilliant to see back in a major Hollywood film after many years of indie releases and a bit of theatre, alongside a brief cameo from Brad Pitt, and some fine comic relief from De’Vine Joy Randolph. Now, a major point is the film’s 12 certificate. Having seen it, I can agree with the BBFC’s judgement, so for any parents looking to take children to this one- please read the guidance on their website before booking tickets.

THE VERDICT

The Lost City is a film that won’t appease everyone’s taste, but given when it opened, it has done well with the family demographic (outgrossing Fantastic Beasts by £100,000 to secure UK box office domination on its opening weekend), which makes the fact that this is an original IP all the more sweeter.

RATING: 4/5