The Lost City
Might contain spoilers.
I was quite worried this might be another apparently AI-generated film like the soulless Red Notice or the execrable Marry Me. Instead, it was lighthearted, mildly thrilling, and delightfully hilarious. It had me doubled over and slapping my knee time and again. Even the more ribald jokes made me laugh because they’re not vulgar or tawdry. They only add to the fun and humour.
Sandra Bullock plays an easily liked, very sympathetic, intelligent character who’s never preachy, obnoxious, or perfect. Channing Tatum’s Alan feels like a direct evolution of Duke in She’s the Man; it’s another role he could practically have been born for. However pernicious the ‘Buff Clown’ trope might be, he’s simply the best at poking fun at himself. Better even than Ryan Reynolds, apparently the original choice:
Ryan Reynolds was originally sought after for the lead male role, marking this a reunion with Sandra Bullock after The Proposal (2009) but a deal couldn't be reached and Channing Tatum was cast.
Brad Pitt is effortlessly believable as Jack Trainer. His (unnecessarily graphic) death comes as a shock, reminiscent of a moment in Burn After Reading , and very briefly lends a somber tone to the story, but the movie recovers quickly. His unexpected, belligerent return at the end had me giggling.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph relishes her role as Beth. I was happy to see she got an entire story of her
own, complete with the hilarious Oscar (whose response to Have you ever murdered anyone
before?
is a highlight). It’s strange that Loretta is an incredibly successful author who goes
missing, yet no one tries to find her except her publisher… who, as my sister pointed out, behaves
more like her agent.
I detested the Harry Potter films and Daniel Radcliffe in particular, but I enjoy his villainous performances in movies like Now You See Me 2 , and he doesn’t disappoint here. Patti Harrison is very amusing as Allison the social media manager. Rafi’s expected betrayal of Abigail is oddly muted.