The Lost City (2022)
Directed by Aaron Nee
Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to the ancient city's lost treasure that featured in her latest story. Alan, determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, sets off to rescue her.
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39 films that influenced The Lost City
What critics say influenced The Lost City
With just one more (maybe two) punch-ups, The Lost City could have been a sweet and salty screwball adventure in the vein of its obvious inspirations: the twin 1980s hits Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile.
Then, for course, there's Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner which The Lost City borrows heavily from with an obvious nod to its source when one of the book tours is called "Romancing the Page."
In a setup and general vibe that reminded me of films like Romancing the Stone , The Lost City tells the story of frustrated romance novelist Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock), who has had her greatest and longest success writing the adventures of the same hero character, Dash, whose old-fashioned adventures have made up a series of books that Loretta is looking to wrap up with her latest title.
After 1951’s The African Queen set the standard for adventure-romances by uniting its era’s biggest stars on a high-stakes trip, and 1984’s Romancing the Stone parlayed the same concept into a crowd-pleasing blockbuster, many filmmakers have tried to replicate the formula.
More in line with the mood of the Jumanji reboots than the rom-com 1980s adventures it channels, whether Spielberg’s Indiana Jones films or the Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner films Romancing the Stone (1984) and Jewel of the Nile (1985), there’s enough oddness to creep in around predictable facets.
This romantic action adventure, in theaters, pulls its inspiration from Romancing the Stone (1984), but it injects enough originality to make the implausible film a treat for audiences weary of Hollywood’s sequel-reboot cycle.
There aren’t just echoes of “Romancing the Stone” in the film but also borrowed bits from “Miss Congeniality” (Bullock’s character doesn’t know how to navigate fashion) and “21 Jump Street” (Tatum’s character says dumb things only to be corrected by smarter people baffled by his idiocy).
Bullock channels her Miss Congeniality comedic chops for a slapstick performance that shows she isn’t afraid of looking silly.
A deliriously madcap combination of laughs, guilty pleasures and jungle foliage, The Lost City is what would happen if Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and Miss Congeniality conceived a love child on a Jumanji board.
Even when the film (accidentally or on purpose, it’s hard to say) references her iconic stumble from Miss Congeniality, it’s still a treat to see how Bullock takes these tools and wields them like Chaplin with his cane and bowler hat.
It reminds us why we fell in love with her back in her Miss Congeniality days.
Their chemistry and performances are a stern reminder of some of the two’s best comedic performances in Miss Congeniality , Two Weeks Notice , 21, and 22 Jump Street.
With just one more (maybe two) punch-ups, The Lost City could have been a sweet and salty screwball adventure in the vein of its obvious inspirations: the twin 1980s hits Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile.
We’ve seen all varieties of attempts to recreate it since its blockbuster release, from Lewis Teague’s 1985 sequel The Jewel of the Nile , to Ivan Reitman's Six Days Seven Nights , to Jaume Collet-Serra’s Jungle Cruise (which, you’ll remember, just hit theaters last year).
One reason that film’s 1985 sequel The Jewel of the Nile was so disappointing was that it didn’t follow in its predecessor’s footsteps as closely as it should have.
But it’s a damn sight better than its sequel, The Jewel of the Nile!
Romancing the Stone was enjoyable, but hackneyed, and that franchise played out after the less-successful sequel, The Jewel of the Nile .
After 1951’s The African Queen set the standard for adventure-romances by uniting its era’s biggest stars on a high-stakes trip, and 1984’s Romancing the Stone parlayed the same concept into a crowd-pleasing blockbuster, many filmmakers have tried to replicate the formula.
This includes an encounter with leeches that goes far beyond anything Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn had to deal with in “The African Queen.”
Harrison Ford and Anne Heche are much funnier in Six Days, Seven Nights as were Humphrey Bogart and Kathryn Hepburn in The African Queen.
This type of story has been done countless times, perhaps most notably in films like The African Queen and Romancing the Stone , but that doesn’t mean there aren’t simple pleasures to be found within.
A surface-level skim of Robert Zemeckis’ now-enshrined 1984 classic Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner (itself a bit of a skim of The African Queen starring Hepburn and Bogart, no first names required), The Lost City manages to make Zemeckis’ film feel dark and gritty in retrospect.
Along the way, the comedy parodies everything from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to “The African Queen” and of course, the aforementioned “Stone” as Channing Tatum provides the bulk of comic relief as Fabio-like model Alan who graces the covers of Loretta’s novels dressed as Dash her handsome protagonist.
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Directed by brothers Adam and Aaron Nee, who collaborated on the script with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox, "The Lost City" owes its most direct debt to "Romancing the Stone" but recalls any number of romantic pairings in exotic locales, a la "Six Days, Seven Nights."
Their modern sense of humor goes down way easier than Bullock and Tatum retreading 1998’s miserable “Six Days Seven Nights” with whiny Anne Heche and Harrison Ford.
We’ve seen all varieties of attempts to recreate it since its blockbuster release, from Lewis Teague’s 1985 sequel The Jewel of the Nile , to Ivan Reitman's Six Days Seven Nights , to Jaume Collet-Serra’s Jungle Cruise (which, you’ll remember, just hit theaters last year).
Two big stars, lush greenery, cascading waterfalls: if you've seen "Romancing the Stone," "Six Days Seven Nights" or any number of jungle-set romantic comedy adventures, you already know the drill with "The Lost City."
“The Lost City” is completely harmless as it attempts to revisit past-generation romantic comedy/action adventures such as the aforementioned “Stone,” “Six Days, Seven Nights,” “King Solomon’s Mines,” “The Mummy” and of course “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” but it’s so cartoonishly over the top that it bears no resemblance to anything that could ever happen in the real world.
However, other such attempts like Fool's Gold or Six Days Seven Nights failed much harder, so "good enough" might be enough for The Lost City.
In the past year, Jungle Cruise, Red Notice, and Uncharted have all attempted to dig into the thrills, laughs, and even romance akin to Raiders of the Lost Ark or Romancing the Stone .
Even Radcliffe, the erstwhile Harry Potter who receives a really nifty villainous opening, veers one-dimensional as Fairfax, the awkward millennial version of Belloq from "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Aaron Nee: We obviously grew up on those popcorn films that everybody loves, ET and Raiders of the Lost Ark and films like them.
“The Lost City” is completely harmless as it attempts to revisit past-generation romantic comedy/action adventures such as the aforementioned “Stone,” “Six Days, Seven Nights,” “King Solomon’s Mines,” “The Mummy” and of course “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” but it’s so cartoonishly over the top that it bears no resemblance to anything that could ever happen in the real world.
To simplify things, just imagine a mix-and-mismatch version of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Romancing the Stone.”
It’s clear that someone involved in the making of this movie is a fan of Robert Zemeckis’s 1984 romp “Romancing the Stone,” one of several adventure pastiches made in the wake of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
(We hope the Working Girl namecheck is an intentional nod to Harrison Ford.)
There are several scenes where Bullock’s facial reactions reminded me of Jim Carrey in scenes from Dumb & Dumber and Liar Liar .
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There are several scenes where Bullock’s facial reactions reminded me of Jim Carrey in scenes from Dumb & Dumber and Liar Liar .
What follows is a hilarious screwball adventure-comedy that will evoke memories for certain generations of both Romancing the Stone (especially with its use of ‘80s hits like Spandau Ballet’s True and Pat Benatar’s Shadows of the Night ) and Nim’s Island .
Yet it is so much more than that; part Nim’s Island , part The Lego Movie , a bit Dora and the Lost City of Gold and obviously a lot Indy ; the real secret to The Lost City’s appeal is the winning charm of its cast.