Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Lost City 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 26, 2022

The Lost City pairs a couple of bumbling, hapless characters; drops them in the jungle; and forces them to fight for their lives. One of them is a novelist, the other a fashion model, and the antics that one would expect to follow do indeed follow. The film, film Directors Adam and Aaron Nee (Band of Robbers), is a predictable and formulaic sort that isn't so much interesting for its story but rather for its stars. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum make for a surprisingly rich screen couple and it's not quite so much the odd pairing as one might expect. They are both at ease in the jungle and in the genre, and they prove well capable of overcoming the limits of the nuts and bolts script to bring some legitimate movie magic to the screen.

Loretta Sage (Bullock) is a highly successful writer with a number of romance books to her name, but she's also depressed and losing the lust for the written word. That is in part because much of her success is attributed to the novel's male hero and the hunky cover model who has become a bigger sensation than the pages inside. He is Alan Caprison (Tatum), a Fabio-like model who is a fan-favorite and would probably sell any book with his body on the cover. Loretta is kidnapped by the wealthy Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) who believes that Loretta can lead him to lost treasure, just like her heroes in her novels. Alan undertakes a dangerous rescue mission with the help of a mercenary named Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt).

Even as the usual shenanigans flow from the film and it struggles to find an identifiable personality, The Lost City works as simple escapism entertainment, a robustly crafted and cheerfully acted, if not tritely written and dramatically vapid, entry into a genre that works at its best in films like Romancing the Stone (which this movie desperately seems to want to emulate to only modest success). The film plays well enough as a narratively predictable, structurally comfortable, and familiar film, taking few risks and reaping fewer rewards. Fortunately, the film boasts a rock-solid cast, and a pair of likeable leads in particular, that dramatically elevates the movie from big production flop to big production fluff with some funny lines and maybe even a few scattered favorite moments for the future. The locations are tremendous, too. It is to be considered a blessing for the film that Covid shifted shooting to the Dominican Republic, because the beauty and tangible details and dangers that define the environment are amongst the film's biggest plusses.

Unfortunately, outside of the cast and locations, the rest of the film is quite forgettable. The action scenes offer the predictable combo of high yield intensity and lowbrow humor, resulting in scenes that are equal parts exhilarating and cringe-worthy, an odd combination but passably entertaining nevertheless because Bullock and Tatum (and to a lesser extent Brad Pitt) pull them off so well. The film shows every bit its budget in terms of scope, production design, and technical mastery; it's a shame the script couldn't be tightened up a bit. The best part of the movie comes in the first 10 or so minutes as the film establishes the dual relationships between Loretta and Alan and Loretta and her own success which is built more on the back of the book’s front cover than it is her own literary might, it would seem. It’s so good it’s almost a shame the film turns into, basically, a predictably plotted comedy-adventure film that loses much of that opening draw and personality.

The Lost City 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount brings The Lost City to the UHD format with a stellar 2160p/Doby Vision UHD presentation. Compared to the companion and concurrently released Blu-ray, the UHD picture thrives with the added resolution and color bolstering.

Color stability and accuracy are the most immediately obvious factors for visual improvement. The UHD offers a brilliantly slick and nuanced palette, appearing less yellow-creamy (which is not obvious on the Blu-ray without making this comparison) and more naturally occurring. The Dolby Vision grading brings out the best in whites, for sure, which are very crisp and leap off the screen in all their natural brilliance. Greenery is, of course, another point for concern considering how much of the film takes place in leafy, vegetation-laden jungle settings, and viewers can rest assured that Dolby Vision offers the best in terms of brilliant tonal excellence in this critical area, with greatly improved depth and color detail on display in every shot. Of course, viewers can expect deeper and more penetrating black levels while still maintaining careful shadow detail excellence. These colors are absolutely gorgeous; there's no mistaking that this Dolby Vision presentation absolutely trounces the Blu-ray for overall accuracy, stability, clarity, and pinpoint excellence.

Texturally, the gains are much less evident at-a-glance. Certainly, the UHD brings out the very sharpest and clearest details; look at a close-up at the 23:39 mark. The Blu-ray offers plenty of complexity, but the UHD goes a step further to reveal pores and fine skin elements with an added layer of crispness and authenticity that the Blu-ray simply cannot reach. Generally speaking, however, the sharpness gains are best described as "modest" at very best. They make a difference in the aggregate, but nowhere near so much as the color. As with the Blu-ray, there are no source or encode issues to worry about. This one is good to go!

The Lost City 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is just as spectacular. The presentation begins with a commanding musical presence. The film's playfully adventurous score is presented for all it's worth, yielding excellent clarity to all individual instrumentals and featuring incredible clarity across the full orchestral arrangement. The music plays with wonderful front-end placement and expertly integrated surround and subwoofer components. Such holds true for action: it's wonderfully spaced, surrounds are active in balanced frenzy as necessary, and the low end brings the bottom as necessary without overextending its welcome. Jungle ambience is richly realized and offers superb clarity and a finely engineered sense of envelopment; even with only the most minor or fleeting sounds the stage is always a vivid sonic recreation of the film's exotic locations. Dialogue, as expected, is clear and precise with natural front-center placement. This one is terrific!

The Lost City 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of The Lost City includes several featurettes, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. No Blu-ray copy is included with purchase. However, Paramount has included a digital copy voucher and a non-embossed slipcover to sweeten the deal.

• Dynamic Duo (1080p, 4:42): Exploring the off-camera chemistry between Bullock and Tatum and their characters' opposing relationship on the screen.
• Location Profile (1080p, 7:09): A look at the beautiful, challenging, authentic, and exotic Dominican Republic in-camera shooting locales seen throughout the film.
• Jungle Rescue (1080p, 6:25): Exploring the making some of the big action scenes in the film, including the practical effects seen in the film.
• The Jumpsuit (1080p, 3:41): Looking at the glittery sequin purple costume seen prominently in the film.
• Charcuterie (1080p, 3:32): Making a key scene with lots of food and fans.
• The Villains of The Lost City (1080p, 5:29): As the title suggests, this piece introduces the audience to the film's bad guys.
• Building The Lost City (1080p, 7:23): More on overcoming the challenges of the shoot and location, the production design, sets, and more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 8:52 total runtime): Included are Spying on Fairfax, Beth Looks for Loretta, The Climb, Allison's Dance, Hammock, Navigates Drone, Loretta Calls Nana, and Trainer Has a Headache.
• Bloopers (1080p, 5:33): Humorous moments from the shoot.

The Lost City 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Lost City is no classic: the story is flat, there are a few cringe-worthy moments and gags, and the film feels helplessly eager to simply cozy up to both the Adventure films of yesterday while still clinging to modern sensibilities. It mostly works on the backs of its cast, which is delectable, elevating a so-so script and building a movie that should satisfy the need for a mind-off movie with high production value. Paramount's UHD is a terrific way to watch. Video and audio are terrific and the disc ships with a nice assortment of bonus content. Recommended.