
Run time: 112 mins
Hollywood’s evergreen leading lady, Sandra Bullock, cuts a despondent figure as a troubled romance-novel writer who’s stuck in a rut.
Trotting gamely by her side like a panting Labrador puppy with abs is Channing Tatum, playing the popular model who’s graced most of her book covers, mostly shirtless. The latest entry in her series about globetrotting lovers isn’t selling so well, given that it reads like a eulogy with sex scenes; its details about an ancient civilization in South America, however, have attracted the interest of Daniel Radcliffe’s evil, cheerful billionaire. He thinks she knows where a hidden treasure is and, one abduction later, Bullock’s reluctant Indiana Jones in a magenta sequined catsuit is clomping around the deep jungle. Tatum’s dim-witted himbo, who harbours a schoolboy crush for the wordsmith, is determined to rescue her.
The next hour is a hilarious procession of flying fists, trashed charcuterie buffets and a scene-stealing cameo by a tousled Brad Pitt. The Lost City has a genuine buoyancy that is hard to resist. Most comedies are afraid to go big, but this one most definitely does. (Jack Whiting)