The Lost City 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 3/5

Plot Synopsis: Loretta Sage’s (SANDRA BULLOCK) novels are filled with ancient tombs and daring adventures, but that doesn’t mean she’s prepared for them in real life. When she is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) to locate a legendary lost city, Loretta’s handsome cover model, Alan (CHANNING TATUM), sets off on a heroic but hapless rescue mission. Thrust into an epic thrill-ride through the jungle, the unlikely pair must work together to survive the elements, and survive each other, to find the city’s fabled treasure before it’s lost forever.

Quick Hit Review: The Lost City is kind of an old school Hollywood adventure-romantic-comedy and while it doesn’t really break the mold with tinges of Romancing the Stone with the story, the movie is for the most part pretty fun. That said, the story is on the thin side, you have a villain who is only notable because he’s being played by former Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, otherwise the character is really bland. In addition, the character arc, at least for Bullock’s Sage, was overly telegraphed early on with the sort of “you need to move on” cliché in the character dealing with the death of her husband.

All of that said, The Lost City does show that Sandra Bullock still has it in her star power, showing the same sort of charisma that made her a leading lady and she works well opposite Channing Tatum, although I can’t say they had the strongest chemistry, but good enough to carry throughout the film. Also featured, in a credited cameo of about five minutes, is Brad Pitt in one of the more humorous scenes.

The movie was directed by Adam and Aaron Nee, who also comprised two of the four script writers, and while this has some fine entertainment value and makes for a breezy watch, not unlike Uncharted, I can’t really say there’s a whole lot here all that memorable, and the story feels like something to come out of the 1990s, just with better visual effects. The Lost City is one probably worth renting but I can’t say it has a whole lot of replay value.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5

This release, which only contains the 4K UHD disc, comes in a standard black HD slim case with a glossy slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

Dynamic Duo (4:42) – Behind-the-scenes with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to see how their comedy chemistry aligns for this odd-couple comedy adventure.

Location Profile (7:09) – Take a trip to the exotic Dominican Republic movie location and find out how the crew dealt with heavy rain and mosquitoes.

Jungle Rescue (6:25) – See how the movie’s incredible action set pieces and stunts were filmed.

The Jumpsuit (3:41) – Discover what went into designing Loretta’s eye-catching purple sequin jumpsuit.

Charcuterie (3:32) – A hilarious breakdown of Loretta’s big kidnapping scene and what it’s like to come under attack from a giant charcuterie board.

The Villains of The Lost City (5:29) – Meet the bad guys: Abigail Fairfax and his henchmen.

Building The Lost City (7:23) – A look at building the film’s incredible island world.

Deleted Scenes (8:52) – Here we get 8 scenes that didn’t make the final cut, presumably for pacing.

Bloopers (5:33) – Laugh along with the cast at their on-set bloopers.

VIDEO – 4½/5

The Lost City comes to 4K Ultra HD and presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer. Like most new movies this does look pretty great in 4K, detail is sharp and nicely defined, close-ups especially, while colors are bright and vivid with some minor aid with the HDR. There were no signs of artifacts, aliasing or other visual flaws. Given Paramount is no longer including Blu-ray discs in their 4K releases, I can’t compare the two formats.

AUDIO – 4¾/5

The movie comes with a Dolby Atmos track which brings to life the Dominican Republic. Dialogue comes across with good clarity and there is good depth with the forest, rivers, ocean and the inside of a cave near the finale.

OVERALL — 3¾/5

Overall, The Lost City is a perfectly watchable action-adventure-comedy that combines Romancing the Stone and Uncharted and while I can’t say it’s anything amazing or even memorable, it’s fine as a one-time viewing and rental.