This 2022 film by Aaron and Adam Nee is one found on Netflix that looked like an old take on the comedic adventure film, sort of like Romancing the Stone and starred Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, it also featured Brad Pitt, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar Nunez, Patti Harrison and Hector Anibal.
Plot: Widowed archaeologist turned romance writer Loretta Sage is struggling. After 20 books and growing agoraphobia Loretta wants out of this series of books and it’s stars Angela and Dash. What makes it worse is that she has to deal with Alan who has a sort of Fabio thing going as the model for Dash. Alan is struggling also, being the model who is besotted with Loretta, but gets nervous and tongue tied. They’re put on a book tour for the new book The Lost City of D, together funded by Loretta’s publisher Beth who’s desperate to rebuild Loretta’s audience.
While dressed in a sequined jumpsuit, Angela is kidnapped from the first Q&A by Rafi, who is working for rich and entitled man-child Abigail Fairfax. Fairfax has been overlooked for running the family media empire for his younger brother and wants to find something to make him stand out. With the Lost City of D being based on real research Loretta did with her late husband, Fairfax feels she is his best chance of finding the Crown of Fire, which belonged to the queen of an island in the Atlantic, an island he bought the southern half of. Alan, after an argument with Loretta, feels guilty, so he calls a guy he met on a yoga retreat, Jack Trainer who is a former special forces soldier who offers to help. Jack is the real world equivalent of the Dash archetype and takes Alan with him, but gives him a very “Stay in the car” mission. The pair rescue Loretta, with Fairfax having given her a parchment to translate with a vague ‘or else’ and the three try to leave, with Loretta still zip-tied to a director’s chair, just as they are on the verge of escaping, Jack is shot and killed and now a falling apart writer and male model have to escape an army and maybe use the parchment to find the lost city of D and the crown hidden within before the local volcano goes all Krakatoa and buries the island forever.
Notes: One of my favourite 1980’s films is Romancing the Stone, a perfect storm of casting with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny Devito at the height of their powers and an excellent mix of balls out action and comedy. This film harkens back to that idea, but instead of rehashing an old idea/trope, this film tries to do the impossible and improve on the formula. The cast is full of good choices, from Oscar Nunez in a nice little comedy part, to Brad Pitt parodying the heroic types that action films have. But the heart of this film is the trio at the heart of it, Daniel Radcliffe as Abigail Fairfax, Channing Tatum as Alan/Dash and Sandra Bullock as Loretta Sage.
Daniel Radcliffe has moved beyond his Harry Potter years by playing more esoteric characters, from the villain from the Now You See Me sequel to Weird Al in the comedic bio-pic. He’s charming, awkward and hilarious in equal measure and that is not an easy thing to pull off. He’s definitely not someone I just think of as a Harry Potter actor anymore. Channing Tatum flexes his comedic skills in a role that is equally ridiculous and charming. He’s definitely the pathos of the film, you are on his side from his harsh truth talk with Loretta to the third act which has a journey feels earned. And then there’s Sandra Bullock, who outside of the romantic comedy films she’s done is both funny and a believable romantic lead. She’s carrying much of the story as someone trapped in a life she didn’t want, yearning for more and still very much a fish out of water. She sparks off everyone there and adds the quality needed for this story to work.
And the story does work, it’s comedic high adventure of the type that I genuinely thought we didn’t get anymore. In Amazon Women on the Moon the idea of “they don’t make them like that anymore” is a good thing, but here it’s a welcome return to a nostalgic type of film that brings modern sensibilities to a classic genre and then runs with it, rather than deconstructing it, or being overly ironic. This film was fun, from the opening scenes to the little moments at the end and I honestly can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a film like this. I’m sure I’ll see the cracks at some point, but here and now, this was a great film. 10/10
A Munky on Merseyside 