The Lost City: Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s effortless adventure rom-com

It may be predictable but Sandra Bullock’s new movie is all about the journey and not the destination.

Never underestimate the star wattage of Sandra Bullock. She’s the flame and we’re the moths, entranced by her power to charm and entertain.

As much as Bullock impresses in serious dramatic roles, such as she did in Gravity, it’s in comedy where she unleashes her true dominance. The Lost City is exactly the kind of throwback rom-com adventure that is elevated from fine to riotous thanks to the presence of Bullock.

It’s the kind of role that allows her to showcase her impeccable timing, physical comedy prowess and some dramatic chops. Not to mention her sizzling chemistry with Channing Tatum.

Everyone is having a grand old time, from a wild Brad Pitt cameo to an unhinged Daniel Radcliffe – an unhinged Daniel Radcliffe is the best Daniel Radcliffe and he’s leaving nothing on the table in The Lost City.

The Lost City is out in time for the long weekend.

Bullock plays Loretta Sage, a romance novelist who has become a recluse after the death of her husband, unable to face the world outside her home.

When she’s forced to promote her latest book on tour, she’s once again in the presence of Alan (Tatum), the model who poses as the literary hero Dash on her book covers. Other than a propensity for channelling Gob Bluth’s choreography to “Final Countdown”, Alan has something of a crush on Loretta even though she doesn’t take him seriously.

During a promotional stop, Loretta is bundled into a car by two goons working for high-strung billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Radcliffe), who believes Loretta is the key to unlocking the whereabouts of lost treasure “Crown of Fire”.

The well-meaning but clueless Alan leaps to the rescue as he and Loretta try to outrun and outsmart Fairfax and his crew on an island with an active volcano. It’s not just the gun-toting mercenaries they need to survive, it’s also the many, many threats lurking in the jungle.

Brad Pitt explodes into action in The Lost City. Picture: Paramount

You don’t have to be a cinephile to know exactly where The Lost City is going, especially if you’ve seen Romancing the Stone – its predictability is an assurance of its genre and it checks all the tropes.

But it doesn’t even matter because they’re exactly the story beats you want in a movie like this – the destination isn’t the point, it’s the journey. And The Lost City, directed by Adam and Aaron Nee, is a joyous journey that’s engrossing, funny and thoroughly entertaining.

The jokes are sharp, tailored to its perfectly cast ensemble – if anything, there could be more of them.

The scenarios are, of course, outlandish and defy logic, and there’s more than a few scenes that were clearly shot in front of a green screen while the pacing starts to falter in the final stretch.

But it’s easy to set aside those quibbles when the alchemical mix of Bullock and Tatum’s performances is more than enough to carry audiences along on a merry, effortless escapade.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Lost City is in cinemas from Thursday, April 14

Originally published as The Lost City: Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum’s effortless adventure rom-com