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.
For in-depth thoughts on The Lost City, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of The Lost City offers a tremendous viewing experience, but it is difficult to assess how large of an upgrade it is since there is not an accompanying Blu-Ray. Skin tones appear wonderfully natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores. The increased range of the color spectrum is stunning to behold. The Dolby Vision enriches the colors from already impressive to out of this world when it comes to vibrancy. The natural landscapes of the Dominican Republic treat you to lush environments filled with bright greens of the foliage and other spectacular plant life that pierce through the screen. That is not even mentioning the impossible blue of the sky which nearly knocks you sideways.
There are moments of fiery torches against the night’s sky which really pop off the screen. The highlights in the film are greatly defined with whites pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. Elements in the dense trees or well-decorated interiors are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. This 4K UHD presentation really delivers on all fronts including impressive showings in clarity and color. I’m sure the Blu-Ray is great, but Paramount has delivered another fantastic transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a Dolby Atmos presentation that packs a major punch. This is a film which puts its sound design to the test with many active environments filled with minute details, and this disc executes every moment perfectly. When the film gets active, this disc brings the action right into your living room with a depth and clarity of sound that is staggering. There is an insane amount of activity in the low-end which will keep your room vibrating, especially during some memorable explosions.
As our characters move throughout the jungle, every minor change is realized in the sound design. The various environmental sounds such as rushing water and birds chirping flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness including some activity overhead which helps make the track seem more full. The movie engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of adventure that really makes you feel like you are in the thick of this epic tale. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting muddied by the score or any sound effects. Paramount knocked it out of the park with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have fun with this one.
Special Features
- Dynamic Duo: A nearly five-minute featurette which explores the team-up of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, the classic “oil and water” dynamic, the chemistry between the performers, the fun they had on set and more.
- Location Profile: A seven-minute piece which takes a look at the production in the Dominican Republic, why the creatives felt the need to shoot on-locations instead of using green screen, the change in the original shooting location due to COVID, the obstacles they faced and more.
- Jungle Rescue: A nearly seven-minute look at the ambition set pieces in the film, how they were executed, the careful stunt coordination, and more.
- The Jumpsuit: A nearly four-minute piece on the “other star” of the film – the jumpsuit Loretta is stuck in throughout the film. You get to see how this piece came to be with insights from Bullock and the costume designer.
- Charcuterie: A nearly four-minute look at the epic charcuterie table and why it was so important to the creatives to have it in the film along with how they made it work.
- The Villains Of The Lost City: A nearly six-minute look at the antagonists in the film including Fairfax and his henchmen and how the creative team wanted to craft an iconic villain.
- Building The Lost City: A seven-minute look at the impressive island world that was created on film with a combination of location scouting and set design.
- Deleted Scenes: Eight scenes of unused material totaling nine minutes are provided here including several more scenes with Allison, more moments with Jack and more. These are all worth checking out.
- Bloopers: A nearly six-minute collection of flubbed or forgotten lines, giggle fits, goofing around, malfunctioning props and more that provide some big laughs.
Final Thoughts
The Lost City is an incredibly fun throwback to the type of star-driven adventure that used to thrive within Hollywood. We love big IPs as much as the next person, but it is refreshing to go back to the simplicity of seeing two charming movie stars bounce off of one another in a larger-than-life journey. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum have incredible chemistry with one another, and Daniel Radcliffe gives everything to this classic villain role. It is not a completely original film, but in today’s landscape it is downright novel. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a stellar A/V presentation and a nice array of brief supplemental features. If you are a fan of the talent involved, you are going to have a good time. Recommended
The Lost City is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.