The Lost City (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review)

On paper The Lost City from directors Aaron Nee and Adam Nee reads like an uncredited remake of the 1984 Robert Zemeckis film Romancing the Stone but for contemporary audiences. Truth be told, even as it plays out there are major similarities between the films, but this film is still enjoyable in its own way.

Reclusive and talented, trash-romance novelist Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is convinced to go on a book tour for her latest and what she has announced as her last novel alongside her handsome yet vapid cover model Alan (Channing Tatum). While on tour, she ends up embroiled in a scheme thought up by the eccentric and nefarious billionaire Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) who kidnaps her to help him find the ancient civilization she wrote about in her novel. Meanwhile, Alan decides to go rescue her, puffed up with confidence, mistakenly believing himself to be like his heroic alter-ego Loretta wrote about in her book. He hires the dashing mercenary Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt) to help get him track down and rescue Loretta from the jungles.

The Nee brothers put together a fairly entertaining film with The Lost City that is certainly gorgeous to look at. Shot on location in the Dominican Republic, the film is lavish with greenery and intricate ‘ancient’ set designs that mimic such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark. The comedic element works sometimes, but most times the comedy falls flat and seems to be working against the action elements of the film, falling flat.

The Lost City is undeniably entertaining and lots of fun despite problems with the script and some low points here and there. The chemistry between Bullock and Tatum helps to drive the film and Pitt is masterful even if is role is so brief. Go into this one with minimal expectations and enjoy the ride.

The Lost City (2022)

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The Video

The Lost City was shot on the Arri Alexa Mini and Arri Alexa SXT cameras with Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses in 2.8K and 3.4K resolution. Despite not being shot in ‘true’ 4K resolution, the film looks about as pristine and detailed on 4K Ultra HD as could be, arriving in a 2.39:1 HEVC 2160p Dolby Vision HDR encodement. There are no complaints with this one as it ‘pops’ from the beginning to the end, offering specular highlights that leap from the screen like, well, Bullock’s sparkly jumpsuit, or things like torches against black backgrounds. But there is also a staggering amount of shadow detail. Just check out the first scene with Bullock and Tatum in the jungle at night sleeping under the moonlight to see the mount of detail in the surroundings under the blue-tinged lighting.

The Audio

The Lost City comes to 4K Ultra HD with an exciting Dolby Atmos mix that full utilizes the aspects of the Atmos format from the opening dream sequence to the very end. There’s strong height awareness with plenty of foley effects placed in the overheads, music, ambience, movement through the surround channels, and a wide dynamic range. Low end extends down far, so we get bombastic booms for the louder special effects and a general meatiness to the overall sound.

The Supplements

Paramount have supplied a good amount of lighthearted yet interesting bonus features to go along with release covering everything from Sandra Bullocks sequined jumpsuit to the building of the set. The blooper reel provides some additional laughs as well.

• Digital Copy Code
• Dynamic Duo (1080p; DV; 00:04:42)
• Location Profile (1080p; DV; 00:07:09)
• Jungle Rescue (1080p; DV; 00:06:25)
• The Jumpsuit (1080p; DV; 00:03:41)
• Charcuterie (1080p; DV; 00:03:32)
• The Villains of the Lost City (1080p; DV; 00:05:29)
• Building the Lost City (1080p; DV; 00:07:23)
• Deleted Scenes (1080p; DV; 00:08:52):
  • Spying on Fairfax
  • Beth Looks for Loretta
  • The Climb
  • Allison’s Dance
  • Hammock
  • Navigates Drone
  • Loretta Calls Nana
  • Trainer Has a Headache
• Bloopers (1080p; DV; 00:05:33)

The Final Assessment

An uneven and sometimes formulaic comedy adventure that rehashes Romancing the Stone but updates the former for contemporary audiences and provides stunning visuals and superb casting. The film looks and sounds awesome on 4K Ultra HD.

The Lost City is out on 4K Ultra HD + Digital July 26, 2022 from Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment

• Rating Certificate: PG-13 (for violence and some bloody images, suggestive material, partial nudity and language.)
• Studios & Distributors: Paramount Pictures | 3dot productions | Exhibit A | Fortis Films | Paramount+ (VOD) | Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
• Directors: Aaron Nee | Adam Nee
• Written By: Oren Uziel (screenplay by) | Dana Fox (screenplay by) | Adam Nee (screenplay by) | Aaron Nee (screenplay by) | Seth Gordon (story by)
• Run Time: 111 Mins.
• Street Date: 26 July 2022
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 1000 nits
  • MaxFALL: 353 nits
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos
• Secondary Audio: English Audio Description | Czech DD 5.1 | German DD 5.1 | Spanish (Castilian) DD 5.1 | Spanish (Latin American) DD 5.1 | French DD 5.1 | French (Canadian) DD 5.1 | Italian DD 5.1 | Japanese DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English | English SDH | Cantonese | Czech | Danish | German | Spanish (Castilian) | Spanish (Latin American) | French | French (Canadian) | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Mandarin | Norwegian | Polish | Romanian | Simplified Chinese | Slovenian | Finnish | Swedish | Thai