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I have a confession to make: I have never warmed up to Sandra Bullock as a star.
It isnt that I havent enjoyed her presence onscreen.
When its Keanu Reeves?
As the supposed center of the film, she lacks any force beyond curdling white saviorism.
Not just Bullocks, but her immediate cast members, too.
It doesnt waste time.
Audiences shouldnt be blamed if they are cold to the film.
The Lost Cityisnt terrible, just aggressively mediocre.
But the makers ofThe Lost Citythink pointing a camera at her is enough.
The Lost Cityaims to be quick-witted, giddy, a light delight.
Once you notice this grating aspect, you cant help but squirm.
(A dramatic cave sequence near the end is so drab its embarrassing.)
I can see why, on the page, Tatum and Bullock have allure.
She has a fierce sense of self and undaunted intellect.
But theres no Itfactor.
Pitt knows what this film needs and how to skewer his own image.
(Has anyone in Hollywood leaned into the sensuality of his own consumption as much as this man?)
His physicality (and that of his stuntmen) is spry, graceful.
Its the kind of specificity and elan the rest of the film lacks.
The remaining film is listless and tired.
Sure, Radcliffe is aiming for gonzo intensity.
Everything in the story feels micromanaged, all the edges smoothed off.
I fixated instead on the smoothness and lack of texture of the scenario.
