Review of The Lost City of Z (2017) by Zhuwangp — 27 Apr 2017

So far, I have not heard any mainstream commenting anything about this movie, only 1000 people on IMDB comment on it and it sat 10th spot in the box office. I just saw this movie and I was writing my review on Get Out now.

But now, I think this is close contender to being my favourite movie of the year so far (My first is Logan) and I hope my review will encourage you all to watch it. It is about British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region.

First of all, the cinemograph is absolutely amazing. It sold me from the very first scene. They used a lot wide angled shots and it felt like we are looking every single detail the actors are doing. There were also a lot of long takes, but it is used sparingly and doesn’t feel like draining.

There are a lot of movies used long takes, while some works (Creed and Reverent), others feel like it is testing my attention drain (Birdman and Life). This is one is the former. There a lot natural lights and it represented us with best of the Amazon forest which helps to be engaged in its mystery.

Speaking of which, I find the music is very haunting, creating a very creepy atmosphere. I think what makes this movie great is the amazing cast. I really loved Charlie Hunnam performance. I am surprised that critics are being so harsh about his performance saying it was uncharismatic.

I disagree. Granted there were scenes when he looked bland, but the scene that sold me is when he tried convince the council to fund his expedition. You can tell how passionate he is and putting the doubter in their places, making them look stupid.

His performance in that scene excited me. I wasn’t a big fan of Sienna Miller’s acting skills, but she is amazing in this film. She played a woman who has to endure the loneliness of a wife of an explorer and yet she dedicated a life for his cause.

She is very sympathetic and is someone you want to root for. The best performance is from Robert Pattinson. I didn’t realize it was him in the film. I am not going to reveal much because I want you to be surprised.

All I can say is his performance is good enough to earn him an Oscar. Tom Holland is also good but unfortunately he is not as much as you hoped. One last note, the emperor from Star Wars is also in this movie.

Now that’s awesome. I think it is a great movie, only flaws is that the ending feel abrupt. To me it felt more like a biography for an explorer rather than exploration itself. I highly recommend this movie.