Movie Review: The Lost City of Z

I need to get back to individual reviews, so I am going to try to at least review new movies that I see in the theater soon after seeing them. I’ll have more batch reviews in the future, but here is a quick review of a single movie, The Lost City of Z (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212428), which is based on the Amazonian expeditions of Percy Fawcett (played by Charlie Hunnam, aka Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy who is actually playing a Brit for once since HE is actually British). 

In the early 1900s, Fawcett was assigned by the British Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to explore Bolivia with the intention of mapping out this mostly unknown Amazonian jungle area. He goes on this adventure, meeting Henry Costin (an almost unrecognizable Robert Pattinson) along the way who joins him in South America as Costin has considerable experience in the Amazon. While there, Fawcett is told of a great ancient city covered in gold and he indeed finds evidence of an advanced culture that could point him to this lost city, Z(ed). Fawcett returns to England, but he is anxious to go back. After a discovery made by his wife Nina (played by Sienna Miller), he goes back. But this trip is cut short due to the incompetent and somewhat treacherous behavior by one of his partners James Murray (played by Angus Macfadyen). After this trip and a stint in World War I where he is injured, Fawcett does not plan to return to the Amazon. But in 1923, his young son Jack (played as a young adult by Tom Holland) convinces Fawcett to return. Together, father & son are determined to find Z(ed). Do they ever find it? One may never know... 

I had heard about this movie from some trusted online sources and read a few reviews of it before finally deciding to check it out. While it is not a real-life Indiana Jones tale, it is a compelling story. I like well made, historically-based movies in general and this movie fits that bill. It doesn’t fall into the epic category in scope or length (e.g. Lawrence of Arabia) but it does have the feel of those older epic types of movies. I was consumed by the storytelling, scenery, acting, and overall “feel” of the movie. I thought Hunnam was excellent as Fawcett and Pattinson’s take on Costin is great too, unlike any role he has played before. I liked The Lost City of Z quite a bit...8.5/10 stars.