<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by James Gray. Starring Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Angus Macfadyen, Tom Holland

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes

In the days of exploration sceptics and the curious would often collide, but ultimately it is history that will tell the story of our present.

That being said, The Lost City of Z is nothing special really. It tells the true story of Major Percival Fawcett in the early 1900s at a time when war and glory were in the news. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) had an infamous father so his family name needed repair. At the behest of the Royal Geographical Society of England, he takes up a long and arduous mission to map the interiors of Amazonia in South America. Leaving behind his wife (Sienna Miller) and child, he embarks on this dangerous journey that the filmmakers have chosen to speed through since he embarks on it yet again two more times later in the film.

The natives of this area aren’t the savages the English think them to be, and Fawcett realises there’s more to this civilisation than meets the eye. He’s enchanted by the idea of finding the lost city of gold, or as he calls it the lost city of Z (zed). But his endeavours – fraught with danger, death and divinity – never quite lead him to a success he can claim stake to.

Charlie Hunnam portrays the suave Fawcett perfectly and Sienna Miller as his strong wife Nina is equally solid. She must take care of his three children while he is away for years, searching jungles and fighting in World War I. Tom Holland as his son Jack provides some tension to test Fawcett’s fatherly mettle.

I found several jumps in the timeline, which made me think, ‘Who is this new character’ or ‘How did that happen?’ The second journey is the only one that really has some fleshing out of characters. By the time you reach the last try by Fawcett and his son to find the ancient city that haunts their dreams, you’re pretty much waiting for it all to get done with.

The Lost City of Z lacks that epic quality, the stirring music, the charm of something on this scale should have.