Lost City Raiders (2008) Reviews

• not bad at all

  nose_smasher2011-01-14

  Saw this little movie two days ago, on cable and in Full HD. Call me crazy, but I liked it. The plot is so common for B-movies: some guys are searching and competing for an ancient artifact. Half of them are the "good guys", the other half are led by a ruthless super-rich man who wants the artifact only for him, ...to rule the whole world, of course. The action is set in the near future, when the level of the planetary ocean raised dramatically. The coast zones ,and not only, are now submerged. The New-Vatican wants the artifact (a scepter from Middle-Ages)hoping, based on old Biblical legends, to lower the level of waters. The bad guy, who lost millions per day with his submerged real estate wants exactly the opposite: to raise the level even more, because he now develops floating communities. He want the whole world to become dependent of his projects, then to lower the level to regain land and sell more, once again, to those who wants to live on solid ground. As you see, it's a simple plot, used oh so many times before, from Indiana Jones to super-cheap and easy-to-forget other B-movies. Well, in my opinion, this one is able to stay in the upper first half. You won't find Oscar-winning acting here, just enough action to keep you entertained. The CGI is surprisingly good for a TV movie.The scenes with the half submerged Dresden and Rome are done great. An underwater explosion and, later, CGI flowing water are rendered very realistic. However, the submerged structures are more poorly done. "Lost City Raiders" is a family-friendly movie, so you can watch it with your kids. Not a lot of talk, talk, talk, the plot is simple to follow, some lines are funny, the acting can be found sometimes a little bit silly, but nothing unbearable. It's 20% comedy, 40% action, 40% adventure. Recommended.

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• Bad story, bad acting, bad music, bad everything

  lustigson2009-10-10

  This movie comes close to being the worst I've ever seen. First of all: the story is very thin. The writers probably weren't sure they wanted to write an action film, a science fiction movie, a real-life ecological drama, a love story, an Indiana Jones variant, or a Dan Brown-like story. Second: the dialog and the acting is horrible, with Ian Somerhalder and Elodie Frenck as low points. Then third: the music: most of it was probably written especially for the film, but many songs and themes sounded like they were supposed be be something else, something well-know, for instance. The bit where the Filiminov crew hauls up Richard Lionheart's tomb was the worst. Lastly, the only silver lining with this dark cloud was that I watched the film in Blu-ray, so at least this bad movie looked OK. The opening scenes were fine, for example, although I think they were from The Day After Tomorrow.

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• We all live in a bathtub

  unbrokenmetal2010-01-06

  I think everybody should watch this movie, not as a serious action movie, but simply for being incredible and hilariously funny. Basically constructed as a cheaper TV imitation of familiar mega productions (Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, Waterworld etc.), "Lost City Raiders" presents the ultimate explanation for the climate catastrophe: we all live in a gigantic bathtub, and every few thousand years, someone needs to pull the plug to lower the water level. Moses did it once, and our heroes just need to find his scepter to repeat the trick. Mind you, this is not a parody, it's intended to be convincing and scientific. When I read the summary on the back of the DVD cover, I desperately wanted to see the movie because I found it hard to believe until I saw it with my own eyes. How does one sell a story like this to a producer? It sounds like a lunatic Troma project, but actually is an international co-production, quite big by TV standards. Apart from the crazy outline, the script is pretty well constructed though: Bettina Zimmermann's character signing a deal with the wrong team, a lot about James Brolin's character only being revealed afterwards etc. - and finally, I liked the design of the cave, archaic and futuristic at the same time.

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• Not bad...Not Great....Just Meh.

  Celticnationalist2009-12-20

  40 years in the future Global Warming has submerged most of the Earth underwater and a Father (James Brolin) and his two Sons (Ian Solmerhalder & Jamie Thomas King) salvage treasures from sunken buildings for a living when they are given an important assignment from the Vatican to uncover an historical artifact which can lower the seas moses-style - or some such nonsense. The budget as this is a Syfy Channel Production is Low (looks a lot lower than the $6.4M quoted here) and it shows rather badly at times, especially as buildings in the far distance look like paintings, but the acting isn't too bad and there is enough action to keep you interested if not glued to the screen. A German made production Filmed entirely in South Africa and Directed by Jean De Segonzac, who has been in the Director's chair on many a TV Series and several forgettable DTV Movies.

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• Finally! A Winner in the Worst Ever Category

  rsternesq2008-11-22

  Can't add a spoiler alert because I couldn't stick it out. Truly, I tried but this is the winner in my personal worst movie ever contest. Absolutely the worst, worst, dumbest movie ever in my humble (well, OK, not so humble) opinion. Makes Waterworld look like Shakespeare. I admit it. I can't think of anything else to say but burn the film, disable the projector, pull the plug. Kill it before it airs again. SciFi my foot. JUNKY STUPID! Yes, I'm shouting it to the rooftops. Save yourself! Send this Brolin back to the fetid arms of his beloved. YUCK! Not enough words? Well try this for an ender: WARNING! WATCHING THIS MESS WILL REDUCE YOUR IQ AND YOUR LIFE SPAN! You cannot afford the time to check out this tripe. Medieval dentistry would be preferable. YUCK. YUCK. A thousand times dreck!

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