Great watch for people who are into explorer movies

Rating: 6/10 (6 May 2017)

"The Lost City of Z" is an American movie from 2016 and this one is the newest work by writer and director James Gray. This time he did not collaborate with Joaquin Phoenix, but despite being a great Phoenix fan I must say this movie does not need him to be a success. It runs for a really long 2 hours and 20 minutes, but time pretty much flew by and the movie never dragged. This film is about the life and work of British explorer Percy Fawcett played by Charlie Hunnam ("Sons of Anarchy"). I must say I have not come across anything (memorable) by this actor and saw little in him beyond a hunky physicality, but he played his part well here and is one of the main reasons why it all worked out so well. Robert Pattinson ("Twilight") plays one of the biggest supporting parts and he is surely the biggest name attached to the project. The likes of Sienna Miller, Tom Holland and perhaps Angus Macfadyen will be known to film buffs too though. And I see that western legends Franco Nero has a small part in it too. Shame I did not recognize him.
Anyway, the best aspect of this film is the story/writing though. This already starts with the character of Percy Fawcett, who was entirely unknown to me before seeing this movie, but he really should not have been. They made a good choice I guess in focusing not on just one of his many journeys, but including several as at this runtime, 2 hours, exclusively in the jungle may have been too much. But the path they took made it interesting too as we do not only learn a lot about the central character's family, but also for example about his time with the military. And these parts weren't worse than the ones in the jungle. Not at all. Like I said, they added a nice mentality to the entire project and kept it from having lengths. The ending is also a nice addition because you never knew what to expect and if it takes the happy route or not as you (or I) were not aware of the central character's fate eventually. In terms of the visual side (costumes, sets, cinematography) there is nothing wrong either and it's a solid job no matter which component we are talking about.
I can see why this film garnered a good deal of awards attention already despite how new it all is. At least here in Germany. I really cannot think of any weak component here and the only reason why I do not give it a higher rating is probably because the genre itself is not really one that appeals to me that much. But those who like adventure films will have a great time watching for sure. The real life references, even if a lot has been changed for dramatic purpose (like for example that in the end it's just the two of them), make it even more interesting. Tough to find flaws. I think I could have done without the Sienna Miller (she still was really good in her scenes) epilogue eventually, even if it includes an important reference to the real Percy Fawcett too, but I still may have preferred the film to end in the jungle somehow. I particularly recommend this movie to those who for example like "Master and Commander", but even those who have little connection to the genre like myself can enjoy it for what it is. I very much recommend checking it out.