Five years ago, Tom Holland starred alongside Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson in an adventure epic you've probably never seen. Watch its trailer below:
Holland first emerged through the Hollywood machine with The Impossible, J. A. Bayona's harrowing tsunami drama. Three years later, he became a star to the masses as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.
It's arguably one of the best - if not the best - films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's not even the greatest movie he appeared in that year: that honour goes to The Lost City of Z.
Advert
In 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett disappeared searching for an ancient lost city tucked away in the Amazon, taking his son Jack and Raleigh Rimell with him.
Stiff upper-lipped officials felt Fawcett's journey was a waste of time, viewing the indigenous populations as savages. However, the media at the time thought it was extraordinary; The Los Angeles Times described it as 'the most hazardous and certainly the most spectacular adventure of the kind ever undertaken'.
It's still dubbed 'the greatest exploration mystery of the 20th century' today (Fawcett is said to be one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones), and James Gray gave it the definitive cinematic treatment.
It stars Hunnam as Fawcett, Holland as Jack and Pattinson as Rimell, chronicling their perilous journey through the jungle and the hurdles they had to overcome, both on the home front and in the unknown.
Advert
It should be noted from the off: this isn't a rip-roaring, swashbuckling blockbuster in the vein of Steven Spielberg. The Lost City of Z is a stately, slow-moving epic uninterested in the sillier thrills you'll find in this week's The Lost City.
For that reason, it wasn't surprising when it bombed: from a budget of $30 million, it grossed less than $20m worldwide.
It found an audience with critics, with a comfortable 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Everyday audiences weren't so moved, with a score of 56%.
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph described it as an 'instant classic' upon release, writing: "A film as transporting, profound and staggering in its emotional power as anything I've seen in the cinema in years."
Advert
Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out also wrote: "The grandeur of this movie is off the charts. For a certain kind of old-school film fan, someone who believes in shapely, classical proportions and an epic yarn told over time, it will be the revelation of the year."
The Lost City of Z is available to stream on-demand.
Topics: Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, TV and Film
Cameron Frew