Apple TV+’s Fountain Of Youth Has The Precise Similar Downside As The Uncharted Film

This submit incorporates main spoilers for Apple TV+’s “Fountain of Youth.”

There is a good purpose why we’re so enamored by tales about misplaced treasure. The idea of a gaggle of seekers (or a lone one, for that matter) hopping from one clue to a different to uncover a relic misplaced to time appeals to human curiosity. There’s additionally a way of journey that mimics the workings of an epic quest, wherein the pop-culturification of historical past and delusion helps inject enjoyable into the premise. Every part from “Indiana Jones” to “Nationwide Treasure” follows this time-tested format, the place the seek for a priceless artifact invitations a globe-trotting journey and a tussle over remaining possession.

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Typically, these films reach commanding our consideration even once they’re sub-par or missing in substance — the Robert Langdon trilogy being a very good instance of such formulaic, watered-down mysteries that also have some pleasures to supply. Nonetheless, this isn’t the case with Man Ritchie’s “Fountain of Youth,” Apple TV+’s new misplaced treasure flick that sees estranged siblings Luke (John Krasinski) and Charlotte (Natalie Portman) embark on an journey across the globe. The titular Fountain of Youth is the movie’s apparent central MacGuffin, however it’s so terribly underdeveloped that the explanations Luke or Charlotte are even focused on jeopardizing their lives to seek out such a legendary object are unconvincing.

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Then there’s the truth that “Fountain of Youth” is a bland, bloated mess, continuously counting on clunky exposition and eye-rolling humor to pad out its premise. The worst half? None of those shenanigans are enjoyable sufficient to sit down by way of, as even probably the most over-the-top motion sequences totally lack a way of urgency. If a shootout contained in the ornate chambers of the Nice Pyramid of Giza is not thrilling sufficient to evoke thrill or suspense, then what’s? This baffling absence of sincerity plagues Ritchie’s “Fountain of Youth,” compelling us to query why the movie wasn’t capable of reap the benefits of an age-old method that has (principally) labored for related style titles through the years.

Each misplaced treasure movie, irrespective of how juvenile, carries a historic subtext that shapes these fictional landscapes. It is inconceivable to divorce most misplaced treasure adventures from the themes of colonial greed and plunder, prompting discourse about who these artifacts really belong to. There are, in fact, methods to enliven such tales even with out such charged socio-political contexts. A celebrated basic like “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” which crafts its battle round one thing as widespread as gold, deftly examines greed and the human intuition to mistrust. If we take a look at more moderen examples, even a screwball comedy like “The Misplaced Metropolis” successfully switches issues up by redefining what legendary treasure means, leaning into the emotional implications of such a uncommon discover.

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“Fountain of Youth” is totally devoid of such impulses, as if wholly tired of exploring themes that enterprise past Luke and Charlotte’s flimsy pasts or the antagonist’s unprompted starvation for energy. We additionally know subsequent to nothing in regards to the group that desires to guard the Fountain all through the movie, aside from some obscure allusion to Eiza González’s Esme having ties to somebody vital (Stanley Tucci) in Vatican Metropolis. Should not a mysterious secret society tasked with defending a huge secret appear extra vital in a movie revolving round probably the most coveted legendary artifact identified to man?

In some ways, “Fountain of Youth” shares the identical problematic cloth as Sony’s “Uncharted” film, regardless of being an Apple TV+ authentic that ought to have been enjoyable and contemporary. Ruben Fleischer’s “Uncharted” will not be solely an abysmal adaptation of the eponymous, beloved online game sequence, but additionally painfully generic in its replication of what makes Nathan Drake’s saga so compelling. In plainer phrases, it is boring. The 2022 adaptation is a two-hour-long globe-trotting journey minus tense stakes or memorable characters, the place its mimicry of style tropes is as uninspired as its inert motion setpieces.

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This precise sentiment applies to “Fountain of Youth,” besides that it would not fail any widely-loved online game counterpart or botch any current lore. It is an authentic story that rehashes each stale style trope beneath the solar, however nonetheless fails to seize the magic related to a treasure hunt.

Let’s speak about what Ritchie’s movie does provide in abundance: shoddy exposition and foreshadowing. The clunky dialogue would not assist issues right here, and we’re pressured to look at Luke ramble about his father’s legacy whereas bickering together with his sister, who needs no half in his meandering adventures. However we’re reminded repeatedly that Charlotte secretly craves thrills, as a piece of the riddles main as much as the Fountain are enthusiastically solved by her. She wants this harmful journey as desperately as Luke wants her on his group, as Charlotte goes by way of a tough divorce and has been lately fired from her high-profile job. Whereas these motivations serve their objective simply fantastic, they’re spelled out in awkward dialogue repeatedly. There’s additionally some heavy-handed foreshadowing employed by way of Luke’s visions, which serve little objective moreover testing one’s persistence. 

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There’s completely nothing mistaken with senseless enjoyable, even when it is riddled with loopholes or logical fallacies. However “Fountain of Youth” needs to return off as an thrilling, witty style title, even when it would not have interaction with something remotely enjoyable or sensible all through its runtime. That is disappointing, because the story has each ingredient to mix these tones collectively, with its traditionally wealthy locales (such because the beautiful Austrian Nationwide Library) serving as stable settings for the story. Even when Domhnall Gleeson’s Owen Carver is on the coronary heart of the traditional Pyramids, corrupted past recognition by his personal unchecked greed (similar to a personality within the “Indiana Jones” franchise), there is no sense of awe or marvel connected to those occasions. Every part falls flat. 

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Because the movie ends, Esme and Luke tease the beginnings of a model new journey, one that may probably revolve round one other misplaced historic artifact. This second clearly sows the seeds for a potential sequel, which undoubtedly must get a greater grasp on what makes a misplaced treasure flick thrilling and efficient. If greenlit, the sequel has a proficient core forged to work with, together with the prospect of taking pictures on unbelievable areas that may translate nicely into components of a puzzle. I sincerely hope that the continued story can have sufficient self-conviction to completely discover no matter gimmick it chooses to embrace.

“Fountain of Youth” is now streaming on Apple TV+.