Treasure hunting adventure cinema could really be as risky as being handed a shovel and blindly digging for something on a beach. When you strike gold, it’s quite a find, (such as the original Indiana Jones films, The Mummy, or Romancing the Stone). But other times…it’s just not there (sorry, the newer Indiana Jones films and National Treasure don’t do it for me). You really need to bring that perfect balance of mystery, adventure, a colorful cast of characters, and sprinkle in a little romance and humor for good measure.
So where on the trash to treasure scale does Fountain of Youth, Apple TV+ latest made for streaming film lie? John Krasinski plays Luke Purdue, art thief and treasure hunter who appears to be stealing legendary works of art for a bigger purpose. The adventure really begins when he gets the reluctant help of his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) who wishes to have her adventuring days behind her, but is really quite knowledgeable about historical artifacts. Turns out, Luke was hired by Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson), a terminally ill billionaire to be on an elite team to track down the legendary “fountain of youth” in order to cure his illness. And the clues to it’s location are hidden in priceless antique paintings of Jesus. But they are also being pursued by a secret organization determined to keep the fountain hidden from humanity.
Two things: I love plots like these with high adventure, strings of clues leading to legendary locations, and plenty of snark along the way. Also, I normally greatly enjoy the films of Guy Richie, who directed it. And while Fountain of Youth certainly had these and many more great elements working for it, including a decent budget and A list cast, it fell sadly short of being great.
Like..its fine. That’s all I can say. There’s nothing overly offensive about any aspect of the film. The pace is quick, the quips are moderately witty (not to Guy Richie film’s normal standards, but he didn’t write this one), the effects and cinematography are pretty good for a made for streaming flick. The acting is decent, I guess. Krasinski gives his on-brand dry witty performance as Luke, sort of if Jim from The Office got into adventuring instead of paper. His chemistry from his teased upon romantic counterpart Esme (Eliza Gonzalez), is a bit stiff and awkward, however. Portman, while seemingly is so absolutely done with her on-screen brother’s shenanigans, seems to be having a fun time with her role at least.
The film’s only real stand out greatness comes from the direction of Guy Richie, who couldn’t help but to throw in a decent measure of his trademark kinetic flair, elevating Fountain of Youth just a tad above being completely generic and straight forward. But honestly? At this point that effort seemed a bit of a waste as the script, while having plenty of pseudo intellect with its breadcrumb trails of academic puzzles for the characters to solve, really didn’t go particularly deep. And while trying not to spoil the ending, the epilogue of the film was virtually non-existent, giving very little real closure to the attempts at character development the script made.
Once again, I didn’t really hate Fountain of Youth, but it was still pretty milquetoast as both an action adventure film and a Guy Richie work. While definitely not an unpleasant way to spend a couple of hours if you already pay for an Apple+ streaming service, it never really goes farther than the shallow end of the pool.
