''Lost City Raiders'' is a 2008

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

written and directed by

Jean de Segonzac Jean de Segonzac (sometimes credited as Jean DeSegonzac) is an American director, screenwriter and cinematographer who has worked in documentaries and television programs. Most of his work has been in gritty, ''cinéma vérité''-style law enfor ...

. It starred

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He is ...

Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'', Damon Salvatore in The CW's supernatural drama ''The Vampire Diaries'', and Dr. Luther Swann in Netflix's sci ...

, Jamie King, and

Bettina Zimmermann Bettina Zimmermann (born 31 March 1975) is a German model and actress. She has appeared in more than sixty films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1975 births Living people German film actresses German t ...

Plot

In year 2048,

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

has caused much of the surface of the earth to become flooded. In the city of New Vatican, Cardinal Battaglia believes that the global inundation can be gotten rid of by using the "scepter of Moses". This is the staff that

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

used to part the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

during

The Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...

. Cardinal Battaglia contacts John Kubiak (

) and his sons Jack (

) and Thomas ( Jamie King). The Kubiak family is raiding the sunken cities for various treasures lost beneath the waves. The Kubiaks are to assist Brother Fontana and Father Giacopetti in a submarine to retrieve the scepter and save the earth. They are opposed by Nicholas Filiminov ( Ben Cross), a major land dealer who wants the scepter for his own purposes; having forced the water to rise to cover the remaining land, survivors will be forced to live in his planned floating communities, and he can then purchase the sunken land for a pittance before lowering the water level again. He enlists the help of Giovanna Becker, Jack's ex, to help him find the scepter. Meanwhile, a waitress Cara joins the Kubiak team as the ship mechanic and helps Jack and Thomas, especially after their father is killed trying to fend off Filiminov's men. Despite the attempted intervention of an insane Father Giacopetti who sees the Rising as God's punishment for mankind's sins, the new Team Kubiak are able to activate an ancient chamber that triggers a gas explosion and consequently lowering of the flood waters. The film ends with the team having dinner and contemplating their future as they visit the thirty-one other chambers listed on the map as activating that one chamber only caused the Mediterranean to drop ten meters while not affecting the rest of the world.

Cast

as John Kubiak *

as Jack Kubiak *

as Giovanna Becker * Jamie King as Thomas Kubiak *

Élodie Frenck Élodie Frenck is a Peruvian–Swiss–French actress, born 31 July 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is known for playing the character of Marlène Leroy in the French TV series ''Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie''. Biography Frenck ob ...

as Cara * Michael Mendl as Cardinal Battaglia * Jeremy Crutchley as Father Giacopetti * Ben Cross as Nicholas Filiminov

Production

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

commercial

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

, the American cable television network Sci Fi Channel,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n production company

Tandem Communications Tandem Productions is a Munich-based company which produces television film, miniseries, television series and film series. It was founded in 1999 by Emmy-nominated producers Rola Bauer and Tim Halkin. In 2012, StudioCanal acquired Tandem. ...

produced the film."Tandem Links Up for $6.4m Sci-Fi Movie". Press release. Tandem Communications. 6 March 2008
Accessed 2010-10-22. Its budget was

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

6 million. The film was first announced in March 2006.Meza, Ed. "German Producer In On Action in U.S." '' Variety''. March 26, 2006. Tandem Communications intentionally picked an international cast, part of the company's successful strategy of making films easily marketable around the world. Within weeks of the announcement of the production, the film had already been pre-sold in Germany, France, and Spain. Principal cinematography was to have begun in the summer of 2006, but did not begin until April 2008. The 90-minute film was intended to air in two parts. The Sci Fi Channel hoped that it would lead to a series. The film had its worldwide television debut on 31 October 2008 in Germany. It debuted on the Sci Fi Channel on 22 November 2008.

Reception

David Hinckley in the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' found the production values exceptionally low and the film predictable. "Sadly, the action turns out to be fairly predictable. Not as predictable as Brolin's acting, but predictable nonetheless, which may be why the filmmakers insert a romantic subplot involving not one, but two spirited, adventuresome women." Linda Stasi of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' called it bad and cheesy. The ''

Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. Pe ...

'' called it "'' Waterworld'' without the budget" and an "awful movie"."On TV This Weekend, Nov. 21-23". ''Tampa Tribune''. November 21, 2008.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1198403 2008 films 2008 television films 2000s English-language films Austrian television films German television films English-language Austrian films English-language German films Climate change films Films set in the future Syfy original films Films set in 2048 Austrian science fiction films German science fiction films 2008 science fiction films Films directed by Jean de Segonzac 2000s American films 2000s German films ProSieben original programming