Lost City Raiders

Lost City Raiders is a 2008 made-for-television science fiction film directed and written by Jean de Segonzac. The production was a collaboration between German broadcaster ProSieben, the American Sci Fi Channel, and Austrian company Tandem Communications. Its cast includes James Brolin, Ian Somerhalder, Jamie King, and Bettina Zimmermann.

Set in 2048, the story follows a world where rising seas from global warming have submerged much of the land. Cardinal Battaglia of New Vatican believes the flood can be reversed using the "scepter of Moses," the staff that parted the Red Sea. He hires John Kubiak and his sons Jack and Thomas, a family of treasure hunters who salvage artifacts from sunken cities. They join Brother Fontana and Father Giacopetti on a submarine mission to retrieve the scepter. Opposing them is land dealer Nicholas Filiminov, who wants the scepter to keep the waters high, forcing survivors into his floating communities so he can later buy the exposed land cheaply. Filiminov recruits Jack’s ex-girlfriend Giovanna Becker. After John Kubiak is killed defending against Filiminov’s men, a waitress named Cara joins the team as mechanic. Despite interference from the unstable Father Giacopetti, who views the flood as divine punishment, the group activates an ancient chamber that triggers a gas explosion, lowering the waters. However, the effect is limited: only the Mediterranean drops ten meters, leaving the rest of the world unchanged. The film ends with the team dining and discussing the thirty-one other chambers on their map.

The film was announced in March 2006 with a $6 million budget. Tandem Communications deliberately chose an international cast to boost global marketability, and pre-sales were secured in Germany, France, and Spain within weeks. Principal photography was originally scheduled for summer 2006 but began in April 2008. The 90-minute film was designed to air in two parts, and the Sci Fi Channel hoped it would launch a series. It premiered on German television on 31 October 2008 and on the Sci Fi Channel on 22 November 2008.

Critical reception was poor. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News called the production values low and the plot predictable, noting the inclusion of a romantic subplot with two women. Linda Stasi of the New York Post described it as bad and cheesy.