Jungle Cruise

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcon, Dani Rovira
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An adventurer (Emily Blunt) teams with a riverboat captain (Dwayne Johnson) to track down a legendary treasure deep in the Amazon.

Review:

Tim: I have to say, I enjoyed Jungle Cruise. I wasn't entirely sure I would. Disney movies often skew towards the lowest common denominator filmmaking. The days of them making a Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl feel very long ago. While this film isn't even remotely close to that one, it's a mostly enjoyable adventure story. It has flaws, but it was fun.

The story in this one very much felt secondary. There's definitely a plot about finding a mythical treasure and the potential good it could do the world. I was never really sold on this- it felt mostly like an excuse to drive our characters to whatever the next scene was. This is definitely not a strength of the film. That being said, it was at least interesting enough to hold our attention more often than it loses it. There's always something fun about adventurers tracking down a treasure. There were a few unexpected moments throughout the film as well, which was much appreciated. Live action Disney films can sometimes feel like paint-by-numbers, so I appreciated the effort to keep things interesting. There was even some supernatural elements to the film, too. This felt like a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean, but it made the story a bit more interesting.

The film's biggest draw is the cast, chiefly Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. I loved the pairing of these two actors and they seemed to genuinely have fun together. Johnson has made so many of these movies and his experience and charisma were definitely on display here. Blunt is really good at action movies, too, and her comedic timing was solid. They were fun together and I mostly enjoyed their banter. Some of it is forced and not all the jokes laugh, but their back-and-forth was certainly a highlight of the film. I wouldn't quite say these characters were memorable or distinct enough to become iconic, but they were worthwhile protagonists. Jack Whitehall was decent. He has some very funny moments, but he tends to let his performance slip into over-the-top territory. Still, he has some solid comedic instincts and he makes the film more fun. Edgar Ramirez added a good supporting performance. Jesse Plemons makes for a worthwhile adversary. I didn't think his villain was all that interesting, but he was decent. It was fun seeing Paul Giamatti in a small role (that felt mostly pointless). Still, Giamatti is a great actor and his presence was welcome. While the supporting players are good, the film is really about seeing Johnson and Blunt together. That is certainly the movie's greatest strength.

The visuals were solid. I don't know if there were many truly outstanding sequences, but there were solid ones throughout. The action and adventure were definitely worth seeing. The movie absolutely needed a few bigger set pieces. The boat escape from the submarine was effective and there's definitely some interesting action sequences towards the end. As a whole, though, the movie desperately needed one instantly classic moment. That doesn't happen here and it's a reason the movie isn't better. The comedy was decent, maybe slightly better than I expected. I wouldn't call the movie hilarious, but keeping things light was the right approach.

I'll admit I didn't expect to like Jungle Cruise as much as I did. It's flawed and ultimately not spectacular, but it was an entertaining adventure story. I'd absolutely be down for more, mostly to see Johnson and Blunt reunite.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Book