Jungle Cruise (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, July 30

PG-13 Running Time: 128 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • A summer blockbuster with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt - they are almost too good to pass up, no matter who you are.

  • Another opportunity to families to (safely) return to the movie theater and fall into a bag of popcorn and shut the world off for a couple of hours.

  • A throwback film that Disney has made many times before. Johnson and Blunt are great - funny and combative with great chemistry. They elevate this into a much more entertaining film than it may have any right to be.

NO

  • At times, it pains you to see hints of The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Romancing the Stone, and so many other adventure films. The derivative nature of the story and screenplay may just turn older viewers away from this.

  • Kids may like this more than parents, but the whole thing is rather instantly forgettable.

  • At 128 minutes, one simply has to ask - do we not have editors anymore?


OUR REVIEW

A movie you will feel like you have seen countless times before, Jungle Cruise is an adaptation of the Disneyland Theme Park ride of the same name. With origins dating back to 2004, the idea of creating a story around the popular amusement park ride has kicked around Hollywood for nearly two decades with lots of big names attached to the project over the years.

Jungle Cruise is finally here and arrives as one the 2021 Walt Disney Studios releases releasing in theaters, while also being tied to the “Premier Access” program through the Disney+ streaming platform. Led by Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the film takes a somewhat lazy, seen-much-of-this-all-before storyline and doubles down on the comedic timing and natural chemistry Johnson and Blunt create together.

Blunt plays Dr. Lily Houghton, an explorer in 1916 London, who travels with her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) to ruminate about the Tears of the Moon - essentially the mysterious Tree of Life. An ancient arrowhead is believed to be the key to discovering the tree, which reportedly possesses magical recuperative powers and could radically change the world of medicine forever. 

When Lily finds and snatches the arrowhead, a chase ensues leading to brother and sister crossing paths with Frank (Johnson), a nearly bankrupt riverboat captain with a penchant for awful puns, insufferable “dad jokes,” and a sharp, jagged wit. Desperate for money, Frank rummies up cheap gags and attractions to make his low-rent boat tour something worth paying, or better yet, tipping for.

Between the Indiana Jones-style jungle safari costumes, witty one-liners, and quick-paced action sequences, Jungle Cruise feels kind of fun. And it is, for a while, until the movie bogs down into an unnecessary 128-minute adventure film that seems to never quite know when to hit that finale, wrap up, and go home.

In fact, if you dig a little deeper into this, Jungle Cruise is a whole lot of movies you have already seen before. And it is full of exposition, opening with a lengthy, convoluted prologue that prepares us for the eventual encounters with ghostly conquistadors, snakes, menacing beasts, and more. Great actors like Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, and Édgar Ramirez chew up scenery and embrace outlandish, over-the-top caricatures, though they are vastly underwritten and conceived by screenwriters Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, and John Requa. 

Subplots get lost along the way. What consistently keeps this afloat is the on-screen bond created by Blunt and Johnson. They become simply a joy to watch, with Blunt more than holding her own against the zingers Johnson tosses her way.

Honestly, even with its remixing and retooling of other ideas and concepts, it just feels kind of hard to hate or even dislike Jungle Cruise. Sure - it is far too long for what it is. Yes, the screenplay is all over the place. And yes - it underwrites three fantastic supporting performers, all of whom could bring so much more to the film than they are permitted to do. Even some of the visual effects come off as occasionally sloppy.

There is. however, more than enough for kids and families to sink their teeth into. How close it commits to the amusement park ride idea is otherwise irrelevant, as this is clearly a new potential franchise for Blunt and Johnson. Some will cringe at the film’s bid for inclusiveness and acceptance, others will applaud the way the movie embraces one particular character’s story.

In the end, Jungle Cruise is escapism through and through. Far from perfect, this is the 2021 version of the old-fashioned, live-action summer blockbusters Disney cut their teeth on decades ago. Altogether harmless, the House of Mouse may have just orchestrated another big hit, while planting the seeds for something that has potential to only get better in time.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcón, Dani Rovira, Quim Gutiérrez, Dan Dargen Carter, Andy Nyman

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Written by: Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa (screenplay); John Norville, Josh Goldstein, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa (screen story)
Based on the “Jungle Cruise” theme park attraction at Disneyland
Release Date: July 30, 2021
Walt Disney Studios/Disney+