'Jungle Cruise' Review
PG-13: Sequences of adventure violence
Runtime: 2 Hrs and 7 Minutes
Production Companies: Walt Disney Pictures, Davis Entertainment, Seven Bucks Productions, Flynn Picture Company
Distributor: Disney
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writers: Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti
Release Date: July 30, 2021
Theaters & Disney+ (With Premier Access)
Dr. Lily Houghton travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila, his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities, possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank, and their fate — and mankind's — hangs in the balance.
It’s been a long while since Disney has turned one of their beloved theme park attractions into a feature film adaptation. Apart from the excessive entries in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which is about to get a reboot, the last time they did this was with Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland. Needless to say, that film was “meh” at best. Now we have another Disney attraction movie with the long-awaited Jungle Cruise. Funny how during the early 2000s, Disney capitalized on their theme park attractions by turning them into feature films, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and The Country Bears. For a 2021 movie, Jungle Cruise exudes early-2000s energy as far as an action-adventure flick goes.
Jungle Cruise bears an unhinged, campy tone that will make you nostalgic for the good ol’ days of adventure romps of the late 20th century when adventure films didn’t take everything so seriously. While it wears its PG-13 badge with honor thanks to sequences of perilous action that get surprisingly dark, its tone aims for gleeful swashbuckling fun… and it succeeds. It maintains consistency throughout the fun set pieces that integrate a great dose of humor during the action. They’re fun to watch, for they’re so buoyant in balancing chaotic danger and comedy that is both well-choreographed and comedically timed. The film’s energy is super reminiscent of something like The Mummy (1999). For Dwayne Johnson, it’s like completing a cycle where he’s now in the Brendan Fraser shoes as the charismatic leading man of an adventure flick with a commanding leading female costar as his foil.
As headstrong Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt), her high-fashioned younger brother McGregor (Jack Whitehall), and cynical skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) face treacherous dangers through their trek down the Amazon, their contrasting personalities create fun banter between them all. When you put Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson together — both being masterful actors in charisma — their energy perfectly matches with the film’s tone to make it a romp. Everyone is committed to being over-the-top and frivolous in their performances that at times it feels like others are stealing the show from the leads. Jesse Plemons, who portrays the antagonist, German imperialist Prince Joachim, is an absolute riot whenever he’s onscreen. He delivers that classic menacing demeanor that has been intimidating us since Breaking Bad, but since this is a Disney movie he brings energetic whimsy and goofiness that’s fun in the same realm as his role in Game Night. It’s refreshing to see Plemons at his silliest and the range he has is so impeccable that he made me beam with joy whenever he appeared in a scene.
While many people will draw comparisons between Jungle Cruise and The Mummy (1999) because of the way it emulates that distinct tone, the story took a more Uncharted turn towards the end, specifically the series’ first entry, Drake’s Fortune. When the characters strayed from the cruise ship and trekked the jungle, the set pieces were visually reminiscent of the video game, from the jungle setting to the South American tombs made of gold and the overall beige color grading. Heck, the banter between Lily and Frank has the same vibe that Nathan Drake and Elena had where both are headstrong individuals who naturally develop an intimate relationship. Much of the movie felt like a fitting Uncharted adaptation, so if that 2022 movie ends up being terrible (which I’m sure it will be due to its casting and the writers behind it, aka the duo who wrote MIB: International), at least we got Jungle Cruise.
Jungle Cruise has such late-90s energy in many ways, including its visual effects. For a 2021 movie, it features some hella dated CGI work that is both flat and distracting. It’s common for blockbusters to feature heavy CGI and somehow this one ended up looking so shoddy. This movie sat on a shelf for a year throughout the pandemic and you’re gonna tell me Disney didn’t take the time and money to fix the visuals? While I think Jaume Collet-Serra does a fantastic job in directing the action sequences, there’s so much emphasis on close-ups and it gets cringe at times because of how lifeless the VFX look. It doesn’t help that the color grading is so dimly lit despite the film’s vibrant, campy tone. Unless you watch this on Disney+ where you have the option to adjust the picture brightness on your TV, you’re gonna have difficulty making out the CGI on the film’s deadly creatures. You got Édgar Ramírez as a spirit with snakes coming out of his body, but he only shows up during the night time where you can’t even see the details of the CGI. Davy Jones and the Kraken from Dead Man’s Chest had more incredible detail to them than anything in this film. It doesn’t help that the camera is always moving all over the place during these sequences so it’s nauseating trying to make out what the hell is going on.
The narrative is so by-the-numbers in the same vein as Indiana Jones and The Mummy with some nice twists and turns in terms of story. As far as structure goes, it’s weirdly paced. The second act strays away from action set pieces to focus on the characters but neither Lily nor Frank’s archetype or that compelling. Because of that the predictable development of the relationship they share gets rushed. The characters aren’t that intriguing, for they never escape the shadow of the actors portraying them. Dwayne Johnson is always gonna be Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will always be Emily Blunt. The character who gets a great moment is McGregor, who has a scene where he comes out to Frank. While it’s endearing, you can’t help but hear the shallow corporate gears of Disney patting themselves on the back for having another “first” gay character in a movie.
As far as a summer popcorn flick goes, Jungle Cruise is a fun thrill ride that will delight families and moviegoers. Whether you see it at home or in a theater, it’s a fun diversion. It’s been a long time since an adventure flick captured the energy of the ‘90s and Jungle Cruise fits that bill. If only Disney made some minor — if not major — tweaks to its visuals during the year it was sitting on the shelf! Seriously, how embarrassing to have such shoddy-looking CGI when you had a year to tweak it. Whatever, I’m fine. I’m over it.
