Jungle Cruise

• Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
• July 24, 2021 (Disneyland Resort) / July 30, 2021 (US)
• Based on Walt Disney’s theme park attraction Jungle Cruise

A riverboat captain takes a scientist and her brother through the Amazon Jungle in search of the Tree of Life while racing against a German expedition and cursed conquistadors.

Much like the Pirates of the Caribbean series, this is another Disney movie built around the concept of a Disney ride. For every Pirates of the Caribbean there have been two or three The Country Bears. Still, something about it intrigued me.

Jungle Cruise starts fun and bouncy and certainly aims for an Indiana Jones vibe in its overall execution. It’s going for that modern yet old-school adventure serial feel with a touch of The Mummy film series thrown in for good measure. I’m not talking about the scary part, but rather the more comedic nature.

The plot centers around The Tree of Life/Tears of the Moon with has the ability to cure everything from curses to disease. Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) is a botanist living in London during the early years of WWI. As a child she became hooked on the stories told by her father and seeks the Tree to not only prove the stories true but to change the world. She is more than capable in any situation but with a lean towards action comedy.

Lily is there essentially to discuss and sexism. She wants to make a great scientific discovery, but the men of the time will not allow her to even be seen as their equal. She bests them at every turn both intellectually and getting around the impediments they put up to prevent her from going on her expedition.

She is assisted in her quest by her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) who in execution comes off a bit like Jonathan from The Mummy. Not entirely but pretty darn close. He is portrayed as foppish but as the movie goes on becomes much more capable and confident. It is implied though not expressly stated (they use language the seems appropriate for the time) that MacGregor is gay since he refused to marry a woman. To save him from destitution Lily employs her brother as her assistant and he stays with her out of loyalty for this act. She was the only one that stood by him when he came out and that’s why he is there.

Dwayne Johnson plays Frank Wolff who is the skipper of a Amazon riverboat called La Quila. Lily hires Frank to take her and her brother on her expedition. Frank is a very big kid in presentation and lover of corny jokes which is a nod to the skipper of the ride. Originally calling himself Francisco Lopez de Heredia, he along with the film’s sub villains are cursed conquistadors. That element of Frank when revealed makes sense as it explains a few things that without it made no sense.

That element leads into some dark stuff-especially for a Disney film. First Frank’s fellow conquistadors. Frank fought back when they massacred a tribe that held the secret of the location of the Tree. After about a century of dealing with their vengeance on him, he traps them in a cave away from the river’s water (which keeps them normal) where they warp and decay. Imagine being immortal and you spend three hundred years being transformed by the jungle in agony.

And Frank’s big goal when he finds the tree? To die. He is sick of living so suicide seems like a good option. That was my takeaway. He’s been around for hundreds of years, and he wants to die. Not get on with his life or see the world beyond the river by to off himself.

The dynamic between Lily and Frank I find reminiscent of older romcoms. It’s witty banter and one character trying to up the other. The issue is it never blossoms in feeling beyond the early portion of just feeling each other out yet Frank and Lily by the end are in love.

The leader of the conquistadors Aguirre (Édgar Ramírez)-based on the real life Lope de Aguirre-is not entirely evil as his quest is started to save the life of his ill daughter. However he becomes twisted and single minded willing to hurt others to accomplish his goal and thus is ultimately cursed for his evil deeds. I found it strange that there is no redemption or just some acknowledgement in his disposition of his motives.

Jesse Plemons is the film’s main villain Prince Joachim (based on Prince Joachim Franz Humbert of Prussia) who has an obsession with finding the Tree for…reasons. Not sure why though. It does not tie into the German war effort and his six articles are only mentioned in passing once and never brought up again. Plemons is entertainingly evil but his character lacks strong motivation for doing anything.

This is a fun adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Jungle Cruise doesn’t try to be anything deep or grand. It has its messages and occasional morals but overall its main goal is to entertain and it does that very well. I think if there is anything that might be going against it, it’s that this is very much in the style of an older Hollywood film. It’s not cynical or downbeat. Sure the characters have their baggage, but these are not irreparably damaged individuals. It ends on a happy note with Frank finding love and MacGregor coming into his own.

They put a great deal of effort into making this a very vibrant and detailed world. For the most part that works. The major issue for me-just the real flaw in all-is some of the animal scenes. The cheetah for example comes off as very CGI. The same goes for some of the animals. While it may have been cheaper to go CGI it doesn’t necessarily make a better film. Use some puppetry or some trained animals and if necessary clean it up with CGI. There’s some great stuff that people do for a larf on YouTube that improves on special effects with a little bit of judicious computer assistance.

Jungle Cruise is yet another Disney ride turned into a movie and overall it’s quite fun and enjoyable. There are a few laughs and plenty of excitement and some good visuals. Plus, the story is pure fun. If you are looking for an entertaining diversion and something that is good enough that you’ll revisit it again then check this movie out. I definitely recommend it!