Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise is an adaptation of a Disney Park ride that I can barely remember going to and I have been to both Disney parks in the USA.

It also has five writers with various screenplay credits.

Dwayne Johnson plays Frank. A down on his luck river boat captain who takes tourists for a ride in the Amazon.

He is hired by adventurer Lily (Emily Blunt) and her uptight brother MacGregor Houghton (Jack Whitehall) who are on the search for the Tears of the Moon. The petals of a tree of life that can cure any illness. The Spanish were in search for it about 400 years earlier.

Set in 1916, Lily finds that German Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons) is also in pursuit at a time when the nations are at war. However Lily finds that Frank is a man who is hard to trust and he is full of cheesy jokes.

This comedy adventure is a mish mash of previous movies. I found it more Romancing the Stone mixed with the Brendan Fraser The Mummy movies. There is also a hint of the Pirate of the Caribbean franchise.

It harks back to two decades earlier when Disney were adapting their theme park rides rather than superhero movies or remaking their old cartoons as live action films.

Jungle Cruise is a colourful romp that lacks originality.

If you like adventure movies like Indiana Jones, Romancing The Stone, Jewel Of The Nile, Jumanji and others in this genre you can't go wrong with Jungle Cruise. It's the same entertainment, a bit over the top, not always making sense, but that's hardly the point with these kind of movies. It's just a bit of fun. To me it's very relaxing to watch these kind of popcorn movies. The Rock or Dwayne Johnson might not be the greatest actor but I think he fits in this genre. He's okay to watch in non serious movies. Emily Blunt did a good job as well as did the rest of the cast. The CGI's were more than decent, they clearly had a big budget for these parts in the movie. Jungle Cruise is perfect to watch as a family movie or if you're just a big fan of easy adventure.

Jungle Cruise is the latest Disney live-action film. The director is Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed many entertaining Liam Neeson action flicks. Glad to say, the direction is gorgeous here.

Despite being type-casted, Dwayne Johnson gives a very likable and charming performance. His character and Emily Blunt's scientist character is the best aspect of Jungle Cruise. Their chemistry is very enjoyable.

Now there are some dumb Disney jokes, obviously for younger audience to have fun. The jokes are mostly presented by the comic relief character, McGregor.

The three main cast work well, but unfortunately not the villains. There are 2 groups of villains, one is the Germans, the other one is some supernatural trope of people. Why can't there just be one?

The film asks you to believe a lot of things. There's a certain thing explored about a character in the 2nd act that just didn't work for me. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.

The movie at times feel like a Disney ride, which is its source material. Jungle Cruise is perfect for people who want a CGI-filled fun ride.

Quite good and balanced action and adventure film with mix of comedy.

OK'ish background story, maybe a little too much of a fantasy side for my taste, but sure will work just fine for younger viewers.

Partly inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark and The African Queen as well as the Disney Parks' famous ride this movie is named after, Jungle Cruise is way too much exposition though things are kept hopping during most of its running time. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt (along with the person playing the latter's brother) take us on a mostly enjoyable ride to whatever they're looking for. My movie theatre-working friend enjoyed this much more than I did but I liked it fine for what it was. Some of the most enjoyable parts were Johnson's corny puns. So that's a partial recommendation of Jungle Cruise.