‘Jungle Cruise’ Movie Review: A Fun, Derivative Swashbuckling Adventure

The chemistry between Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt allows Jungle Cruise to coast over some derivative story and character elements. Adding to the charismatic duo is a fun villain performance by Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim.

Jungle Cruise is a mashup of swashbuckling films. The dynamic between Johnson’s Frank and Blunt’s Lily is eerily similar to Rick played by Brendan Fraser and Evelyn played by Rachel Weisz in The Mummy. Frank is the untrustworthy, yet knowledgeable guide for Lily, who is inexperienced in the jungle environment. Lily is resourceful, compassionate and always able to get herself out of trouble that she causes.

Blunt’s versatility is simply insane. Watching her go from A Quiet Place Part II to Jungle Cruise is delightful. She matches Johnson barb for barb. For his part, Johnson’s character has the most development throughout the film, but it’s Blunt’s resilient performance as Lily that brings out Frank’s best attributes.

A curse similar to Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl drives the plot. James Newton Howard‘s score is a clear homage to John Williams and his Indiana Jones scores. Howard’s score has some strong moments but is at times overbearing. The CGI is competent at the beginning of the film but falters as the film expands in scope.

Despite the negatives, it’s hard to dislike a film that’s this much fun. Dad humor is used by Johnson throughout the film and is actually perfect for the character. Jungle Cruise sails by due to director Jaume Collet-Serra’s pacing, command of the tone and sheer scope on display.

With the overview out of the way, let’s delve deeper into the jungle. Jungle Cruise is available in theaters and on Disney Plus.

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Lily and MacGregor’s Jungle Cruise to Save Humanity

Jungle Cruise does a great establishing Lily and Frank’s characters in their respective opening scenes. Lily always finds a way to accomplish her goal. The process in reaching the goal is never smooth, but she simply finds a way through.

Lily’s brother, MacGregor takes some getting used to, but gets better as the film goes along. Jack Whitehall plays MacGregor with just the right amount of cowardice. He wants to turn back often, but will never abandon his sister.

Lily’s exploits in London draw her into the crosshairs of Prince Joachim. He is a villain you’ve seen countless times before but is thoroughly entertaining thanks to the performance of Plemons. Prince Joachim wants the same arrowhead to rule the world.

Once Lily retrieves the arrowhead, she heads to South America and meets a less than honorable skipper.

Meet The Skipper

There’s a supernatural element to Frank’s character. However, Frank isn’t much different from Rick O’Connell in The Mummy.

Frank is a swindling, yet knowledgeable skipper with a barrage of great dad jokes at his disposal. Johnson does a strong job of showing a man that has seen everything that you can see on the river.

Frank does have a man-out-of-time vibe to him, which Johnson exudes with ease. Frank is a renaissance man and his use of humor points towards a character that is more than he seems.

For Frank, Lily represents a possibility that he thought had passed long ago. Once he recognizes the opportunity, he tries to con MacGregor and Lily out of the arrowhead on several occasions. When Jungle Cruise narrows its focus on Lily, MacGregor and Frank the film glides by with ease. Unfortunately, when the film delves into the more supernatural, the CGI detracts from the strong character work put on display by Blunt and Johnson.

A Riverboat Curse

Similar to Pirates of The Caribean: Curse of The Black Pearl, there’s a curse that has fallen on a group of men. These men led by Aguirre played by Edgar Ramirez, are searching for a cure to save someone they loved. Ramirez is wasted in the role. When they found the healing petal, they became impatient and were cursed by the tribe.

The men on the voyage are forced to stay along the river. If they venture too far out, the jungle will ensnare them, until they’re reawakened by river water. The curse plot point is the weakest element of the film for most of the runtime. There’s a crucial turning point in the film that ties the curse back to Lily and Frank. Once the focus is brought back to Frank and Lily, the curse is a little more interesting.

Collet-Sera does a great job capturing the scope. There are some gorgeous shots throughout the film, especially on the water. The effects on the men don’t hold a candle to Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribean franchise.

All of the action scenes are quite fun. They are easy to follow and there is a surprising variety in the action on display. Some action sequences are played for comedy and others have life and death stakes.

Jungle Cruise Final Thoughts

Johnson and Blunt with a heavy assist from Plemons carry the film. When these characters are on screen, the film works fine, in spite of the derivative characters and story. A surprisingly average score from Howard reaches for John Williams but falls just short.

Collet-Sera clearly has a grasp for how to present Johnson’s different shades on this character. I’m excited to see Collet-Sera and Johnson collaborate again on Black Adam.

Jungle Cruise may be a franchise starter. However, the story as told in this film doesn’t really hint at a future installment. Then again The Mummy didn’t need a sequel either, so who knows.