Jungle Cruise is a fantasy adventure based on Disney's ride of the same name. In 1916 Dr. Lily Houghton(Emily Blunt) is attempting to raise money for an expedition into the Amazon to research the Tears Of The Moon a mythic cure-all, but is ignored because of her gender. She makes her own way and hires river boat captain Frank(Dwayne Johnson) to take her into the jungle and uncover the mystery of the legendary flower. But they are pursued by German Prince Joachim(Jesse Plemons) as well as various ghostly cursed conquistadors.
Blunt brings her considerable charisma to bear and pairs it with a great physical performance to give Dr. Lily a modern Dr. Jones vibe. She has great chemistry with Johnson who gives a bit more straightforward and sincere performance than the kind of wry humor of which he's been accustomed to recently. The two together give enough heart to make us care, the plot has enough twists and reveals to stay engaged, and the pacing of the action continues to push and progress fluidly to an entertaining crescendo. Plemons clearly relishes the opportunity to go ham, to go big, and it works, he's a great funny, almost foppish villain that is still incredibly sinister.
Visually lush and bright if somewhat overly CGI'd, wonderful playful costuming, an effective classical score, and a plot if somewhat predictable still work together to create a great family adventure. Some of the exposition is a little unnecessarily complicated and at times it seems the movie is constrained by its attempt to appeal to both kids and adults(although it has a PG-13 rating) still its pure and successful entertainment.
Guaranteed family fun.
Currently available on Disney+ and most VOD platforms.
See It.
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