Give a raise to the studio exec who came up with the idea of combining Disneyland’s most relaxing, mellow (some might even say boring) ride with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The resulting film plays like a combination of all the best action adventure films – from Brendan Fraser’s Mummy films to Disney’s own Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – with breakneck pacing, non-stop action and two absolutely electric lead performances that will have you rolling in the aisles and punching the air with excitement. While it may get a little long in the tooth and doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the genre, Jungle Cruise does exactly what it sets out to do and takes you on a ride far more wild than the real thing.
When driven scientist Lily Houghton (Blunt) arrives in Brazil with timid brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) in tow, she enlists the services of local Amazon tour guide Frank Wolff (Johnson) to help her locate the Tears of the Moon – petals of an ancient tree with curative properties that could change medicine forever. As the unlikely group venture deeper and deeper into the jungle they must contend with German Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), hot on their heels in his own search for the Tears as well as the ancient explorer Aguirre (Edgar Ramírez), who has been cursed to live out his days endlessly in the jungle. With nothing but their wits and Frank’s knowledge of the Amazon to guide them, the trio battle against the odds only to discover that the thing they were searching for might not be as important as the bonds they make along the way.
If you’ve ever been on the actual Jungle Cruise ride, you know it to be an avalanche of godawful yet great puns delivered by your “guide” as you cruise along the river eyeballing all sorts of animal-induced craziness. The film does its best to show respect to that original 1955 ride, with Frank throwing out many of the rides’ best puns in a corny introduction to his character; a charming shyster who tricks and scares his tourist clientele to bigger tips by steering them through a gauntlet of fake traps and costumed trickery. It also establishes that fun and light tone that remains a mainstay throughout even the darkest of scenes before Lily arrives in the jungle; bringing with her an army of pursuers hot on her tail that creates chaos for the coming adventure.
From here it is as classic action-adventure as you can get. Sure, the key dynamic between the gruff guide and his two untested sibling charges is pulled straight out of The Mummy – but it works. Johnson, Blunt and Whitehall are all fantastically funny and endearing leads, with great interplay and comedic chemistry between them (even if the romantic chemistry between Johnson and Blunt isn’t as believable). The best parts of the film aren’t the crazy, over-the-top action sequences but the quieter moments on the boat where the trio trade jabs and learn about each other’s pasts and problems. Johnson’s character has a fair amount of depth to him, as opposed to a lot of his other roles where he is reduced to the infallible muscle, and he has fun with the image of himself as the action hero. He still gets those heroic moments, but he stumbles along the way: a refreshing, self-deprecating turn for one of the action genre’s biggest (literally) stars.
And there is a lot of action. German submarines destroying villages, cursed conquistadors chasing our heroes through native villages and one particularly playful Jaguar destroying everything in sight in a bar brawl. Again it’s all done with a light, playful tone and Lily and Frank’s constant bickering throughout does a lot to alleviate the boredom that could have set in with endless CGI explosions. For the most part, the action is fun and exciting but there is the occasional sequence that almost seems to exist simply for the sake of having an action set-piece to shake things up.
Edgar Ramírez’ cursed conquistador is essentially a duplicate of Barbosa from Pirates of the Caribbean, right down to his relationship with Frank, but unlike Geoffrey Rush’s classic character – who still managed to be fun whilst menacing – never comes across as anything other than another CGI baddie to take down. A meaningless obstacle rather than the truly terrifying threat the film would have you believe. Thankfully Jesse Plemon’s German prince of a villain is an absolute riot with his almost intentionally bad accent and strange idiosyncrasies. It is a performance that is a mish-mash of inspirations – from Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained to the stereotypical villains of classic cinema – as Joachim breaks into song before unleashing a machine gun salvo and offers meaningless pleasantries before every evildoing. Out of place in almost any other modern film, but a perfect fit for the lighthearted, early 1900’s set shenanigans of Jungle Cruise.
Free from the complex lore of its other Disney ride contemporary Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise is able to just have fun with its characters and Amazonian setting, throwing audiences into the thick of things instead of floating past like the ride it is based on. The chemistry of Blunt, Johnson and Whitehall is without a doubt the film’s greatest strength, carrying you through all the CGI action and over-the-top craziness with genuinely endearing and layered characters. Some lacklustre villains and shaky CGI might distract at times, but it is never enough to throw things truly off course. All aboard, next stop Thunder Mountain.
Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcón & Edgar Ramírez – In cinemas and streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access now.