Jungle Cruise

This American adventure-fantasy film is directed from a story by Glen Ficarra and John Requa, which was later rewritten. Set in the early 20th century, the film shows Captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) taking his steamboat into the waters of the Amazon River, after his boat is hired by two explorers. The explorers are British scientist, Dr Lily Houghton (Blunt), and her brother, McGregor Houghton (Whitehall), who is accompanying his sister to provide assistance. Lily wants to unlock the The Tears of the Moon which are trapped by a curse within The Tree of Life, waiting to be released. The Tears of the Moon are the petals of the Tree of Life, and they have incredible healing powers, which will aid modern medicine, and revolutionise medical delivery.

Knowing that the tree hides a priceless treasure, Jack, Lily and McGregor have to contend with Aguirre (Ramirez), a villainous mercenary. The rival expedition is being financed by Prince Joachim (Plemons), a deranged and ambitious German aristocrat, who wants to claim the Tree of Life for himself.

Johnson’s character is inspired by Indiana Jones. The film is controversial in its inclusion of interactions involving Johnson and Whitehall, who is only the second gay character in a live-action Disney film. Johnson is well known for his macho leading role in Jumanji movies, and Emily Blunt engages again in risk-taking, adventurous action, as she did in the quality horror movies: A Quiet Place (2018), and A Quiet Place: Part II (2021)

This film packs every thrill imaginable into a run-down steamboat’s ride, which recreates in live action-fantasy format, the kind of thrills anticipated from the Disneyland theme park ride of the same name. The fantasy borrows heavily from comic-book fantasy-imagery. The steamboat takes a journey into the uncharted waters of an Amazon full of hidden risks. Featured animals and insects include trained tigers, intelligent bees, scorpions, poisonous snakes, and wild beasts: “Everything you can see, wants to kill you, and can”, Frank says. The Amazon River waters swirl, and push Frank’s steamboat over and under cascading waterfalls, and there are explosions to help the action along, just in case the level of adventuring gets too low. The most unexpected action comes from torpedos fired at the steamboat from the rival expedition’s metal submarine.

Frank’s steamboat is actually a rundown barge boat. Drama on board the steamboat unfolds amid the action, but is lightened by Dwayne Johnson’s witty wisecracking as Frank, which adds good humour to the ride. On board the steamboat, Emily Blunt, helped by her nervous brother, guarantees that an appropriate degree of human tension is reliably maintained. The film’s production is standard fare for Disney’s advanced technology expertise, and its computer-driven animation is executed impressively, as one would expect. Disney Technology ensures that the images are realistic. The effects-driven nature of the fantasy, however, is a cut above the realism of the dramatic interactions on board the two ships which involve the human actors. The special effects come to the fore when Lily unlocks The Tears of the Moon from The Tree of Life, which eventually save Jack, who is (as we’re told) more than 400 years old.

As an adventure-fantasy film, the pace of the movie’s action scenarios comes from a fractured plotline that is relentless. It targets older children and adolescents, who may react enthusiastically to the excitement tempo of what’s on the screen. Thinking adults, however, might want to look elsewhere for a better ride.