Jungle Cruise Review

 

Jungle Cruise is a fantasy adventure film based on the theme park ride of the same name. The movie is produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Davis Entertainment, Seven Bucks Productions, and Flynn Picture Company and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Jungle Cruise is written by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, and John Requa and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

The story is Dr. Lily Houghton has asked for help from riverboat captain Frank Wolff. She tells him that there's a tree that has the power to heal, and because of that it'll not only change science, but help save lives. Frank agrees but warns her that going on this adventure is extremely dangerous. Not only are other people trying to find this tree, but the jungle itself is a deathtrap.

Initial Reaction

Really my only reason for wanting to see this movie was because it looked fun. It seemed like it's going to a good sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to see a movie like that every now and then.

Cons

My only real complaint is we've got two group of villains, and it doesn't seem balanced between the groups. For the most part we're stuck with this German guy named Prince Joachim, then a team-up with a group of soldiers, then we spend time with those soldiers, and then we're right back with Joachim. It really felt like the filmmakers wanted to just have Joachim be the main villain, but then they were like, "You know what, throw in those soldiers were mentioned in the beginning of the movie."

Middle Ground

Now this film has a lot of CGI. Some of I didn't mind, because it did look good in those areas. Other times I just didn't like it, especially when there were times when it didn't feel necessary.

Pros

One thing I did like about the film was the humor. It's not the greatest form of comedy ever, but I do think for the most part the audience will be entertained. Especially when Frank makes a glorious pun. Now last year I want and saw a movie that was also supposed to be this big grand adventure, that movie being Dolittle. You're probably asking why I'm being that movie up? Simply put, one of my biggest disappointments with that movie was I didn't get a sense of adventure from it, this is not the case with Jungle Cruise. With this film I actually got invested and a little bit excited. I did feel that sense of adventure throughout the movie. The last thing I'll give the movie is Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's chemistry. Those two bantering back and forth, really carried the movie, and it's one of those things that made me want to continue watching the film.

Jungle Cruise had it's flaws, such an uneven balance between the two villains, and while the CGI was good in some cases, other times it didn't feel needed. But, what made the movie enjoyable was the humor, the sense of adventure, and Dwayne and Emily's chemistry.

My final rating is Okay.

So yeah, I kinda liked Jungle Cruise. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, Aug 5th for my A Look Back at review of 2016's Suicide Squad. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.