This film premieres Friday, July 30th in theaters and is available on Disney+ with Premier Access.
In recent years, Disney has seemed focused on creating live-action features based on animated classics. But the studio has also been inspired by their own theme park attractions, with “Pirates of the Caribbean” being the most notable example. The latest ride-to-film adaptation is “Jungle Cruise”. This effort is quite silly and feels in part like an amalgamation of elements taken from the previously noted Disney hit, as well as the 1999 remake of “The Mummy”. It doesn’t quite live up to those two films, but the cast play well off each other and the final product does provide some laughs and thrills for the entire family.
Set in 1917. this tale follows Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt), a plucky scientist determined to find a mystical “Tree of Life”. Her research suggests that the plant has healing powers and is located somewhere on the Amazon River. Lily’s research is scoffed at by fellow experts because of her gender. However, she continues to get the better of them, using her cowering brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) as a front. After the pair procure a map, they race out to the Brazilian jungle. The two quickly hire skeptical, debt-ridden steamboat captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) to take them to where they believe the tree is located. But along the way, they face great danger and are pursued by Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), a deranged German aristocrat who wants the topiary’s power all to himself.
As previously noted, the film boasts great performers who are clearly having fun together. Early on, there are plenty of chuckles as Frank riffs on the original concept of the “Jungle Cruise” ride. He takes tourists for a brief excursion on his beat-up ship, delivering a series of horrible puns that even earn groans from his passengers. The relationship between the captain and the Houghton siblings is enjoyably testy early on, which adds some entertaining banter as they all trade barbs. The MacGregor character also amuses as he complains about the intense jungle heat and deals with sunburn. And the villain also partakes in some over-the-top scenery chewing, which includes an enjoyable attempt to communicate with and coerce information out of some bees in the jungle.
Of course, being a film with a muscular leading man known for action, there are some exciting, if completely preposterous battle scenes. This is definitely the case as Prince Joachim pursues the beat-up steamboat down the Amazon on a heavily-armed submarine, causing massive destruction in the process. A supernatural element to the story is introduced later on, adding an unexpected backstory for one of the characters and some extra foes. In terms of execution, these even-more-exaggerated elements are hit-and-miss, but at least add an unexpected turn to the story.
Perhaps one of the reasons that these later developments don’t feel quite as exciting is because of the constant stream of computer effects that begin to run riot across the screen. Admittedly, a lot of the visual tricks are well-rendered, but at a certain point the realism and anticipation one might feel traveling into the jungle gets lost. And like any Disney flick, the makers also can’t help but add a chummy CGI animal friend into the story. The digital beast doesn’t look real and one wishes that the filmmakers had abandoned this concept. At the very least, they could have switched it out for a monkey that might have appeared more convincing.
Not every joke hits the mark and the film could have been improved by focusing more on the leads and not gone overboard with the green screen backdrops and computer effects. Still, Disney’s focus is on creating an epic adventure for the entire family and kids will likely have no issues with the phonier-looking aspects on display. Much like the ride itself, “Jungle Cruise” isn’t the best Disney attraction, but it is still amusing enough to make for a fun ride.