Is it just me getting older or are movies becoming mashups of other movies? 2003’s PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (another Disney ride movie) starring Johnny Depp and 1999’s THE MUMMY starring Brendan Fraser seems to be the ultimate inspiration behind JUNGLE CRUISE, which is full of Disney’s brand of PG-13 CGI swashbuckling entertainment.
Clever, confident, and courageous, Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her comic-relief brother, Macgregor (Jack Whitehall), are in search of a legendary ancient tree that has unparalleled healing abilities. Traveling from London, England to the Amazon, they enlist wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) to guide them down the river. Hot on their river boat trail is a villainous German prince (Jesse Plemons) in his unlikely U-Boat, who will stop at nothing to gain the ancient power for himself. Facing the dangerous elements of the Amazon, a ridiculously fun baddie, and a few gruesomely cursed supernatural beings, Frank and Lily journey on an epic quest that mirrors beats that are all too familiar for adults… but your kids will probably love it.
All the actors seem to really be having a fun time in this film. Johnson and Blunt prove their charismatic charm warrants blockbuster stardom. Surprisingly, Blunt carries some of the more exciting, wanna-be Indiana Jones -esque action sequences and “The Rock” delivers some of my favorite groan-inducing dad-joke puns. All the supporting characters in between are also delightful with no one feeling out of place. But it’s Jesse Plemons who continues to prove he is one of the greatest living character actors of a new generation.
I was a bit hesitant to show my children JUNGLE CRUISE, fearing that some of the imagery might be too scary. But thankfully, the few cursed people who rise from the dead so to speak were covered in either mud, honey or snakes with no skeletons in sight, unlike the previously mentioned PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. And while the snakes create some jump moments, they are CGI’d just poorly enough not to be frightening. I’m not sure whether that choice was intentional but it worked for our family. However, the over-saturation of the effects, especially in the final act, combined with the film’s 2-hour runtime gets a bit numbing.
The language is clean and the innuendoes are almost completely obsolete. There is an absurd amount of death, however, the violence is bloodless and playful. In fact, the convoluted curse plot might be the most difficult part to stomach for audiences of any age. I think it’s always wise to lean toward caution so I appreciate the PG-13 rating for parents to make a better decision. But I personally think JUNGLE CRUISE is manageable for a younger than 13-year-old crowd, but might be too tame for a kidless crowd.
As I mentioned before, there are two movies that standout to me in which JUNGLE CRUISE emulates, but for a younger crowd. Where you stand on those films, might help you dictate what you might think of this one. I found THE MUMMY to be goofy fun, but thought the PIRATES films were a bit tedious. They all have some entertaining action and likable characters but not sure how often the revisit factor is on the two Disney films (I recently revisited the non-Disney THE MUMMY and had a blast). Nonetheless, JUNGLE CRUISE serves its purpose as a feast of computer generated eye candy in a beautifully lush rainforest with a few strong actors to keep the ship steady the course for a mostly agreeable, adventurous family film.
