Directed by:
Jaume Collet-SerraCinematography:
Flavio Martínez LabianoComposer:
James Newton HowardCast:
Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Edgar Ramirez, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcón, Dani Rovira, Quim Gutiérrez, Andy Nyman (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
An adventure-filled, rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon with wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff and intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton. Lily travels from London, England to the Amazon jungle and enlists Frank’s questionable services to guide her downriver on La Quila—his ramshackle-but-charming boat. Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind’s—hangs in the balance. (Walt Disney US)
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Reviews (9)
Disney has produced another amazing adventure, and I couldn't keep track of how many different sources the filmmakers drew from (read: stole or ripped off). Those I noticed are The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Tomb Rider (the game), Pirates of the Caribbean, and All the Rivers Run:-) It was all incredibly "original", with an abundance of CGI (in terms of the amount, not quality), and it made the whole thing look like an adventure-fairy tale for the educationally challenged who like the jungle, rivers, boats, submarines, jaguars, musclemen, gays, heroic women, and dumbed-down scripts. I was partly just staring in disbelief, partly bored, and partly comforted by the presence of Emily Blunt. The youngest son of William II? Why? Do the Americans even know who William II was?
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It really wants to be The Mummy crossed with the first Pirates of the Caribbean. But it's a lot closer to The Mummy Returns and the fourth Pirates, episodes of their respective franchises that are so routinely unmemorable for any quality that I had to check if I'd actually seen them. The film is aimed at a slightly younger audience than one would expect for a family adventure film, which the filmmakers try to make up for with references to classics of the genre (from The African Queen to Jumanji to Indiana Jones). It’s a pity that most of them are forced. It's saved by the more than solid pacing, an excellent opening half hour that hints at a better film than what follows, and a cast that is visibly having a good time. My eight-year-old son was delighted, I was not charmed. In other words, your standard, routine Disney corporate CGI fest for the whole family.
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There probably has not been this much of a pleasant adventure since the third Pirates of the Caribbean. And it is with Pirates of the Caribbean that I think is the fairest to compare Jungle Cruise, because any other resemblance to The Mummy, Indiana Jones, The African Queen, etc., are more of a nod, while the Pirates of the Caribbean films are blood relatives. Those films also arose from an entertainment attraction, but unlike Jungle Cruise didn't resemble it that much, because this cruise is something else entirely. It is really mainly a fun ride on the river from one experience to another, during which there is something to watch and from which you do not expect any great drama. Dwayne Johnson pleased me by not putting much attention on himself, and he works well with Emily Blunt. I think everything is fine with the direction (Collet-Serra is no Verbinski, but no one is) and the script thinks of all age categories and tries not to beat the viewer over the head with jokes, action or surprises (for example, once, in the trailers artfully hidden sub-plot, which is, however, clearly taken from Pirates of the Caribbean). Everything is dosed nicely. James Newton Howard's great music deserves a separate sentence, which is really nice to listen to, and leaving the movie theatre again with a contagious melody playing in my head was a joy.
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A pretty well-made adventure movie, but the guys at Disney should have made some alterations to the screenplay which is pretty break-neck and because of that I can’t give it a fourth star. The Rock and Blunt have a big job in front of them to save this. Similarly to the Pirates of the Caribbean, this adaptation is a spectacular showcase of special effects generated mainly for profit = job well done. But instead of Verbinski, here Collet-Serra is at the helm, so here they make the killing more entertaining, but the voyage isn’t as smooth. But the twists worked with me and the Mayan city looked fantastic.
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The film exudes the atmosphere and inspiration from Pirates of the Caribbean (the curse, the treasure, the locations) and The Mummy (the single-minded female scientist in the lead role), but that's not a bad thing, as Jungle Cruise takes the better aspects from its predecessors while not wanting to be just a copy, but trying to have some added value, albeit perhaps a minor one. The central duo Emily Blunt-Dwayne Johnson had a strange chemistry inherent in the opposites of frailty and exuberance. Jack Whitehall was a bit annoying at first but ultimately quite likeable, and Jesse Plemons handled the role of the Emperor's grandson brilliantly, with a subtly sociopathic calm. The trio of cursed conquerors was rather outnumbered and perhaps a little too artificial, but on the other hand I welcomed the character of Proxima. Even though you know how the whole thing will turn out, the writers prepared some decent twist and at the same time added more than one frankly funny scene or allusion to the script. A brisk, reasonably suspenseful and acceptably humorous adventure. PS: Plus point for the instrumental version of “Nothing Else Matters”!
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