JUNGLE CRUISE (2021)

JUNGLE CRUISE (2021)

Tagline: Nope.

(Action, Adventure, Comedy) [PG-13]

You booked a river cruise and you can't swim? The price just went up.

One thing I have to say for Disney is they tend to rock it on their movies that are based on rides. The entire PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN series is really fun and pretty epic. I really liked TOMORROWLAND etc. This movie fits right in with the rest and it is wildly entertaining. The storyline is super simple. Emily Blunt (best known for the “A QUIET PLACE” series) plays in her now 4th Disney movie as Lily Houghton, is really intently looking for a flower petal that grows on a magic tree that can heal anything. Her purpose is to help heal the world. She enlists the help of Frank Wolff (played by Dwayne Johnson best known for RAMPAGE) who actually tricks her into hiring him to take her on a voyage to find the flower. Along the way, they are being chased by a dude who is basically a Nazi (played by Jesse Plemons known for BATTLESHIP) and a group of Conquistador’s who were cursed centuries earlier. Can Frank and Lily get along long enough to find the pedal while surviving insurmountable odds?

For me, some of this movie actually reminded me of a movie I kinda hated THE BROTHERS GRIMM in regards to Frank and how he conducts business, but outside of that, this movie a just loaded with humor, charm, great writing, and a very interesting story with an unexpected twist. I really liked this thing and definitely can see myself buying the BLU-RAY or DVD when it comes out. I haven’t seen too many movies at the theater this year, but I was super happy I saw this on the big screen. 

If you don’t like Dwayne Johnson who mostly plays the same character in most movies then I can see why you might want to skip this after about the first 15 minutes. Because after 15 minutes you are definitely getting Dwayne Johnson in all but maybe 4 minutes of the rest of the movie. So we are talking about a serious amount of him in this. I personally am not a huge Emily Blunt fan, but she kills this role, and the chemistry between her and Dwayne on screen is pretty great.  

Overall this movie is loaded with fun surprises and actually took some real-life jokes and puns from the ride itself.  Director Jaume Collet-Serra who is mostly known for horror flicks did a great job with this and I am guessing DC approved because he is leaving Disneyland to direct the Dwayne Johnson lead BLACK ADAM which is currently due out in 2022. Don’t quote me on that though because movie release dates are so unpredictable they are probably going to end up being something you can bet on in Vegas soon. 

I highly recommend this thing, it’s absolutely wonderful and a great time at the movies. For me, this was a solid 6 out of 7 with very few moments that felt like they didn’t add to the overall experience.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF DAVIS ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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