"Jungle Cruise" - Film Review
Adapted from one of the original Disneyland attractions, Jungle Cruise is Disney’s attempt at another family-friendly adventure movie. It’s hard not to draw comparisons between the franchise adapted from another Disneyland attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean. However, where Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl still stands as one of the finest examples of action movies 18 years after its release, Jungle Cruise falters at the starting block.
Designed to fill in the backstory of the theme park attraction, Jungle Cruise follows Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) on his cruise down the Amazon in a ramshackle tourist boat. Viewers will find aspects of the beloved attraction, such as the eighth wonder of the world (the backside of water) and a multitude of groan-inducing puns, but in the world of the movie, Frank’s cruise is not the most exciting thing happening on the Amazon River. In an attempt to make his cruise more popular, Frank hires members of a local tribe to pretend to be cannibals and create excitement to liven up the tours, but he is quickly running out of options to save his business. His saviors are the brother-sister team of Lily and MacGregor Houghton (Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall) who are on an adventure to find the Tree of Life. They believe the Tree of Life has medicinal properties that will revolutionize healthcare as they know it and help save British forces fighting in World War I.
Bogged down by a lack of interesting characters, Jungle Cruise quickly loses the “fun” aspect of an adventure movie. The main draw of these films is the swashbuckling journey. They offer romance and adventure in exotic locales that are very different from what the audience is used to. This film offers a forced romance between Frank and Lily, despite the very limited chemistry between the two actors. In fact, for two people who usually shine in this type of movie, Blunt and Johnson are exceptionally flat. The only witty banter that can be construed as flirting is Frank repeatedly pointing to the fact that Lily wears pants.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Jack Whitehall’s MacGregor has been touted as (yet another) one of Disney’s first LGBT characters. He is sharply dressed and only involved with the expedition because his sister hired him as her assistant after he was disowned by their family. The implication is that he was disowned for his refusal to get married and because his interests “lie elsewhere.” This vague terminology is supposed to imply that he’s gay and will never marry. It’s another one of Disney’s misguided attempts at having meaningful LGBT representation. For most people watching, MacGregor stating that his interests “lie elsewhere” does not immediately call to mind the idea that he is gay, but by including this scene, Disney got to spend months proclaiming their inclusivity.
It is disappointing to have the iconic Jungle Cruise attraction adapted into such a lackluster comedy adventure. Jesse Plemmons’ eccentric performance of Prince Joachim, a German royal who is also looking for the Tree of Life, is one of the examples of what the movie could have been if the script had leaned more toward outlandish adventures and wacky characters. Sometimes movies should exist to be entertainment, purely and simply. Jungle Cruise should have been that, and it’s a shame there was not enough charisma to keep it afloat.
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