Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World in Orlando is yet another of my all-time favorite Disney parks attractions so I was of course skeptical of this at first.. I think that might be the reason it’s taken me so long to see it but I knew it was one that I had to see in a theater so as my third A-List movie for the week I went off to a Tuesday matinee with myself and a handful of others.
I am happy to report that I am so thrilled with how this turned out! It’s giving me a lot of different vibes from different movies/franchises. I could see lots of Pirates influence as well as Indiana Jones! That’s not to take away from the film itself because it definitely feels solid as its own entity!
I’m not normally a huge Dwayne Johnson fan but I think he fits the bill really well! I was, of course, excited to see Emily Blunt in a role different from those I’ve seen her in and she just excelled. The chemistry between the two of them though is what really makes this movie work. All of the quips exchanged between the two made me giggle and really kept the movie’s runtime rolling. I seriously never knew I needed Emily Blunt in a role like this but I’m certainly glad we have it!
Jack Whitehall is just as great and has some fairly funny bits as well! But Jesse Plemons storms in and makes the movie his from the get-go. His villain takes a more fun turn instead of super dark which I like. I’d also like to point out that Edgar Ramirez got top-billed but he did nothing to really stand out. His character really was kind of bleh. And let’s all be honest here, Proxima is the main character and is the easiest character to root for!
I don’t think I can really fawn all over the plot because it’s very generic and formulaic.. which is fine for what it’s worth. I wasn’t expecting something super different. And I do think that it’s completely inflated and could be slimmed down to at least an hour and 45 minutes. Although, I never caught myself looking at the time I fear that upon rewatch it’ll be a bit of a drag.
As for all of its visuals it’s hit or miss (mostly hit) but I thought the practical sets were stunning – I’m pretty sure the village was built on set and looks every bit believable! The scoring wasn’t particularly outstanding – it wasn’t bad but I didn’t think including that needle drop while the Amazonian village (spoiler alert) was being attacked was very appropriate.
All in all, it’s a perfectly fine first installment in what I’d like to see become a franchise! The nods to Adventureland and the different Jungle Cruise jokes were a lot of fun to hear onscreen! It’s a lot of fun! I think the Rock + jungles always slaps and who wouldn’t want more of Emily Blunt as an adventurer!
Reed’s Rating: 7/10