Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Jungle Cruise is the latest Disney movie to be released. It stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as two people looking for a plant that can change modern medicine. It is called the Tears of the Moon. This petal has the ability to save lives, no matter how sick a person is. Johnson plays the character of Frank Wolff. He is a skipper who takes tourists out on his jungle cruise. He is a charming con artist who can't seem to tell the truth to anyone. Blunt plays the character of Dr. Lily Houghton. Houghton's mission is to get the Tears of the Moon to help as many people as she can. She is a strong woman who is not afraid to get into trouble from time to time. But, they are not the only two people after this precious plant. Jesse Plemons who plays Prince Joachim is after the plant as well. He wants to use the plant so he can win a war. Someone else is after the plant as well, but I won't say who because he is someone who is vital to Frank's past and would spoil some parts of the movie.
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt have good chemistry together. They balance each other well. It reminds me of Johnson's chemistry with Kevin Hart. Johnson is the best part of this movie. Don't get me wrong Emily Blunt is good, but Johnson's character interested me more. There's a scene in the beginning of the movie where Frank takes tourists on his jungle cruise and he starts telling dad jokes. This was one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It felt like The Rock was being his charismatic self and everything felt natural. Blunt's character left me with mixed feelings. It felt like Disney was hitting us over the head that she was a woman and doing all of these heroic things. It shouldn't be a big deal that she's a woman and kicking ass. Blunt's character has a brother named MacGregor, that tags along with Frank and Lily. MacGregor is played by British comedian Jack Whitehall. He brought some comedic relief but his character didn't add much to the story. Frank and Lily are the only characters to care about in this movie.
The villains in Jungle Cruise are weak. Prince Joachim didn't give me a menacing vibe. He was even silly and goofy in some scenes. It's a shame because I like Jesse Plemons and he does play the villain role well. In this movie, Plemons tries his best but the script and writing lets him down.
The pace and editing of the movie could have been a lot better. Some scenes don't flow together. It also creates scenes where we just see reaction shots of other actors while someone else is talking. There's also a character choice in the middle of the movie that wasn't necessary. It actually made the character less interesting. The story was also silly in some moments, but I know I am not the target audience. This movie was made for kids and families to watch together. I do believe kids will enjoy this movie because of the adventure and supernatural elements. There are movies made for kids that adults enjoy as well, but I believe Jungle Cruise won't be for most people.
Is this a horrible movie? No, Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's chemistry save this movie. There are some elements that are very enjoyable but the clunky editing, story, characters, and unnecessary twists keep this movie from reaching its full potential.
Rating: 2.5/5
What did you think of Jungle Cruise? Leave it in the comments below.
Follow The Movie Nerds on social media:
Instagram- @themovienerds_
Twitter- @themovienerds_
Opmerkingen