Disney’s newest film, Jungle Cruise sure is a nice way to end summertime at the movies! This is a high octane adventure with lovable characters and some lovely romance on the side. While this certainly is not perfect, it’s a solid film that’s definitely worth seeing. A lot of the film’s success lies in the charismatic lovable cast and the thrilling action sequences. The film also wins points for having one of the prominent characters be gay, which is incredible to see in a Disney film! Let’s dive into the details of this hectic boat ride!
What a cast! I’m a big fan of Dwayne Johnson. Johnson just has this natural charm that makes him so lovable. Not only does he have the charming nature but he’s also super good looking and built, which makes him a perfect leading man for films like this. How could Blunt’s character not fall in love with him?! It’s next to impossible not to! Emily Blunt, as always, brings her A game to this role. She makes for a wonderful leading woman who’s both delightful and tough. Her determination and fierce persona really rounds out her character and makes her someone we want to see succeed.
And I simply must rave about Jack Whitehall in this! Whitehall is so talented! He takes this supporting character, who could’ve faded into the background, and makes him memorable. He’s a great comedic source and is proudly flamboyant, which I loved to see in a family oriented film! And while he is fairly flamboyant, he doesn’t overdue it. He’s careful not to make the character a caricature. The villainous characters are not as well done I’m afraid. My main complaint with this film is that the villains are rather weak in my opinion.
There are two villains and neither are particularly interesting to me. Honestly, I would’ve rather them just had one main villain that was more complex and interesting. These two characters played by Jesse Plemmons and Edgar Ramirez felt like boring cartoonish stereotypes to me. They weigh the film down and take away from the great energy it has going.
Luckily, the three protagonists get a lot more screen time than those two. The script is overall well written. There’s a nice mixture of action/adventure, romance, and comedic material. The comedy doesn’t land all the time but it works enough times. There’s actually one scene in particular where I thought the comedy was handled exceptionally well. I won’t say what happens but there are some adult aimed innuendos that will fly right over kids heads that are pretty funny in a sly tongue in cheek way.
The romance that buds between Blunt and Johnson really is quite endearing; they have a nice chemistry. I would’ve loved to see Whitehall’s character get a love interest as well, but at least they handled the scene where he talks about his sexuality well. It’s a really lovely scene that I’m so glad is in a Walt Disney film.
There’s a good number of inventive thrilling action sequences to enjoy; they’re choreographed well. Along with the action, the film’s visuals are nice too. The visuals really kick into gear in the third act and there’s plenty of dazzling imagery to behold. The climax is pretty satisfying and the final scene leaves you wanting Disney to go ahead and green light a sequel. I would love to see a Jungle Cruise 2, just with better villains next time around! And let’s give Whitehall’s character a man!
Disney’s Jungle Cruise is a fun adventure film that’s successful largely due to the cast and some really well done action. Go to your local cinema and check it out!
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