Rock and Emily Blunt Drip with Chemistry

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Jack Whitehall, Emily Blunt, and Dwayne Johnson are all on board the Jungle Trek.

The first time I went to Disneyland, I was 32. Jungle Cruise is a trip that many first-time amusement park enthusiasts would encourage them to visit, so I waited in line for 45 minutes and was very disappointed. Thankfully, the new movie, starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti, is much more entertaining.

Jungle Cruise – directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a story by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa and a screenplay by Michael Green, Ficarra and Requa – is a live-action adventure based on the popular Disneyland attraction starring two of the most charismatic actors in the business: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt. As entertaining as this movie is, the script makes decisions that prevent a good movie from becoming a great movie.

Lily Hutton (Plant) is an idealistic botanist searching for “Moon Tears,” an ancient indigenous plant from Brazil with healing powers. Her goal is to get a petal from a tree in hopes of saving lives, so she travels with her brother MacGregor (Whitehall) to South America with nothing but a sacred arrowhead and a map. Upon arrival, the duo meet Frank Wolf (Johnson), a skipper who tricks visitors into boating on the Amazon River. Lily searches for a boat, Frank owns a boat, and after a bit of maneuvering and lying, the trio agree to be travel companions. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones looking for a petal, and Prince Joachim of Germany (Plemons) and 400-year-old Conquistador Aguirre (Ramirez) would make the journey even more complicated.

Photo: Disney/Frank Massey

Jungle Cruise clearly takes a lot of its cues from films like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, Romancing the Stone, and The African Queen. It failed to stand alone with a lot of previous creatives, but that’s not a bad thing here. The Jungle Cruise is as fun and playful as its inspiration, and the sparks between the main cast really breathe life into this movie. On a solo level, Rock and Blunt are incredibly charming, but as a duo, they create a rhythm of movement and sound that causes the chemistry of dynamite to jump off screen and hit you in the face. This is only enhanced by the fact that the two are intriguingly attractive with the most electric smiles, which made me smile the entire time.

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Disney’s live-action film is undoubtedly a step up for director Jaume Collet-Serra, whose previous films include House of Wax (2005) and The Shallows (2016). He appears to have developed a good working relationship with The Rock as he also runs Warner Bros. ‘ DC superhero movie Black Adam. Collet-Serra’s dynamic and captivating direction captures the fast-paced action crisply and cleanly, avoiding the static, jerky look that Disney movies can sometimes have. However, the highlight of the cinema is the cinematography of Flavio Martinez-Lapiano. Every scene is perfectly lit and colored in an oddly intoxicating way that gives the film that golden Hollywood, 1950s cinematic look.

But for a movie with a lot of work, some of the writers’ choices Green, Ficarra, and Requa are pretty baffling. It’s a mysterious box frenzy that turns into a second twist that’s supposed to raise the stakes but ends up worthless and misused. Since Jungle Cruise fears being too risky (which of course isn’t something I should expect from Disney, but unfortunately), largely irrational circumstances protect the characters from actual harm – all just to create a backdoor for a potential sequel. This very frustrating practice has frankly become a routine for Disney. Just type the damn text without thinking about what’s coming next.

Except for the script issues, Jungle Cruise has a lot going for it. It made me wonder what the writer’s options are and what Disney’s suggestions for changing the script are. My feeling while watching it all oscillates between joy and confusion and I ask myself, “Why would they do that?!” Blunt and Johnson are the glue that holds this movie together and are more interesting than what happens around them. Without them, the Jungle Cruise wouldn’t have lasted through its two-hour run. I want them in more movies together (not just a sequel to Jungle Cruise).

Jungle Cruise will be shown in theaters and Disney + Premiere arrives on July 30.

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