Movie Review: Disneys Jungle Cruise, starring The Rock

Table Of Content

• Jungle Cruise review – the Rock’s Disney theme-park actioner takes predictable turns
• This movie is featured in the following articles.
• The Rock's 'Jungle Cruise' movie will hit Disney+ the same day as theaters

This practice has become incredibly frustrating and frankly, a routine for Disney. The live-action Disney film is undoubtedly a step up for director Jaume Collet-Serra, whose previous films include the House of Wax (2005) and The Shallows (2016). He’s apparently developed a good working relationship with the Rock as he’s also directing Warner Bros.’ DC superhero film Black Adam. Collet-Serra’s dynamic and captivating direction captures the fast-paced action crisply and cleanly, avoiding the static, shaky-cam look that Disney films can sometimes be subject to.

Jungle Cruise review – the Rock’s Disney theme-park actioner takes predictable turns

This is only enhanced by the fact that the two are distractingly attractive with the most electric smiles, which kept me grinning throughout. His video game equivalent, Dr. Xander Bravestone, is described as a strong, confident archaeologist and explorer. Even his running gag nickname, “Smolder,” is in line with Frank’s Dad Joke sense of humor. It’s more than possible that Francisco spent time as a Navy codebreaker during the 20th Century, which helps to explain how the Jumanji board game is able to magically turn itself into a video game in 1996. ANAHEIM, Calif. – WWE phenom, movie smackdown champ and "Jungle Cruise" star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did not grasp what he was getting into by relentlessly pursuing very British "Mary Poppins Returns" star Emily Blunt to co-lead the Disney action adventure. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This movie is featured in the following articles.

We break down everything there is to know about the movie as it comes to movie theaters. Jungle Cruise could have been saved had it at least provided some decent comedy and romance. The film has a good idea in positioning them as opposing temperaments — the more bickering, the more chance of a spark, cinematically speaking — but even that winds up being half-baked. Funny, full of action, and an all-around good time, Jungle Cruise is a ride well worth taking. No, you can’t watch Disney+ for free like you can with a streaming service like Hulu, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck. There are still a few other ways you can get Disney+ included without paying a monthly subscription rate.

The Rock's 'Jungle Cruise' movie will hit Disney+ the same day as theaters

You’ll need to pay an additional, one-time fee of $29.99 on top of your Disney+ subscription to watch it on the streaming platform. Blunt and Johnson are the glue that holds this film together and are infinitely more interesting than what’s happening around them. Without them, Jungle Cruise would not have sustained through its two-hour runtime. The big trick with that was the art direct-ability of the boat, the speed of which you went through the rapids and what kind of splashes it made. And if you start to try and cheat those physics, which is what happens a lot of the time, then the simulation stuff all goes right out the window, and it breaks everything.

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The real villains here are Plemons’ power-hungry prince and his army of undead Spanish conquistadors, one of whom (played by Édgar Ramirez) is none other than Aguirre himself. "Lily is determined to uncover an ancient tree with unparalleled healing abilities—possessing the power to change the future of medicine. Jungle Cruise, which is inspired by a real-life Disneyland ride, is available to watch on Disney+ beginning on July 30th.

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My theory is that when Beck looked into the eyes of Gato, it imbued him with the magic of a cat’s nine lives. But since he was already immortal, the magic enabled him to exist in multiple planes of reality simultaneously, which explains some of the time overlap between the Jungle Cinematic Universe’s major nexus points. "But as the secrets of the lost tree unfold, the stakes reach even higher for Lily and Frank and their fate—and mankind's—hangs in the balance." It comes after the appearance of the first live-action gay character in a live-action Disney—LeFou played by Josh Gad in 2017's Beauty and the Beast. However, the COVID-19 pandemic meant many films were delayed, including a number of Disney films such as Mulan and Black Widow. Jungle Cruise is out in movie theaters on July 30, as well as on Disney+ with Premier Access.

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One of those dreams was to make his own Pirates of the Caribbean (because, like Polygon, The Rock really loves Pirates of the Caribbean). "Thrust on this epic quest together, the unlikely duo encounters innumerable dangers and supernatural forces, all lurking in the deceptive beauty of the lush rainforest. In the end, the movie's release date was moved to the summer of 2021 and will be simultaneously released to stream on Disney Plus. Like Cruella and Black Widow before it, Jungle Cruise will be streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access.

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Jungle Cruise is a 2021 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Michael Green. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. It tells the alternate history of the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the Tree of Life while competing against a German expedition, and cursed conquistadors. Still, MacGregor’s blip of a backstory isn’t the only instance in which this early 20th century epic nods to a decidedly 21st century audience. The movie, through some clever tinkering, accomplishes something similar, turning its gallery of spear-brandishing headhunters into a sly joke at the expense of Western colonialist assumptions.

Its ability to manifest creations in the real world stems from Francisco’s original curse. We know that the Tears of the Moon can be accessed again during a blood moon (lunar eclipse) and we know that there are surviving members of the local tribe whose descendants carry knowledge of the mythical tree. Throughout the course of the film, we learn that Frank Wolff (Johnson) was actually born Francisco Lopez de Heredia and is one of the cursed conquistadors unable to die or leave the river. He’s been alive for more than 400 years, putting his birth likely sometime in the early 1500s.

Fandago is your best bet for buying tickets ahead of time, and you can always see a full list of the film’s showtimes in your area as well. Almost two years after the original release date, Disney will finally bring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt's latest family-friendly movie Jungle Cruise to theaters this summer. What's more, like Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, Black Widow and Cruella, you'll be able to watch it at home on the same day it arrives in cinemas. But for a film with so much going for it, some of the choices by writers Green, Ficarra, and Requa are baffling as hell. It’s mystery box madness that turns into a second act twist that is supposed to up the stakes but ends up stale and poorly utilized. Since Jungle Cruise is afraid to be risky (which, of course, isn’t something I should expect from Disney, but alas) and allows wildly illogical circumstances protect the characters from actual harm—all of that just to create a backdoor for a possible sequel.

However, the cinematic highlight is Flavio Martínez Labiano’s cinematography. Every scene is perfectly lit and colored in a strangely intoxicating way that gives the film that Hollywood Golden Age, 1950s cinematic look. Jungle Cruise is a ride that many theme park lovers encourage first-timers to visit, so I waited in line for 45 minutes and was extremely underwhelmed. Thank goodness the new movie, starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti, is much more entertaining. MacGregor is one of Disney's few gay characters in a live-action movie, whose sexuality was initially reported in The Sun in 2018. Jungle Cruise clearly takes a lot of its cues from films like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, Romancing the Stone, and The African Queen.

It also made $66 million over its first 30 days on Premier Access.[6][7] A sequel is in development, with Johnson and Blunt set to reprise their roles. Sounds a lot like the Gato’s mythic ability to replenish the rivers, no? Again, the magical Jumanji is akin to an artificial intelligence that learns and evolves as it goes.

It fails to stand on its own with so much being pulled from earlier creative works, but that’s not a bad thing here. Jungle Cruise is as fun and hilarious as its inspirations, and the sparks between the lead actors pump life into this film. Individually, the Rock and Blunt are already incredibly charming, but as a duo, they create a rhythm of movement and sound that causes their dynamite chemistry to leap off-screen and smack you in the face.

In 1996, teenager Alex Vreeke is given the Jumanji board game, which was previously buried by Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle (Bonnie Hunt) after the original film, and rediscovered at the beach by Alex’s father. The film is inspired by the Disneyland Park ride of the same name, which was first opened in 1955 in California. Lily Houghton, an adventurous scientist whose gender has made her an outcast of the scientific community, is played by Emily Blunt, while her brother MacGregor Houghton is played by Jack Whitehall. It will not be released on the usual Disney Plus platform, but as a Premier Access download, which costs $29.99.

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• EARN POINTS AND UNLOCK REWARDS FOR MOVIE PURCHASES WITH DISNEY MOVIE INSIDERS
• References to the ride
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Of course it would incorporate elements of its creator’s real life into the gameplay. To watch those films again may be to plunge back into a world of cheap jokes and retrograde attitudes. But it’s also to be reminded of what mainstream American movies looked like before the era of wall-to-wall visual effects, the kind that’ve turned the modern blockbuster into a shiny, increasingly soulless and sometimes flat-out ugly proposition.

Cast & Crew

The film also arrived in movie theaters the same day, so you have multiple places for you and your family to catch the much-anticipated Disney feature. Following a year of post-production and a year of further delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jungle Cruise was finally released in the United States on July 30, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and digitally via Disney+ Premier Access. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $221 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million.

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If you’re a Verizon customer, check your plan to see if it qualifies for the Disney+ on Us promotion. Plans for a feature film based on the Jungle Cruise ride began in 2004. Blunt and the rest of the cast joined in 2018 in a revamped version, with filming taking place in Hawaii and Georgia, from May, through September that year.

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In a mid-credits scene, the world of Jumanji begins to bleed into the real world with a group of ostriches running through town. Our theory is that the magic of El Dorado from The Rundown runs counter to the magic of Atlantis, which Hank travels to in The Mysterious Island, which disrupts the delicate multiverse Francisco exists in. Our theory can also help explain Hank’s uncanny ability to deal with exotic locations and strange beasts, such as giant frilled lizards and massive bees as well as submerged landmasses and wild jungles. Centuries of adventures have turned this seemingly normal step-dad into the ultimate adaptable badass. Screw PTA meetings and soccer practice, this dude is outrunning volcanic eruptions in his spare time. I don’t think your friendly neighborhood dentist dad could pull that off.

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Fandago is your best bet for buying tickets ahead of time, and you can always see a full list of the film’s showtimes in your area as well. Almost two years after the original release date, Disney will finally bring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt's latest family-friendly movie Jungle Cruise to theaters this summer. What's more, like Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, Black Widow and Cruella, you'll be able to watch it at home on the same day it arrives in cinemas. But for a film with so much going for it, some of the choices by writers Green, Ficarra, and Requa are baffling as hell. It’s mystery box madness that turns into a second act twist that is supposed to up the stakes but ends up stale and poorly utilized. Since Jungle Cruise is afraid to be risky (which, of course, isn’t something I should expect from Disney, but alas) and allows wildly illogical circumstances protect the characters from actual harm—all of that just to create a backdoor for a possible sequel.

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“Romancing the Stone” had live snakes and snapping alligators and an appreciably real sense of peril; this movie has a digitally fabricated jaguar, among other computer-generated creepy-crawlies, and not a real thrill or scare among them. “Jungle Cruise,” despite its more-than-capable leads and its much-vaunted attention to detail and verisimilitude, never feels transporting in the way that even mediocre blockbusters were once able to muster. It’s less an expedition than a simulation, a dispatch from a wild yet oddly pristine world where seeing is never close to believing. I don’t mean to suggest that these are equivalent experiences exactly.

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He helped search for the Tears to save Aguirre's daughter but sided with the tribe against Aguirre's brutality. After years of endless fighting, Frank trapped his vengeful comrades in the cave away from the river, petrifying them. Failing to find the Tree, Frank remained tied to the river, becoming a tour guide and building a village.

Personally I prefer the YouTube version, which may have been filmed in a giant Anaheim water tank festooned with imported plants and mechanical elephants, yet still somehow manages to offer up the less artificial, more persuasively inhabited jungle scenery of the two. Alternately, in much less time (eight minutes) and for no money at all, you could watch a video recording of said theme-park ride on YouTube. In Frank's cabin, Lily finds his research on the Tears of the Moon, but Frank insists he stopped searching long ago. They are captured by cannibals that are actually the Puka Michuna tribe who work for Frank as part of his contrived jungle cruise adventure. Tribal chief Trader Sam translates the symbols on the arrowhead, revealing the Tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon. Jungle Cruise will also play in movie theaters across the country this summer.

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Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials. Partially revived, Aguirre agrees to bring Joachim the arrowhead in exchange for lifting the curse when he finds the flowers. Joachim diverts the river to flood the cave and Aguirre and his conquistadors are reanimated while fused with rainforest elements. The conquistadors attack the tribe and Aguirre stabs Frank through the heart. Lily flees with the artifact, chased by conquistadors, but the jungle vines pull them back to the river, preventing her capture. This is where the Jumanji board game draws its power from, particularly since we’re assuming he created it during a blood moon when the Tree is in full bloom.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton has her brother, McGregor, present her Tears of the Moon research to the Royal Society, which bars women members. The Houghtons hope to revolutionize both medicine and the British war effort. They request access to a recently acquired arrowhead artifact that Lily believes can locate the Tree but are denied. Lily then steals it, narrowly evading Prince Joachim, who is equally intent on finding the Tree for himself and Germany.

The movie was expected to come out in 2019, having been shot in 2018, before the date was moved to the summer of 2020. As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. Its craft isn't quite as sturdy as some of the classic adventures it's indebted to, but Jungle Cruise remains a fun, family-friendly voyage. Along with Johnson and Blunt, the cast features Paul Giamatti, Jesse Plemons, Edgar Ramirez and Jack Whitehall.

It fails to stand on its own with so much being pulled from earlier creative works, but that’s not a bad thing here. Jungle Cruise is as fun and hilarious as its inspirations, and the sparks between the lead actors pump life into this film. Individually, the Rock and Blunt are already incredibly charming, but as a duo, they create a rhythm of movement and sound that causes their dynamite chemistry to leap off-screen and smack you in the face.

His immortality is the first step to The Rock’s Jungle Cinematic Universe. The spark that was there in the opening section disappears and the film splutters out into something directionless and derivative and dull. A prodigy born from the WWE, the performer is not only one of the few pro wrestlers to make the jump to Hollywood’s big time, but also stick around for 20 years. That might be because, in the mid-2010s, Johnson decided to leverage the currency of his stardom to start his own production company, Seven Bucks Productions, to make his biggest dreams come true.

This is only enhanced by the fact that the two are distractingly attractive with the most electric smiles, which kept me grinning throughout. His video game equivalent, Dr. Xander Bravestone, is described as a strong, confident archaeologist and explorer. Even his running gag nickname, “Smolder,” is in line with Frank’s Dad Joke sense of humor. It’s more than possible that Francisco spent time as a Navy codebreaker during the 20th Century, which helps to explain how the Jumanji board game is able to magically turn itself into a video game in 1996. ANAHEIM, Calif. – WWE phenom, movie smackdown champ and "Jungle Cruise" star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did not grasp what he was getting into by relentlessly pursuing very British "Mary Poppins Returns" star Emily Blunt to co-lead the Disney action adventure. The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic.