Jungle Cruise (2021) - Reaction And Discussion

[Herbert Playz]

I'm a huge Dwayne Johnson(The Rock) fan but even I have to admit that a 92% score seems a bit inflated. That being said, the movie was a lot of fun. Anytime I see Paul Giamatti as a supporting character in a movie its usually an indicator that the movie I'm watching is going to be a quality movie. I just wish they gave that man more screen time.

You could say that Edgar Ramírez plays the original villain of the movie. His role almost feels a bit like Bill Nighy's Davy Jones(from pirates of the Caribbean dead man's chest) except he never really gets a chance to truly shine. They do give him a really good backstory but he is never set up as a proper adversary to The Rock. Jesse Plemons does a decent job of being the defacto villain but to me his role seemed more comical than menacing.

Emily Blount does a great job of busting The Rock's chops every chance she gets. Even in the promo interviews leading up to release, she is constantly sniping at him. The two seemed to have developed some good chemistry along the way. I feel like its been like that the entire time they were filming.

In all honesty, Emily feels like the main star of the movie. During my initial viewing, I was constantly trying to figure out why this movie scored so well with critics. Normally, this type of action adventure movie makes big bucks at the box office but does badly with critics. However, once you start learning the backstory of the main characters everything quickly starts to come into focus.

Also there is a really nice twist about 2/3 of the way into the movie which I wasn't expecting, it was a very nice surprise that makes perfect sense but really wasn't hinted at that much so I didn't see coming at all and I loved it! The ending was pretty decent, it may have been a bit cheesy and predictable😅 but hey it's Disney! I thought the execution was solid.

Summary
All in all, even though it can feel a bit choppy at times, I'd have to say that Jungle Cruise delivers exactly what it promises in its movie trailers. It's a fun action adventure movie, full of corny jokes, big laughs, natural charisma and a surprising amount of depth to some of its characters. If you're looking for something fun to watch be sure to check this out on Disney plus!