Jungle Cruise
Bruce Steele: I loved your reaction at the end of our viewing of Disney's new Jungle Cruise movie: "Well, that was delightful." It summed up my own buoyant feeling that the film hits its mark, which was in the sweet spot triangulating the charm of its stars, the self-mocking comedy of the Disneyland ride that inspired it, and enough action and special effects to justify its blockbuster status. How quickly did it win you over?
Edwin Arnaudin: Well, after a slick but fairly standard introduction chronicling conquistador Aguirre (Edgar Ramírez) and his quest for the healing Tears of the Moon flower, I first laughed out loud minutes later when MacGregor Houghton (British TV star Jack Whitehall), addressing an equivalent of the Royal Geographical Society in lieu of his adventurer sister Lily (Emily Blunt), reads aloud her index card cue to “pause for effect.”
Subsequent scenes in 1918 London involving Lily eluding the sinister Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons, possibly doing a Werner Herzog impression) are entertaining, as are our first encounters with pun-addicted Amazon boat captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson). But the movie really gets going once the Houghtons hire Frank to take them to the mythical flower. Not to emulate Frank’s groan-inducing play on words, but what was your, uh, tipping point?
Bruce: About the same time. As a Disney fan, I loved Frank's early boat patter, lifted from the ride, but early action antics didn't grab me, and I'm still not sure the movie needed Frank's business nemesis, Nilo (an underused Paul Giamatti). But once they get on the river, it's quite fun. The quest for the flower is intentionally silly stuff, and Aguirre and his two supernatural sidekicks are direct lifts from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but the screenplay keeps the stars' banter flowing, and the later action sequences are raucous, light, and focused (which is not always the case in the later Pirates films).
I also liked that the five (!) screenwriters introduced both a female Trader Sam (Veronica Falcón) — who’s a man on the ride — and a gay character, updating the mythology in a way similar to the Disney Imagineers' recent refresh of the attraction. But while the direction — by action specialist Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) — is clean and snappy, I have to give most of the credit for my enjoyment to the two stars, with ample support from Whitehall and Pelmons.
Edwin: I’d totally blanked on who was behind the camera, figuring it to be someone unremarkable. But maybe a fourth or a third of the way through, when I was fully hooked and Jungle Cruise had hit its groove, I remembered it was Collet-Serra, which makes complete sense. Each of his films since Unknown (2011) has approached a heightened premise with competent filmmaking and an entertainment-first mindset — precisely what’s needed to keep the pace and thrills active in this wacky milieu.
I also have to believe that Collet-Serra helped create an environment where Johnson (having almost as much fun as he does in the Jumanji movies) and the ever-reliable Blunt could enjoy such a pleasant rapport, with Whitehall and a range of irritants livening things up whenever the proceedings threaten to grow stale. I additionally agree that Giamatti could have been given more to do than get sunburned and make Frank unhappy, and though Plemons gets several moments to shine, there’s room for him to be far crazier and cartoonish. It almost feels like he’s holding back.
Bruce: Plemons' performance reminded me of the evil Baron in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — an over-the-top caricature of a German aristocrat, intended to menace but more of a clown than a threat. And he just happens to have a Captain Nemo-worthy submarine, a la 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. This is pastiche filmmaking at its comical best, plucking the best bits from other movies and stirring them all together — and I definitely would include Jumanji in that.
Best I can tell, this is Collet-Serra's first full-on comedy, but he handles the humor as well as he does the action. I don't want to oversell the movie; it's a jokey roller coaster, a Disney dark ride with bright bits sprinkled throughout. It's easily vulnerable to cultural and political critiques, and viewers who think all filmmaking should have gravitas should skip it. But it's generally kind-hearted and warmly human, and it never takes itself too seriously. Also, it's got an adorable cheetah, who steals several scenes.
It's not well known, but the original Jungle Cruise at Disneyland was a poker-faced affair that guests enjoyed but didn't necessarily want to repeat. Walt Disney asked animator and Imagineer Marc Davis what he thought, and he said it needed some laughs. His vision reshaped the ride, and the patter was rewritten to include all the now-familiar puns. I think Davis would have enjoyed the movie his creativity inspired. I did. I give it a B-plus.
Edwin: It’s about as disposable as movies get — but isn’t that what big summer releases are supposed to be? At least that once was the case, and, based on the hodgepodge of blockbusters past on display, I’m confident that the creative powers here are well aware of successful pop cinema history. The film's reverentially referential style may keep it from being taken seriously in some circles, but, every so often, an intelligent, fluffy reset can work wonders on weary moviegoers while also enlivening younger viewers who devour such fare. It’s a solid B-plus for me, too.
Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Opens July 30 at AMC River Hills, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Frank Masi/courtesy of Disney)
