movie review of jungle cruise

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, jungle cruise.

Now streaming on:

In the pantheon of Disney movies based on Disney theme park rides, "Jungle Cruise" is pretty good—leagues better than dreck like "Haunted Mansion," though not quite as satisfying as the original "Pirates of the Caribbean." 

The most pleasant surprise is that director Jaume Collet-Serra (" The Shallows ") and a credited team of five, count 'em, writers have largely jettisoned the ride's mid-century American colonial snarkiness and casual racism (a tradition  only recently eliminated ). Setting the revamp squarely in the wheelhouse of blockbuster franchise-starters like " Raiders of the Lost Ark ," " Romancing the Stone " and "The Mummy," and pushing the fantastical elements to the point where the story barely seems to be taking place in our universe, it's a knowingly goofy romp, anchored to the banter between its leads, an English feminist and adventurer played by Emily Blunt and a riverboat captain/adventurer played by  Dwayne Johnson . 

Notably, however, even though the stars' costumes (and a waterfall sequence) evoke the classic "The African Queen"—John Huston's comic romance/action film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn ; worth looking up if you've never watched it—the sexual chemistry between the two is nonexistent, save for a few fleeting moments, like when Frank picks up the heroine‘s hand-cranked silent film camera and captures affectionate images of her. At times the leads seem more like a brother and sister needling each other than a will they/won’t they bantering couple. Lack of sexual heat is often (strangely) a bug, or perhaps a feature, in films starring Johnson, the four-quadrant blockbuster king (though not on Johnson’s HBO drama "Ballers"). Blunt keeps putting out more than enough flinty looks of interest to sell a romance, but her leading man rarely reflects it back at her. Fortunately, the film's tight construction and prolific action scenes carry it, and Blunt and Johnson do the irresistible force/immovable object dynamic well enough, swapping energies as the story demands.

Blunt's character, Lily Houghton, is a well-pedigreed adventurer who gathers up maps belonging to her legendary father and travels to the Amazon circa 1916 to find the Tears of the Moon, petals from a "Tree of Life"-type of fauna that can heal all infirmities. She and her snooty, pampered brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) hire Frank "Skipper" Wolff (Johnson) to bring them to their destination. The only notable concession to the original theme park ride comes here: Wolff's day job is taking tourists upriver and making cheesy jokes in the spirit of "hosts" on Disney Jungle Cruise rides of yore. On the mission, Johnson immediately settles into a cranky but funny old sourpuss vibe, a la John Wayne or Harrison Ford , and inhabits it amiably enough, even though buoyant, almost childlike optimism comes more naturally to him than world-weary gruffness. 

The supporting cast is stacked with overqualified character players. Paul Giamatti plays a gold-toothed, sunburned, cartoonishly “Italian” harbor master who delights at keeping Frank in debt. Edgar Ramirez is creepy and scary as a conquistador whose curse from centuries ago has trapped him in the jungle.  Jesse Plemons plays the main baddie, Prince Joachim, who wants to filch the power of the petals for the Kaiser back in Germany (he's Belloq to the stars' Indy and Marion, trying to swipe the Ark). Unsurprisingly, given his track record, Plemons steals the film right out from under its leads.

Collet-Serra keeps the action moving along, pursuing a more classical style than is commonplace in recent live-action Disney product (by which I mean, the blocking and editing have a bit of elegance, and you always know where characters are in relation to each other). The editing errs on the side of briskness to such an extent that affecting, beautiful, or spectacular images never get to linger long enough to become iconic. The CGI is dicey, particularly on the larger jungle animals—was the production rushed, or were the artists just overworked?—and there are moments when everything seems so rubbery/plasticky that you seem to be watching the first film that was actually shot on location at Disney World.

But the staging and execution of the chases and fights compensates. Derivative of films that were themselves highly derivative, "Jungle Cruise" has the look and feel of a paycheck gig for all involved, but everyone seems to be having a great time, including the filmmakers.

In theaters and on Disney+ for a premium charge starting Friday, July 30th. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

Now playing

Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

Peter sobczynski.

Doctor Jekyll

Clint worthington.

Customs Frontline

Simon abrams.

Brian Tallerico

The Last Front

Film credits.

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence.

127 minutes

Dwayne Johnson as Frank Wolff

Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton

Jack Whitehall as McGregor Houghton

Edgar Ramírez as Aguirre

Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim

Paul Giamatti as Nilo

• Jaume Collet-Serra

Writer (story)

• Glenn Ficarra
• Josh Goldstein
• John Norville

Cinematographer

• Flavio Martínez Labiano
• Joel Negron
• James Newton Howard

Latest blog posts

A Woman Without Peers: Gena Rowlands (1930-2024)

The Needle Drop Sessions: Pump Up the Volume & Untamed Heart

Locarno Film Festival 2024: Youth (Hard Times), Transamazonia, Moon

Thumbnails 8/15/24: Six Must-Reads You Don’t Want To Miss This Week

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Prepare Your Kids for School After a Summer of Screen Time

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

Jungle cruise.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 36 Reviews
• Kids Say 66 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Ride-based adventure is fun, if predictable; peril, scares.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Jungle Cruise is an action-fantasy adventure inspired by the classic Disneyland ride. Set in 1916, it follows intrepid Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt), who hires skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) to guide her and her brother down the Amazon River in search of a mythical…

Why Age 11+?

Frequent peril/tension, action violence, physical comedy, creepy imagery -- incl

This movie is based on/promotes a Disney ride. Lots of merchandise tie-ins off c

Adults drink in taverns, where some background characters seem to be drinking he

Lily and Frank banter and flirt, eventually sharing longing looks. Characters sh

"Oh my God," "ruddy," "fresh hell," "crusty old farts," "shove it up your associ

Any Positive Content?

Promotes courage, perseverance, teamwork. Characters work together and think cre

Lily is a pioneering botanist and adventurer -- a Ph.D. who's never afraid of be

Violence & Scariness

Frequent peril/tension, action violence, physical comedy, creepy imagery -- including conquistadores being turned to stone or coming back to "life" while made of bees, snakes, etc. Native Amazonians are killed, a villain is squashed. At one point, it's suggested that a key character has died. People get abducted, slapped, stabbed, bitten by snakes and piranhas, threatened/attacked by a jaguar. Falls, chases, explosions. Torpedo and guns fired, swords and knives brandished. A villain callously smashes bees. Amazonians are described as cannibals, but ( spoiler alert ) it's just for show. Arguments/yelling.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

This movie is based on/promotes a Disney ride. Lots of merchandise tie-ins off camera.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink in taverns, where some background characters seem to be drinking heavily. Characters drink whiskey from a flask, liquor from bottles. A jaguar drinks spilled wine, gets tipsy. MacGregor brings an entire suitcase of liquor on board.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Lily and Frank banter and flirt, eventually sharing longing looks. Characters share a kiss. A conversation about extracting a knife borders on suggestive.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"Oh my God," "ruddy," "fresh hell," "crusty old farts," "shove it up your association," "booga booga," "wimpy," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Promotes courage, perseverance, teamwork. Characters work together and think creatively to defeat a curse, vengeful enemies, a sociopathic villain. Characters' stories/journeys promote idea of personal growth and value of acceptance and living a nontraditional life. You don't have to be what everyone expects you to be.

Positive Role Models

Lily is a pioneering botanist and adventurer -- a Ph.D. who's never afraid of being the only woman in a room. She's brave, smart, resourceful, goes after what she wants (often bending rules to do so). Frank is knowledgeable, protective. Both are willing to put themselves in danger for their missions -- and each other. MacGregor is a dedicated brother who accompanies and supports Lily; he implies but never says outright that she was the only person who stuck by him when he realized he was gay. Native Amazonians are initially portrayed as cannibal warriors out to capture (and eat) foreigners, but ( spoiler alert ) it turns out to be for show. Still, the story exploits those stereotypes and certain others (MacGregor is fussy and high maintenance, Joachim is cartoonishly German, etc.), and Joachim's accent is played for humor.

Parents need to know that Jungle Cruise is an action-fantasy adventure inspired by the classic Disneyland ride. Set in 1916, it follows intrepid Dr. Lily Houghton ( Emily Blunt ), who hires skipper Frank Wolff ( Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ) to guide her and her brother down the Amazon River in search of a mythical healing tree. Violence and peril are the biggest issues: Expect frequent danger, creepy cursed villains (as well as a cartoonishly evil German baddie), weapons (guns, torpedoes, swords, knives), an implied significant death (and some actual less significant ones), threatening snakes, and a jaguar that looks more vicious than she actually is. Adult characters drink from flasks and bottles, and an animal gets tipsy. One conversation about removing a knife from someone's body could be perceived as suggestive (though the double meaning will likely go over kids' heads), and there's some flirty banter and a couple of kisses. Without saying it outright, one character comes out to another, who's supportive. While main characters demonstrate impressive courage, perseverance, and teamwork, the movie's initial depiction of Native Amazonians as a tribe of angry cannibals is concerning, even though ( spoiler alert ) it turns out it's largely for show. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (36)
• Kids say (66)

Based on 36 parent reviews

Turn it off about an hour in...

Action and adventure, what's the story.

Set in 1916, JUNGLE CRUISE opens with bold botanist Dr. Lily Houghton ( Emily Blunt ) stealing an Amazonian arrowhead from an elite -- and anti-woman -- British explorers' club. The artifact is supposed to lead Houghton to a mysterious location on the Amazon River where legendary healing flowers bloom on an ancient tree. Lily and her brother, MacGregor ( Jack Whitehall ), head to the Amazon and hire brash skipper Frank Wolff ( Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ) to guide them on the perilous river trip. Along the way, Lily and Frank must avoid not only the natural dangers of the Amazon but also a villainous German prince ( Jesse Plemons ) who's also searching for the tree, as well as a group of Spanish conquistadores who need the flower's petals to reverse their immortal curse.

Is It Any Good?

The irresistibly charming stars help make this adventurous, occasionally swashbuckling ride adaptation amusing, if not as memorable as The Mummy or Pirates of the Caribbean . Johnson can make nearly any character likable; here, Frank's silly, punny jokes are also a fun nod to the Disney ride's vibe. Blunt, likewise, is ideally cast as the pioneering Dr. Houghton. Lily bucks social mores of the time by having a job and a Ph.D., knowing how to defend herself, and even wearing trousers (Frank calls her "Pants"). She also has a refreshingly close relationship with her brother, who's posh and fussy but is still willing to follow her into murky, life-threatening situations. Other members of the cast are underused -- like Paul Giamatti as a local riverboat mogul and Edgar Ramirez as head conquistador Aguirre -- or they overact, like Plemons' caricature of a sociopathic German villain, Prince Joachim.

The movie's landscaping and production art are vibrant and immersive, and director Jaume Collet-Serra should be applauded for making sure to organically include themes of gender, class, and discrimination against the Amazonian natives -- without being preachy. Still, the movie's portrayal of those natives is a bit cringey, even if the movie course-corrects to subvert the same stereotypes it initially seems to be perpetuating. Luckily, Blunt and Johnson cheerfully elevate the story enough to make audiences gloss over some of the screenplay's missteps and enjoy the ride.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the level of violence in Jungle Cruise . Does stylized or fantasy violence impact viewers differently than more realistic violence?

How do Lily's actions convey that she is both brave and smart? Do you consider her a role model ? What character strengths does she demonstrate?

How is drinking depicted in the movie? Are there consequences for any character's drinking? Why does that matter?

Did you notice any stereotypes in the film? Why is the initial depiction of the Native Amazonians problematic? Is it excused by the fact that the tribe is in on the joke/plan?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 30, 2021
• On DVD or streaming : November 12, 2021
• Cast : Emily Blunt , Dwayne Johnson , Edgar Ramirez , Jack Whitehall
• Director : Jaume Collet-Serra
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Brothers and Sisters
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 127 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sequences of adventure violence
• Last updated : June 23, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The Mummy (1999)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Romancing the Stone

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Tomorrowland

The African Queen

The Goonies

Excellent adventure movies for family fun, best disney movies, related topics.

• Perseverance
• Magic and Fantasy
• Brothers and Sisters

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 81% Alien: Romulus Link to Alien: Romulus
• 100% Daughters Link to Daughters
• 78% Cuckoo Link to Cuckoo

New TV Tonight

• 100% Pachinko: Season 2
• -- OceanXplorers: Season 1
• 89% Chimp Crazy: Season 1
• -- Classified: Season 1
• -- Reasonable Doubt: Season 2
• -- The Anonymous: Season 1
• -- Face to Face With Scott Peterson: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 91% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 53% The Umbrella Academy: Season 4
• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 77% Lady in the Lake: Season 1
• -- Troppo: Season 2
• 58% Emily in Paris: Season 4
• 100% Supacell: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 82% A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 91% Bad Monkey: Season 1 Link to Bad Monkey: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

300 Best Movies of All Time

Box Office 2024: Top 10 Movies of the Year

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine

James Wan’s Teacup : Premiere Date, Trailer, Cast & More

• Trending on RT
• Best Movies of 2024
• Renewed and Cancelled TV
• Popular TV Shows
• Re-Release Calendar

Jungle Cruise Reviews

At best, Jungle Cruise is mildly entertaining, with traces of a better film peppered throughout. At worst, it reminds you that Pirates of the Caribbean did all this way better twenty years ago, and nothing seems to have progressed since.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 5, 2024

I think we would all agree to hop in a boat with these two as they take us on an adventure.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2023

The SUMMER ADVENTURE you all need to go on! With vibes from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Pirates of the Caribbean! this movie will bring a smile to your face the entire cruise.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2023

Sometimes movies should exist to be entertainment, purely and simply. Jungle Cruise should have been that, and it’s a shame there was not enough charisma to keep it afloat.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Jungle Cruise is exactly what it makes itself out to be: a big-name summer blockbuster...

Full Review | Feb 23, 2023

A family adventure through familiar, albeit shallow, waters.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Feb 13, 2023

Any minor quibbles are outshone by the star power wattage generated by Johnson and Blunt. If Johnson is still the Most Electrifying Man In Entertainment, then Emily Blunt is a superconductor.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 12, 2022

Book your trip on Jungle Cruise now. It’s a first-class ticket.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2022

JUNGLE CRUISE (the movie) was based on "Jungle Cruise", a Disneyland ride, so I wasn't expecting much, and was definitely pleasantly surprised. All in all, this is a fun movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 18, 2022

The script (from the trio of Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa) is silly and light-hearted, reminiscent of the late-1960’s pulp you would find at a Saturday afternoon matinee.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 17, 2022

Inspired, too inspired, on its titular Disney attraction ride. Dwayne Johnson is practically the attraction's tour guide. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jul 18, 2022

Jungle Cruise manages to coast on the charm of its two leads, making it a fun, if somewhat forgettable, adventure.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | May 18, 2022

JUNGLE CRUISE is a really enjoyable retro action-adventure film for the entire family, that shines with its great stars, wonderful chemistry and a surprisingly good and always entertaining story.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 7, 2022

Despite the flaws, theres something about Jungle Cruise that just works. Its a traditional summer blockbuster that combines charming leads with enough adventure to keep everyone happy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 3, 2022

Unlike the vast majority of other recent Disney Live-Action features, Jungle Cruise is a film easy to have a good time with.

Full Review | Feb 22, 2022

If theres a ride that the Jungle Cruise feels more like than the Jungle Cruise, its Pirates of the Caribbean. And sadly, I have to say that this is this movies biggest downfall.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Feb 16, 2022

No amount of money, not even the reported 200 million budget, can help Jungle Cruise avoid tasting like a hunk of processed meat from the Disney conveyor belt.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Feb 12, 2022

Jungle Cruise is passable light-hearted family entertainment.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 12, 2022

As far as these things go, this one isn't half-bad, and that's almost entirely due to the presence of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 21, 2021

Successfully brings a beloved Disneyland ride to life.

Full Review | Nov 12, 2021

Jungle Cruise Review

The rock 'n' blunt connection..

Jungle Cruise premieres in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on Friday, July 30.

Jungle Cruise is one heck of a summertime ride, thanks in large part to the delightfully memorable duo at its center. Co-stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt anchor the rollicking adventure with superb on-screen chemistry and together, they help this ramshackle trek into the Amazon soar.

Jungle Cruise -- the first Disney theme park attraction to get the big picture action/adventure treatment since Pirates of the Caribbean -- may get bogged down a tiny bit during its climax, doubling down on CGI action until the film starts to lose some of its life and charm, but that's a small quibble in the grand scheme of this fun and refreshing caper. Johnson and Blunt are tremendous together, capable of bickering and butting heads while still being believably tethered and emotionally connected to one another.

What's the best movie that's based on a Disney ride?

The film didn't need the gentle romance presented here, but director Jaume Collet-Serra makes it work, and both Johnson and Blunt earn each stolen glance. Johnson also, when he wants to, has a way of being so charismatic that you forget he's an insanely proportioned individual. Sure, the script will occasionally remind you of this, but his character, the lightly scheming river skipper Frank, is winningly charming, even when he's trying to pull a clever con.

Blunt, too, looks to be enjoying herself immensely here. As the heroic and headstrong botanist Dr. Lily Houghton, she embodies the craftiness and scholarliness of an Indiana Jones, sometimes getting by on her wits and sometimes scraping by on pure luck. There's a bouncy, cartoonish element to the action, harkening back to old matinee serials of the 1930s and, in turn, the aforementioned Indiana Jones (referring to the more comedic action in Last Crusade and not the grimmer fare of the first two films). It's a mix of roughhousing and slapstick that never feels as false or phony as it should, and James Newton Howard's winning score presents it all with a punchy playfulness.

Fans of the actual Jungle Cruise (which is now in the midst of a remake/remodel) will spot a bunch of sweet and goofy Easter eggs, the first and foremost being Frank's penchant for puns. And Johnson makes that work too, bless him. Once Lily and her posh brother McGregor (a very funny Jack Whitehall) find Frank, and we briefly encounter a loud and sunburned Paul Giamatti, the movie sets sail for forbidden corners of the Amazon. Over the course of their journey, we find that this big-budget studio release has a sneaky, surprising spark to it and an abundance of heart.

The film's villains are the unique tag team of a quirky German aristocrat played by Jesse Plemons and undead conquistador played by Édgar Ramírez (part of the CGI pile-on elements). Plemons is truly bizarre and, in any other scenario, would be a scene-stealer, but the story's guiding light, and most enjoyable players, are Johnson, Blunt and Whitehall. The film is at its strongest whenever the Houghtons are there, Frank is there, or they're all three together.

Jungle Cruise runs about two hours and, sure, with that comes a few dips here and there. The backstory/mythology surrounding the jungle and the conquistadors (i.e. why Ramirez is a barely present snake man) feels a bit dry, but the script is witty in ways that help squeak us through the set pieces. Clever dialogue pops in to punctuate just about everything, making for a movie that breezes by, distracting and diverting in all the best escapist ways.

Jungle Cruise is a joyous summer romp rooted on by a fun script and some completely captivating chemistry between stars Johnson and Blunt. The mythology elements don't always work, and some of the villains fizzle, but whenever the leads are on screen, including Jack Whitehall, the film finds its heart and soul.

In This Article

Where to Watch

Disney's Jungle Cruise Review

More Reviews by Matt Fowler

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

Dwayne johnson and emily blunt in ‘jungle cruise’: film review.

The perennial Disneyland theme park ride goes the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' route with Jaume Collet-Serra's big-screen adventure, in which Amazon explorers encounter threats both human and supernatural.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

Of all the longtime favorite rides of the Disneyland theme parks, the Jungle Cruise , introduced in 1955, is among the most enduringly captivating. Sailing on a 1930s British steamer down the major rivers of Southeast Asia, Africa and South America through lush vegetation, accompanied by a skipper with a weakness for bad puns while Audio-Animatronic animals pop up in the waterways or on the riverbanks, the quaint Adventureland attraction is the very definition of transporting. Those central elements survive in Disney’s big-screen offshoot, though just barely, given the writers’ assiduous efforts to drown them in overplotting.

Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra is usually found putting Liam Neeson through his B-movie action-man paces, or, more memorably, pitting Blake Lively against a pesky shark in The Shallows . But family-friendly humor isn’t quite his strong point, and the absence of a light touch here means that even the teasing banter and sexual tension between appealing leads Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt is a bit stiff. By the time they start wrestling with 400-year-old undead conquistadors and an evil spawn of the German kaiser who navigates the Amazon in a submarine, you probably won’t much care if they find the elusive object of their expedition, let alone seal it with a kiss.

Related Stories

How dwayne johnson wooed emily blunt for 'jungle cruise' — and why she ghosted him, colin firth in early talks to board steven spielberg's next movie, jungle cruise.

Release date : Friday, July 30 Cast : Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcón, Dani Rovira, Quim Gutiérrez Director : Jaume Collet-Serra Screenwriters : Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa; story by John Norville, Josh Goldstein, Ficarra, Requa

Everything about Jungle Cruise points not to creative inspiration in spinning a feature property out of the ride, but to corporate bean counters enthusing, “Hey, it worked for Pirates of the Caribbean !” Following that template to a fault, the project has been in the works for more than 15 years, originally slated to shoot in 2005 for a 2006 release date. Since then, the script has passed through many hands before being taken up by Michael Green (who co-wrote the terrific Wolverine farewell, Logan , and penned Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie remakes) with Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

Though kids are the target demographic, anyone older is likely to spend a lot of time thinking about the superior films being ransacked here for ideas, among them Raiders of the Lost Ark , Romancing the Stone and The African Queen . But the Disney brand and the Rock factor should ensure a sizable audience.

The problem of a numbingly overcomplicated storyline is apparent from the 10-minute pre-title sequence. Hurried narration explains that a single petal from a great tree deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle — known as the Tears of the Moon — can cure any illness or break any curse. Countless explorers over the centuries have attempted to find it and harness its powers, including Spanish conquistadors led by Aguirre (Edgar Ramirez), who betrayed the indigenous guardians of the tree who rescued his expedition’s men from the jungle’s menace. With his dying breath, the native chief cursed them to remain eternally within sight of the river, unable to leave or die.

Cut to London in 1916, two years into World War I. Blunt’s Lily Houghton, a female Indiana Jones fully equipped with pith helmet and safari gear, infiltrates the chambers of a science society to steal a recently recovered arrowhead believed to be the key to finding the Tears of the Moon. As a decoy, her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) presents her theories about the unparalleled healing powers of the mysterious tree, which could revolutionize modern medicine and greatly aid the war effort.

While the starchy boys’ club membership is rejecting their request for support, Lily is behind the scenes in a slapsticky scuffle with nefarious Prince Joachim of Germany ( Jesse Plemons , with a chewy accent) for possession of the arrowhead, which culminates with her dangling over Piccadilly Circus on a precariously suspended ladder. By the time Lily and fussbudget toff MacGregor reach the Brazilian port that will be their embarkation point, I was already growing restless.

The situation improves once Johnson shows up as Frank Wolff, who runs what he calls the best and cheapest river cruise on the Amazon on his beat-up boat. He’s an affable rascal, in cahoots with crafty female tribal chief Trader Sam (Veronica Falcón) to give the tourists an alarming thrill as part of a ride that includes rigged animal appearances. The enjoyable sequence that introduces Frank deftly tethers the film to its Adventureland roots and would have made a far more engaging opening.

There’s a bunch of superfluous business with Nilo Nemolato (Paul Giamatti, with another shticky accent, plus a cockatoo), the commercial rival to whom he owes a bunch of money. But Lily is soon scammed into engaging Frank’s services, and they set off upriver on what could generously be called a rollicking, fantastical riff on Heart of Darkness . Some early humor comes from MacGregor packing like Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , with trunk after trunk of toiletries and apparel for every occasion, most of which Frank tosses overboard. Meanwhile, Lily’s radical-for-the-era choice of pants is repeatedly emphasized to establish her feminist bona fides.

Frank repeatedly exaggerates the dangers ahead — and fabricates some scares — to encourage Lily to turn back. But the feisty explorer remains determined, even when they face treacherous rapids. As they search for the sacred tree, Prince Joachim does everything possible to blow them out of the water, first with weaponry and then by setting loose the reanimated conquistadors. (The German’s supernatural communication powers are never quite explained.) The pointed detail that the otherwise fearless Lily can’t swim makes it no surprise when she is forced to lead a daring underwater maneuver, which at the same time ups the romantic ante with Frank.

The climactic action — including revelations about Frank’s history — is so convoluted that many audiences will be checking out, especially as the movie careens toward the two-hour mark. That applies both to the unlocking of the Tears of the Moon mystery and to the inevitable battle with Aguirre and Joachim, even if the screenwriters’ bid to infuse a sense of the mythic elevates the story slightly above the generally juvenile level.

Like Plemons and Giamatti, Ramirez is another talented actor squandered in a thankless part. There’s none of the hammy fun of his Pirates counterpart, played by Geoffrey Rush. The jungle and its creatures have ravaged the conquistadors’ bodies, suspending them between life and death, so Ramirez is rendered unrecognizable by CG excesses that transform him into a mass of writhing snakes. One of his comrades (Dani Rovira) is the spirit of the beehive — in what’s almost certainly not an homage to the classic Victor Erice film.

Blunt and Johnson at least keep it watchable, and Frank’s groan-inducing jokes are fun enough. Sample: “We’re headed into headhunter territory, which is a terrible place to be headed.” Both Frank and Lily are well-drawn characters, and their opposites-attract chemistry is serviceable in that sexless Disney way. But there’s no larger-than-life persona along the lines of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow to galvanize the frantic action. And while Collet-Serra handles the accelerating physical mayhem efficiently, he lacks the joyous verve and inventiveness, the controlled chaos that Gore Verbinski brought to his movies in the Pirates franchise.

The novelty here, already widely commented on while the film was in production, is Disney’s first openly gay character, MacGregor. Leaving aside the outcry over the casting of an actor who identifies as heterosexual, Brit comedian Whitehall is a likable presence, even if his posh blathering makes him more of a familiar type than a distinctive character. MacGregor’s account to Frank of his bumpy family history, being disinherited after refusing various suitable marriage opportunities because his interest lay “elsewhere,” is played unambiguously. But his gradual transformation from stuffed shirt into plucky adventurer is strictly by-the-numbers.

Jungle Cruise is a typically well-upholstered Disney package, shot by Flavio Labiano with vibrancy and lots of swooping camerawork in the action scenes. (Hawaiian locations stand in for the Amazon rainforest.) It’s handsomely appointed with period trappings by production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos and costume designer Paco Delgado, and wrapped up in a boisterous orchestral score by James Newton Howard — although an interlude of crunchy electric guitars is a little mystifying. The CG creatures, notably a jaguar named Proxima, are the usual mixed bag of artificial-looking photorealism, though young audiences seldom seem to mind.

If only the core charms that have given the Disneyland ride such longevity weren’t so smothered by overstuffed plot. Compared to other attempts to turn theme park attractions into fresh revenue streams, it’s not as lifeless as The Haunted Mansion or Tomorrowland . But that doesn’t mean it’s good.

Full credits

Distributor: Disney/Disney+ Production companies: David Entertainment Company, Seven Bucks, Flynn Picture Co. Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, Veronica Falcón, Dani Rovira, Quim Gutiérrez Director: Jaume Collet-Serra Screenwriters: Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa; story by John Norville, Josh Goldstein, Ficarra, Requa Producers: John Davis, John Fox, Beau Flynn, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia Executive producers: Scott Sheldon, Doug Merrifield Director of photography: Flavio Labiano Production designer: Jean-Vincent Puzos Costume designer: Paco Delgado Music: James Newton Howard Editor: Joel Negron Visual effects supervisors: Jim Berney, Jake Morrison Casting: Mary Vernieu, Marisol Roncali

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Alex garland talks “stupid” ‘civil war’ takes and ’28 days later’ trilogy, reveals favorite film he’s done, john aprea, actor in ‘the godfather part ii’ and ‘full house,’ dies at 83, ‘alien: romulus’ wins busy box office weekend with $41.5m opening, $108m globally, alain delon, seductive star of european cinema, dies at 88, halle berry has one response to ‘catwoman’ critics who say 2004 movie “sucked balls”, jamie lee curtis is “grateful” for lindsay lohan as ‘freakier friday’ filming nears end: “my ultimate movie daughter”.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Jungle Cruise

Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element. Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element. Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element.

• Jaume Collet-Serra
• Michael Green
• Glenn Ficarra
• Dwayne Johnson
• Emily Blunt
• Edgar Ramírez
• 1.2K User reviews
• 298 Critic reviews
• 50 Metascore
• 5 wins & 9 nominations

Top cast 99+

• Frank Wolff

• Lily Houghton

• MacGregor Houghton

• Prince Joachim

• (as Quim Gutierrez)

• Sir James Hobbs-Coddington

• Chief's Daughter

• Society Guard

• Society Member

• Society Worker
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Dwayne Johnson & Emily Blunt Answer Burning Questions

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Many of the puns Frank uses are taken directly from the Disney Parks attraction on which the movie is based. These "so bad they're good" jokes are one of the reasons why Jungle Cruise skippers are so important to the ride experience.
• Goofs Prince Joachim knows where the trapped Spanish are located. There was no record of this because only Skipper knew where he trapped them.

Frank Wolff : If you're lucky enough to have one person in this life to care about, then that's world enough for me.

• Crazy credits The bay in the Disney logo is seen to have the water glowing purple, and after the Disney logo fully appears the camera dives into the water and leads to the Tree of Life, which opens the film.
• Connections Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: D23 Expo 2019 Extravaganza (2019)
• Soundtracks Nothing Else Matters Reimagined by Metallica and James Newton Howard With featured performances by James Hetfield , Lars Ulrich , Kirk Hammett , Robert Trujillo Written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich Associate Producer and Engineer Greg Fidelman

User reviews 1.2K

• Aug 12, 2021
• How long is Jungle Cruise? Powered by Alexa
• Will 'Weird Al' Yankovic's song 'Skipper Dan' about Disney's Jungle Cruise ride be featured in this movie?
• July 30, 2021 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Thám Hiểm Rừng Xanh
• Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA
• Davis Entertainment
• Flynn Picture Company
• Seven Bucks Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $200,000,000 (estimated)
• $116,987,516
• $35,018,731
• Aug 1, 2021
• $220,889,446

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Jungle Cruise Review

24 Jul 2020

Jungle Cruise

Sometimes, it’s not the reboots and remakes that make you despair of Hollywood’s lack of originality. Sometimes it’s a theoretically original film like this, another attempt to turn a Disneyland ride into a big-screen franchise. As you watch Jaume Collet-Serra ’s adventure, you’re haunted by the unpleasant feeling that this is a supposedly fun thing that’s already been done before. It’s only thanks to Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt that the result holds the attention, and it’s a credit to them that it’s entertaining at all.

The ride that inspired this is a slightly insipid glide past animatronic animals. For the big screen we’re in the Amazon in 1916, where Captain Frank (Johnson) is engaged to take scientist Lily (Blunt) on a hunt for “ el flor de la luna ”, a mythical flower that can cure all ills. Her brother MacGregor ( Jack Whitehall , about whom the less said the better) is along for the ride as they follow in the footsteps of conquistador Aguirre ( Edgar Ramirez ).

It’s not badly done by any means, yet it's deathly derivative.

If you enjoyed Rachel Weisz’s plucky librarian in The Mummy , you’ll love Blunt’s plucky scientist, also tottering about on a library ladder and railing against the sexist scholars who won’t grant her the academic recognition she deserves. Johnson’s scoundrel captain, meanwhile, may recall a certain Corellian smuggler, or a Caribbean pirate. He shares a loose moral sense with both, drives a beaten-up craft that he claims is the fastest in the sector, and is in hock to a rich local boss ( Paul Giamatti , wasted). And it’s a shame that Ramirez’s Aguirre doesn’t draw from Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski to add some demented intensity, because those flashbacks play more like a limp Pirates Of The Caribbean .

It’s not badly done by any means, with lovely animal effects, big, well-staged chases and lots of antics for Blunt and Johnson. Yet it’s deathly derivative. Action beats are lifted from Raiders Of The Lost Ark , music comes (mystifyingly) courtesy of Metallica (in collaboration with composer James Newton Howard), and there are endless references to The Mummy . Orphan filmmaker Collet-Serra manages to inject some nuance into the portrayal of an Amazonian populace, led by Veronica Falcón’s Trader Sam, and gives Jesse Plemons an entertainingly outrageous accent as a German princeling. The script even pulls off a surprise or two — though one of those, involving Whitehall’s character, is horribly misconceived.

But with a budget this big and a crew this talented, the film shouldn’t be this reliant on Blunt and Johnson’s bickering to hold the attention. In his fourth jungle outing (after Welcome To The… , Journey 2 and Jumanji ), His Rockness gives good world-weary, and Blunt’s bossiness sparks off him nicely, in a dynamic straight out of The African Queen . They don’t have much romantic chemistry but they do make for a fun odd couple, and at times they’re the only thing stopping you from throwing yourself to the piranhas. When did on-screen adventure start to feel so planned?

Related Articles

Movies | 23 06 2021

Movies | 27 05 2021

Movies | 15 12 2020

Movies | 07 05 2020

Movies | 05 04 2020

Movies | 10 03 2020

Movies | 14 11 2019

Movies | 12 10 2019

Things you buy through our links may earn  Vox Media  a commission.

Disney’s Jungle Cruise Is Murder

“The jungle,” Werner Herzog used to say, “is murder.” Although Disney’s Jungle Cruise is ostensibly based on the popular theme-park ride, one could say that it has taken Herzog’s immortal maxim as a kind of surface inspiration. “Know this about the jungle,” Dwayne Johnson’s riverboat captain Frank says early in the film, “everything you see wants to kill you — and can.” There are other Herzog callbacks in the film: The villains include the Spanish conquistador Lope de Aguirre (the subject of one of Herzog’s best-known films, Aguirre, the Wrath of God ) as well as an obsessive German aristocrat named Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), who seems to sport Herzog’s accent ; there’s even an extended gag at one point about the Herzogian way Joachim pronounces “jungle”: “chonk-leh.” Whatever. I chuckled. Sue me.

Herzog is an odd reference point, surely, but that’s also in keeping with the central tension in Jungle Cruise , between the darker, more intense and exciting movie it clearly wants to be and the mealymouthed CGI panderfest that it is. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra — a filmmaker previously known for gonzo thrillers like Orphan and The Shallows and some of the more compelling entries in the Liam Neeson dadsploitation subgenre — the picture might have amounted to something had it been able to deliver on the one essential element any kind of adventure (even one made primarily for kids) needs: a real sense of danger.

It didn’t need to be this way, surely. The opening scenes show some promise. We first meet the spirited Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) as she sneaks around in the back rooms of the Royal Geographic Society, looking for an ancient arrowhead that holds the key to finding a magic, all-healing Amazonian blossom called the Tears of the Moon. But it’s 1916, two years into the Great War, and there’s a sinister German aristocrat — the aforementioned Joachim, who may or may not be Kaiser Wilhelm’s son — also after this artefact.

In his previous works, Collet-Serra proved quite adept playing with screen geography, and he brings charm and energy to these early scenes of Lily maneuvering around this place while Joachim pursues her, each of them using the various objects around them. Similarly, when we meet Frank “Skipper” Wolff (Johnson), the captain of a decaying, rickety Amazon riverboat, we see him conning tourists into seeing fake sights such as a phony giant hippo, a rickety waterfall, and a group of supposedly savage natives whom he’s secretly paid off to scare the foreigners.

There’s a Rube Goldbergian verve to these early sequences, and by the time Lily and her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) have employed Frank to take them into the heart of the Amazon, you might be fooled into thinking that Jungle Cruise is poised to recapture the swashbuckling magic of classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark , The Mask of Zorro , the 1999 iteration of The Mummy , or the original Pirates of the Caribbean , with a little African Queen thrown in. It certainly liberally borrows from just about all of them.

But such films were also not afraid to scare us, to make us care about their characters by putting them in real danger. And here, Jungle Cruise sadly falls back on its corporate theme-park origins. It’s a safety-first kind of movie, seemingly too afraid to ever make us fear for our heroes. A jaguar that attacks early on quickly turns out to be Frank’s pet, Proxima (another aide in his many scams). It would probably constitute a spoiler to give more details about other elements that are initially presented as sources of fear but turn out ultimately to be harmless. (Even the supposedly psychopathic Prince Joachim comes off as weirdly cuddly at times, with Plemons playing him as a subdued bore. Why exactly is this movie set during WWI anyway? Were they afraid to make Joachim a Nazi?) It feels at times like the filmmakers are reluctant to suggest that the Amazon might actually be a dangerous place. Maybe that sort of thing makes for admirable messaging (does it?), but it certainly doesn’t quicken the pulse.

The exception to all this winds up proving the rule: When the aforementioned Lope de Aguirre (Edgar Ramirez) and his men, who all supposedly vanished upriver in the 16th century, come back as a ragtag supernatural phantom army to fight our heroes, they’re clearly meant to provide the menace that the film has been so lacking. And to be fair, a flashback to how they got their curse is one of the film’s highlights; if nothing else, it gives Collet-Serra an opportunity to briefly show off his horror chops. But once these villains enter the story, their presence, even in its finer details and twists, so recalls the far-superior Pirates of the Caribbean that we might wonder if we’re just watching something created on the same software as that earlier picture, only with a different set of features selected from the drop-down menus.

Even so, derivativeness and predictability aren’t always fatal flaws. Jungle Cruise could have been saved had it at least provided some decent comedy and romance. On the latter front, Johnson and Blunt don’t have much chemistry. 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. In the end, they don’t argue all that much.

Over and over, we can see the far superior movie Jungle Cruise wants to be: a freewheeling, romantic, swashbuckling epic about a couple of beautiful, brave souls who bicker their way into each other’s hearts, all the while facing off against the many dangers of the jungle and a variety of villains both human and supernatural. But it is so not that movie. And the clarity of its aspirations just makes the film’s downfall that much more pathetic, like a baseball player pointing to the home run he’s about to hit and then completely whiffing and landing on his ass.

Meanwhile, Whitehall is given the thankless task of portraying what is supposedly Disney’s most “out” gay character yet. The film still plays it kind of coy: Talking to Frank one night about how he couldn’t get married, MacGregor says that he “had to tell the lady in question that I couldn’t accept the offer — or indeed any offer, given that my interests happily lay elsewhere.” He then adds, “Uncle threatened to disinherit me. Friends and family turned their backs, all because of who I love.” Maybe this could have been a touching character note, but it doesn’t actually do much to develop MacGregor; his confession seems to exist primarily to show what a decent guy Frank is in accepting him. MacGregor, meanwhile, remains the butt of many of the movie’s (mostly unfunny) jokes — a hopelessly vain dandy who pees himself at the first sign of danger. I’m not sure any of this is progress. The jungle might not kill you, but Jungle Cruise could kill your soul.

More Movie Reviews

• You Won’t Forget the Faces of Daughters
• Alien: Romulus Gets the Job Done, But at What Cost?
• Jackpot! Hates Its Audience Almost As Much As It Hates Its Characters
• vulture homepage lede
• movie review
• jungle cruise
• jaume collet-serra
• dwayne johnson
• emily blunt
• jesse plemons
• werner herzog

Most Viewed Stories

• Cinematrix No. 145: August 18, 2024
• The 14 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend
• See How We’re Breaking This Down? Very Demure.
• What Does a Crisis-Management Expert Make of the It Ends With Us Drama?
• The Ending of Alien: Romulus Is an Abomination By Design

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

What is your email.

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

• Lower case letters (a-z)
• Upper case letters (A-Z)
• Numbers (0-9)
• Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

‘Jungle Cruise’ Is Like Diet ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ But It Still Hits the Spot | Review

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

One of Michael Keaton’s Most Powerful Performances Is This Underappreciated Netflix Drama

The 10 most over-the-top b-movies, ranked, the 10 worst james bond movie villains, ranked.

It’s been almost twenty years, but when Pirates of the Caribbean was first announced, it was derided as a dumb money-grab. How could you adapt a theme park ride? There’s no story, so it’s just branding for the sake of branding. And yet Gore Verbinski ’s 2003 movie was a smash hit and a total delight thanks to its weird energy mixed with breezy adventure. Since then, various theme park ride adaptations have hit various levels of success, and Jungle Cruise is the latest to arrive from the Magic Kingdom. For those that have never been on the attraction, it’s basically a little boat cruise that gets its spark from the guide doling out jokes that are total groaners yet totally charming in the way dad jokes are charming. Director Jaume Collet-Serra ’s adaptation understands taking this light touch to the whole feature and it makes for a charming ride that may not reach the dizzying highs of the first Pirates movie but still channels its strong mixture of humor, romance, and action.

In 1916, the iconoclastic Lily Houghton ( Emily Blunt ) and her fussy-but-devoted brother MacGregor ( Jack Whitehall ) are on the search for the Tears of the Moon, a fabled flower that is said to have incredible healing powers. They make their way to the small town of Porto Velho in Brazil where they meet prickly skipper Frank Wolff ( Dwayne Johnson ). While Frank is at first reluctant to do the job, when he notices that Lily has procured an important arrowhead that supposed to help in the quest, he decides to assist the pair. However, in addition to everything in the jungle (which includes cursed conquistadors that tried to find the flower four-hundred years prior) trying to kill the travelers, they’re also being hunted by Prince Joachim ( Jesse Plemons ), a German officer who believes that the flower will help his side win the Great War.

RELATED: Exclusive: ‘Jungle Cruise’ Producer Hiram Garcia on the Story Idea That Unlocked the Movie, Sequel Possibilities, and More

Jungle Cruise is incredibly cute. Johnson and Blunt have terrific chemistry and bounce off each other wonderfully. They both see themselves as the true captain of this journey, so they’re constantly trying to one-up the other, which leads to a lot of fun conflict while still retaining the light sense of humor you get from the original ride. Whitehall then provides a nice counterbalance as well as an audience surrogate for those that would much rather avoid the jungle altogether and chill in a hotel room. Then you’ve got Plemons once again showing why he’s among the best actors around right now as he brings a cheerful, goofy energy to the villain that may not make Prince Joachim an iconic baddie, but he fits in nicely with the tone Collet-Serra is going for.

If I have one major qualm with Jungle Cruise , it’s that I wish it were crazier. It’s weird that the film even bothers to be PG-13 when it has the light approach of a PG movie. The only thing that’s really “scary” are the cursed conquistadors inhabiting the jungle who are made of various elements like snakes or bees. It makes for a fun visual effect, and I like that they’re a conquistador who’s just comprised of bees. But that madcap energy doesn’t really carry over to the rest of the film, which is really more on the level of something like The African Queen where you take two charismatic leads, play them off each other, and put them in adventurous situations. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but if you’re also going to be playing with Disney money and a VFX budget, you may as well go the Gore Verbinski route and take advantage of the fact that you’re basically writing the source material here rather than having to worry about any fidelity beyond “There must be a cruise in the jungle.”

By playing the adventure largely straight and with a light touch, there are times when Jungle Cruise starts to drag because it’s not doing anything particularly outlandish. For example, it takes a sizable chunk of the movie for the group simply to leave the harbor. It makes it feel like Jungle Cruise is stretching out a paper-thin story because all that’s really happening is that they need to leave to get on the river, but instead we have to go through not only setting up Frank and his conflict with a local rival ( Paul Giamatti doing his best Watto impression), which is fine, but then it becomes the scene for a whole dang set piece of our heroes fighting off people trying to stop them, and rather than starting the journey with a bang, it feels like the journey gets delayed before it even starts.

And yet it’s hard to begrudge Jungle Cruise because it’s such a lighter-than-air confection. Again, its PG-13 rating is a little baffling since the audience most likely to enjoy this movie are kids ages 9-12. That’s not to say it’s a slog for those older than that age group, but it’s a movie that feels ideally suited for families, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I would even argue that while the action is fine on the big screen, families would be fine ordering this on Disney+ Premiere Access if it makes it easier to wrangle the young ones.

Jungle Cruise is bright, colorful, and funny, and while it may not rival Pirates of the Caribbean , it has at least borrowed from that film’s DNA with its quest for a sacred object in a race against those (in this case, the conquistadors) who have been cursed in their quest for that object. The best compliment I can pay to Jungle Cruise is that it’s a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Mummy (1999) in that I would have no problem flipping this on a Saturday afternoon and going on the adventure.

Jungle Cruise is in theaters and on Disney+ with Premiere Access on July 30th.

RELATED: Jungle Cruise Ride Reopens at Disneyland with an Expanded Storyline, New Characters and Easter Eggs

‘Jungle Cruise’: The Rock and Emily Blunt Go Up the Disney River, Without a Paddle

By David Fear

Blame Johnny Depp.

I mean, listen, feel free to blame the actor for any number of things , if you want. But specifically, in terms of riot-act reading, let’s go back to 2003, when Mr. Depp slapped on a head scarf, trotted out his best Keef Richards wobble and slur, and turned what felt like a Disney Hail-Mary I.P. cash-in into a cash cow. No one expected a movie based on an amusement park ride based on creaky, age-old seafaring stories to give birth to a popular franchise; no one expected a movie about 18th century pirates to show up in the early part of the 21st century, period. (What is this, the Watchmen universe ?)

Depp is responsible for turning the Pirates of the Caribbean films into hits, even when the series slipped into diminishing-returns territory. More importantly, he helped to prove a Mouse House theorem: When it comes to licensing, exploiting and rebooting, why stop at your best-known characters? Find the right actor, and you can sell your park properties’ greatest hits as intellectual properties too. If you can hire a better-than-decent director and keep the pace frantic, all the better. The movies then direct customers back to the park, and the circle of l̶i̶f̶e̶ commerce continues. The question was not whether this was the beginning of a trend but what the next “title” would be and how soon we’d be E-ticketing to a theater near us.

The reprieve lasted longer than we thought, enough to lull us into a false sense of security. Maybe it’s unfair to blame the ghost of Jack Sparrow and the Pirates boom-bust of yore for Jungle Cruise . But dear Walt in the heavens, the shadow of that series looms large over this attempt to sell the Magic Kingdom’s vintage, colonialism-a-go-go boat ride as the next big endless-summer-movie thing. To be fair, so too does the specter of the Indiana Jones films, The African Queen, steampunk, old-school Werner Herzog, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rudyard Kipling, Jules Verne, the entire previous filmography of the Rock, that book on Ponce de Leon you forgot to return to your library in fourth grade and every boys’ adventure ever written. Still: the wisecracking, trickster rascal? The hyper-capable and social-sexism-thwarting heroine? The mystical, supernatural villains, and their imperialistic, human bad-guy counterpart? The set pieces that update bits of ye olde derring-do, often digitally and occasionally successfully? You’ve seen this film. Only the hats, the source material’s location in the park and the size of the biceps have changed.

Editor’s picks

Every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, the 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 50 worst decisions in movie history.

Stream Jungle Cruise on Disney+

First, your lovable scamp of a skipper: His name is Frank Wolff, but feel free to call him Dwayne Johnson. This is a great example of what a movie star, a real one, does when you hire them: gives you their screen persona and molds it to fit the container without changing the essential recipe. It’s the one big difference between this and other Disney’s other big cinéma du amusement park entry, in that Depp injected everything an odd sense of unpredictability and Johnson gives us the reassuring feeling we’re watching a Dwayne Johnson movie. Except this time, it happens to be 1916, we’re deep in the Brazilian rain forests, and the star is smiling instead of seriously scowling. Wolff is a tour guide who runs his trusty boat up and down the Amazon for gullible tourists, which — yup — is distinguished by the captain’s facepalm-inspiring banter. Maybe you forgot for a nanosecond that the movie is based on the ride distinguished by a running commentary of puns ranging from bad to very bad to “make it stop, make it stop!!” Anyone who’s been to Disneyland in the past 50 years will recognize the jokes Johnson tells to his hostages (sorry, “customers”). The meta-gag is that even folks in 1916 thought these groaners were god-awful.

Meanwhile, in Merry Olde England, a young man named MacGregor Houghton (Jack Whitehall) is making a plea to ye olde stuffy historical organization to let him access an arrowhead recently found in the Amazon. This artifact, about to be tucked away in their archives, is allegedly the key to unlocking “the Tears of the Moon” — bright flowers found blossoming only on the mystical Tree of Life, and the obsession/downfall of Spanish conquistador Don Lope de Aguirre (Edgar Ramírez). He’s not the Houghton to keep an eye on, however: That would be MacGregor’s sister, Lily ( Emily Blunt ), the headstrong adventurer of the family. She’s keen to prove that the rumors surrounding the magical healing properties of this foliage are true, and thus cure all ills. Yet another party, Germany’s Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), would also like the arrowhead. There’s a world war going, you see. Having access to the tree’s bounty might give his nation the winning edge.

Related Stories

Summer movie preview 2021 — from 'army of the dead' to 'zola', dwayne johnson: the pain and the passion that fuel the rock.

We get one rousing set piece involving Blunt and Plemons competing to liberate the arrowhead from its crate — a jumble of feints and moving parts that director Jaume Collet-Serra smooths out nicely; even if you didn’t know he’s logged time putting Liam Neeson through his Action Gramps paces , you see why he got the job — before everyone meets up in South America, and everything settles into a well-worn, familiar Jungle Adventure 101 groove. It turns out that Blunt’s tart apple crisp of a comic performance pairs nicely with Johnson’s beefcake served with a side of ham. The actress, especially, seems to thrive in playing the Hepburn to Johnson’s buffed-up Bogart. (When you watch her spring into action, and see how well the movie plays to her vulnerability and her fearlessness, you remember that this is the filmmaker who also gave us Blake Lively’s alpha-female-in-peril in The Shallows. ) Blunt’s already proven to be a great physical screen performer as well as an expressive one, versatile enough to go deep or stay breezy, and even when she leans heavily on righteous indignation, there’s a verve she brings to all of this. It rubs off on her screen partner, too. She calls him “Skippy.” He calls her “Pants.” (Because she wears pants, and is also a lady.) They can almost jointly convince you this is a cruise worth taking. Almost.

Other than that, well…Plemons’ evil Saxon may worship the Kaiser instead of the Fürher, but he’s a screen Nazi by any other name, and the mustache-twirling giddiness he brings to this stock villain soon dissipates quicker than a cow leg in a piranha pool. Paul Giamatti drops by with a that’s-ah-spicy-meatball accent, a gold tooth and a vibe that scream “my summer house needs renovating, too.” One character’s interest in then-verboten alternative lifestyles doubles as both sympathetic representation and gay-panic-driven punchline, leaving you with a chicken v. egg dilemma over what came first in script rewrites. And the ride’s legacy of blithe exoticism butting up against Tarzan-grade stereotypes — to quote a bit player here, “that booga-booga nonsense” — gets dealt with in a way that suggests a box has been summarily ticked off a previous-grievances list. It wants to have your cannibal-natives cake and critique it too, at least in theory.

There are a few elements in Jungle Cruise that would constitute being labeled as spoilers, but the fact that the movie ends ready and revved up for a sequel is not one of them. Disney would very much like lightning to strike twice, and you can feel moments here — notably when Aguirre and some conquistador comrades return in a, shall we say, more “natural” postmortem state — where they’re purposefully nudging you: “Hey, remember how much you loved those early Pirates movies? So why not give this a try as well?” The ride they’re really asking you to go on, however, isn’t a reprise of their hokey upriver excursion. It’s something closer to an amusement-park attraction named Generic Blockbuster Cruise, where you slowly glide past a bunch of prefab set-ups — over there you’ll see some thrills, look out on your right for some spills and chills — and the whole thing moves inexorably forward on a track, while a skipper cracks the same corny jokes. It’s a decent enough way to kill time once if the lines are short. You won’t be particularly be rushing to jump back on the ride again.

Indiana Jones' 'Temple of Doom' Fedora Sells for $630,000 at Auction

• By Daniel Kreps

Alain Delon, French Actor Who Starred in 'Le Samourai,' Dead at 88

Hillary clinton, nancy pelosi to guest on stephen colbert's live dnc episodes.

• By Ethan Millman

'Deadpool & Wolverine' Beats 'Joker' as Highest-Grossing R-Rated Film

• $UPERHEROE$
• By Tomás Mier

Matthew Perry Was Receiving Multiple Ketamine Injections a Day Before Death

• Courts and Crime
• By Jon Blistein

Most Popular

Halle berry says blake lively asked if she'd reprise storm in 'deadpool & wolverine.' she answered 'yes' as long as ryan reynolds called: 'but he never asked me', joaquin phoenix’s last-minute exit sparks “huge amount of outrage” among hollywood producers, ‘caitlin clark effect’ hits bottom line in indiana fever finance report, george & amal clooney’s twins’ ultra-rare appearance shows their love for all kind of animals, you might also like, brian cox says state of cinema is in ‘a very bad way,’ blames ‘deadpool & wolverine’ and comic book movies: ‘it’s beginning to implode’, zoë kravitz embraces lace in saint laurent set and channing tatum suits up in the row for ‘blink twice’ london photocall, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, david jonsson says his ‘alien: romulus’ character is ‘unique’ in the franchise’s history of synthetics, ncaa fires back at objectors, defends house settlement.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

• Entertainment

Jungle Cruise review: Fun Saturday afternoon adventure hits Disney Plus

Emily Blunt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson make this boat trip worth the ride as it comes to the streaming service at no extra cost on Friday.

The Rock and Emily Blunt are joy to watch in Jungle Cruise.

A creaky old Disneyland ride littered with creaky old dad jokes isn't the most obvious inspiration for a big-budget cinematic journey, but Jungle Cruise hits on most of the classic summer adventure notes. It does so by reveling in the silliness of its source material, riffing on the ride's original source of inspiration.

Jungle Cruise stars  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson  and  Emily Blunt  as a riverboat captain and his scientist passenger. Their old-timey riverboat quest mirrors the dynamic between Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in  The African Queen , a rousing 1951 adventure that won Bogart  his only Oscar  and gave Disney Imagineers an idea for a ride that's endured for more than 60 years.

Like Marvel's Black Widow , this adventure hit Disney Plus over the summer, but you had to pay an extra fee on top of your subscription. It joined  Shang-Chi and Home Sweet Home Alone in the streaming service's regular library Friday, so subscribers can watch it at no extra cost .

This 1916-set adventure -- directed by Jaume Collet-Serra  (who will rejoin Johnson for 2022 DC movie Black Adam ) -- oozes charm right from its opening minutes, thanks to sharp writing and the charisma of Johnson, Blunt and Jack Whitehall as her hilariously ill-prepared brother. That appeal only grows once they're together on the boat and traveling down a jungle river, sparking off one another brilliantly.

Johnson has an endless supply of groan-worthy puns (echoing the silly skippers of Disney's ride) and a capacity for deception, putting him at odds with the assertive, direct Blunt. The love-hate relationship that develops is a delight to watch, with Whitehall's dry comments adding another layer of levity.

Their journey is punctuated by sharply edited action sequences reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean and The Mummy . The colorful, varied environments give each a distinct visual flair, with the world's lived-in quality and colorful cast of characters making it all feel tangible and relatable. ( Paul Giamatti 's red-faced harbormaster badly needs a dab of sunscreen, though.)

The baddies aren't quite as well developed or memorable as our heroes because the movie doesn't devote enough time to them. Jesse Plemons ' German prince is elevated by a flamboyant performance and exquisite costume, but his character's motivation ultimately feels cliche.

Jack Whitehall (right) joins Blunt and Johnson on the journey.

He also shares the villainous limelight with a band of malefactors led by Edgar Ramírez , who does the best he can to bring some humanity to this group. The introduction of a supernatural menace spices up the second hour, but some slightly unconvincing shiny CGI leaves the villains feeling more slippery than threatening.

All of the groups clash in a finale that riffs hard on the first Pirates of the Caribbean. But by that point you'll care enough about our heroes' fates to forgive those similarities and some forgettable villains.

New Movies Coming in 2023 From Marvel, Netflix, DC and More

James Newton Howard 's score adds to the grandiosity of the adventure, with one orchestrated version of an iconic power ballad adding dramatic weight to a pivotal moment.

Jungle Cruise is a worthy addition to Disney's live-action adventure library, with Johnson, Blunt and Whitehall bringing suitable emotional depth and plenty of laughs. Whether we'll still be talking about it decades in the future is debatable, but it'll go down as a memorable summer romp that families can watch on a Saturday afternoon for years to come.

• Stranger Things Season 5
• Deadpool and Wolverine
• The Batman 2
• Spider-Man 4
• Yellowstone Season 6
• Fallout Season 2
• The Last of Us Season 2
• Entertainment

Jungle Cruise review: Disney’s river adventure makes it easy to get swept away

Disney’s film vault is filled with blockbusters, but the studio doesn’t have the best record when it comes to turning its popular theme park attractions into movies. Out of six attempts at starting a new franchise, only Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl managed to achieve the kind of success one expects from a Disney feature. All of the rest — from 1997’s  Tower of Terror to 2015’s Tomorrowland — have been critical and commercial disappointments.

Three times the charm

• More Pirates, less Haunted Mansion

Dark and delightful

Rolling on the river.

Disney is persistent, though, and that’s good — because the latest ride-to-film adaptation, Jungle Cruise , feels like the fresh hit they’ve been searching for all along.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra , Jungle Cruise casts the wonderfully talented Emily Blunt as Dr. Lily Houghton, a scientist during the World War I era who refuses to let the oppressive, male-dominated scientific community hamper her quest for the Tree of Life, an arboreal enigma of the deep jungle rumored to have magical healing properties. Along with her brother, a dapper British bachelor played by Jack Whitehall, Lily embarks on a journey into the jungle guided by Frank Wolff, a charismatic steamboat captain played by Dwayne Johnson. The trio is menaced by threats from both the jungle itself and a sinister German royal played by Jesse Plemons, who wants the Tree of Life’s secrets for his own nefarious purposes.

It’s no surprise that both Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are endlessly entertaining to watch in  Jungle Cruise , as the pair have proven themselves many times over in roles that blend action and humor in films that also rely heavily on visual effects. They’re both in top form in the film, with great chemistry that makes every scene they share entertaining.

More unexpected, however, is the energy and positive attributes that Jack Whitehall brings to the film in a role that could have easily become a disposable, third-wheel character. Whitehall’s character initially appears to be the typical caricature of a British dandy, but as the film unfolds, the combination of the Bad Education actor’s performance and the script’s unwillingness to let him disappear into the background make him one of the story’s most fascinating, fun characters.

While Johnson and Blunt hit all the right notes to keep  Jungle Cruise funny and sweep you along, it’s Whitehall’s character that keeps the story feeling fresh and less predictable.

More Pirates , less Haunted Mansion

On the surface, J ungle Cruise seems to follow the formula that made the  Pirates of the Caribbean franchise so successful: Take two, strong-willed lead characters destined for romantic entanglement, add a charming wildcard to the mix, and fill their adventure with plenty of dark, fantastic eye candy. It’s hard to argue against the formula, too, given the Pirates franchise’s $4.5 billion dollar haul across five films.

Fortunately, Jungle Cruise puts its own stamp on that basic structure, with Johnson and Blunt filling the film with a level of charisma and witty banter to match its impressive action, and Whitehall’s performance complementing those of the leads instead of distracting from them.

The story also strikes just the right balance of humor, heart, and horror — much like the aforementioned  Pirates films. There’s an emotional core to each of the characters in Jungle Cruise that comes across enough to give them depth without bogging down the story, and they play off each other well, whether they’re sharing a sad memory, spouting bad puns, or fleeing all manner of deadly threats — supernatural or otherwise.

Much like the  Pirates of the Caribbean films,  Jungle Cruise delivers plenty of impressive visual effects that are both beautiful and terrifying to behold.

Johnson and Blunt are no stranger to effects-driven features, and Jungle Cruise delivers some truly memorable moments of spectacle . As the story progresses, the trio of adventurers finds themselves contending with various magical threats in addition to dangers presented by humans and the usual range of jungle creatures. Without venturing into spoiler territory, these supernatural enemies are depicted in some creative, technically impressive ways that make each enemy stand out from the rest.

That attention to detail made Davy Jones’ crew of mutated, ghostly pirates in 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest one of the film’s most memorable elements, and it’s on full display in Jungle Cruise when the story embraces its mystical dark potential.

Whether  Jungle Cruise kicks off a new franchise for Disney or ends up a standalone adventure, the film offers an extremely satisfying, exciting movie experience for the whole family.

Johnson and Blunt are at their best in the film, with Whitehall making a good story even better with his performance. All of that entertainment is supported by a great cast of secondary characters and breathtaking visual effects that make the world of  Jungle Cruise vibrant and enchanting throughout the trio’s adventure.

It’s no simple task to turn a theme-park attraction into a compelling big-screen adventure, but a great cast, impressive visual effects, and a fun story help Disney make it look easy in Jungle Cruise .

Disney’s Jungle Cruise premieres July 30 in theaters and on the Disney+ streaming service with Premier Access (at an additional cost).

Editors’ Recommendations

• Vesper review: an imaginative sci-fi adventure
• The Forgiven review: A familiar journey worth making
• The Bubble review: Making quarantine funny again
• The Suicide Squad review: James Gunn makes a body count beautiful
• Infinite review: Mark Wahlberg’s sci-fi adventure is a waste of good lives

When comic book creator Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth first hit shelves in 2009, the remarkable series about a boy-deer hybrid's journey across post-apocalyptic rural America earned heaps of praise from critics and casual readers alike, with some describing it as "Mad Max meets Bambi."

At the time, that seemed like a weird, wonderfully apt way to describe the series, and more than a decade later, it holds just as true -- and just as oversimplified -- for the Netflix adaptation of Lemire's comic, which manages to powerfully convey both the heart and the horror of its titular character's saga.

WandaVision | Official Trailer | Disney+

There's a lot to like about the premiere of WandaVision, Marvel's new Disney+ series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, it provides a new chapter in the studio's wildly popular, interconnected superhero saga and ends a drought of MCU projects dating back to 2019, but WandaVision isn't just any new chapter in the MCU.

Disney's Mulan - Official Teaser

I didn't expect Disney's Mulan to present me with a philosophical dilemma, but here we are.

Screen Rant

Jungle cruise review: blunt & johnson are electric in disney's pirates riff.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

What Saving Private Ryan's D-Day Scene Gets Wrong Explained By Historian

Glen powell clarifies reports of remake of kurt russell’s oscar-nominated thriller: “not really a thing”, all 7 horcruxes in harry potter & how they were destroyed.

When considering which of Walt Disney World's many attractions would make a thrilling movie, it's probably fair to say the Jungle Cruise isn't the first one that comes to mind. That's why there was some surprise - and apprehension - when Disney announced  Jungle Cruise ,  its latest live-action movie to follow in the steps of fellow ride adaptation  Pirates of the Caribbean. It's easy to grouse about the unnecessary reliance on IP, which has become something of a staple for Disney in recent years. Luckily, however, Jungle Cruise is more than a weak attempt at finding life in old properties. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the movie feels very much like a classic adventure flick, and indeed seems to have taken inspiration from many others within the genre. Led by the delightful pairing of Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson, Jungle Cruise knows how to enjoy itself, even if the journey is a bit overstuffed.

In 1916, Dr. Lily Houghton (Blunt) is in the midst of a fervent search for a mystical tree, upon which hangs petals known as the Tears of the Moon. These Tears are said to have incredible healing properties and it's Lily's belief that they could fuel countless medical breakthroughs. Undeterred by the many obstacles standing in her way, Lily drags her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) to the Amazon, where she enlists swindler Frank Wolff (Johnson) to lead them on a wild adventure upriver on his boat La Quila. They are far from the only ones searching for the Tears of the Moon, however, as underhanded Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons) and cursed conquistador Aguirre (Edgar Ramirez) also covet the petals. If Lily has any hope of getting one of the Tears, she'll have to trust Frank, which is easier said than done.

Related:  Disney's Upcoming Movie Releases - From 2021 to 2025

To begin with, there is only a small portion of Jungle Cruise that actually resembles the ride it is based on, and that is when Frank takes an unimpressed group of tourists through a shoddily put-together tour of the Amazon. From there,  Jungle Cruise branches off into something entirely its own, which makes one wonder why the movie had to be associated with the ride at all. Instead, the movie is more in the vein of  The Mummy or, yes,  Pirates of the Caribbean - and indeed, there are many moments in  Jungle Cruise that will draw direct comparisons. This gives the sense that the movie isn't entirely an original feat, but instead a mix of past ideas. In this case, though, that doesn't diminish its overall sense of fun.

Collet-Serra skillfully stages each action sequence (of which there are many) with the right amount of excitement while also knowing when to slow things down and let the characters breathe. At just over 2 hours,  Jungle Cruise has a lot packed into its runtime, but not every tangent is required. For example, Paul Giamatti puts in a quick performance as sleazy harbormaster Nilo, yet the movie would've been just fine without him. Between all the action and deeper mythology regarding the Tears of the Moon, parts of the plot get lost. The screenplay by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra, and John Requa (operating off a story by John Norville, Josh Goldstein, Ficarra, and Requa) has a lot of interesting ideas, but with so many of them, it can be hard to focus on the most important ones. The story is at its best when it is developing the characters and their relationships and it thankfully finds multiple opportunities to do so.

Despite its flaws,  Jungle Cruise still provides plenty of fun. After all, the most important part of a movie like this is how enjoyable it is. The aforementioned action scenes provide just about every member of the cast with the chance to stretch their physical prowess, and the titular jungle proves to be a gorgeous backdrop. Some of the special effects, particularly when it comes to Aguirre and his men, fall flat, but production designer Jean-Vincent Puzos' work with Frank's beloved boat and the harbor it rests in give  Jungle Cruise a more grounded touch. James Newton Howard's score is another standout; at one point, a flashback sequence is set to some rollicking cords that only heighten the excitement of the story.

Without a doubt, though,  Jungle Cruise would not succeed without its main stars. As unlikely a pair as they may seem, Blunt and Johnson are electric together. Blunt has steadily cemented herself as a great action star over the years, and the role of Lily gives her the chance to expertly straddle the line between bookish nerd and butt-kicking heroine. She goes toe-to-toe with Johnson and does not back down, making their banter great fun. Johnson finds real heart in Frank, who starts off as a slightly stereotypical grifter. As  Jungle Cruise progresses, he deepens considerably, and Johnson handles the changes well. Whitehall and Plemons both get in plenty of funny moments, though in the case of MacGregor, the talk surrounding his character will likely be focused on Disney's latest attempt to showcase a gay character in a meaningful way. Meanwhile, Ramirez is underused in a role that mainly keeps him as a CGI monster.

All told,  Jungle Cruise is the kind of classic popcorn entertainment that the summer season is made for. This is a feature that will be available in theaters, though audiences can also watch it at home via Disney+ Premier Access. For the maximum amount of entertainment, a big screen seems best, if only to get the full experience of being pulled along for the ride. Those looking for warm-hearted thrills would do well to board the  Jungle Cruise.  It's a lot more fun than the ride itself would suggest.

More: Watch The Jungle Cruise Trailer

Jungle Cruise  is releasing in theaters July 30. It will also be available to stream on Disney+ via Premier Access on the same day. It is 127 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence.

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise is based on Disney's theme park attraction of the same name, offering up a fantastical thrill ride through the South American jungle. Set in 1916, Jungle Cruise follows Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) as they set off on an expedition to locate the Tears of the Moon, flowers fabled to cure any illness or disease. Arriving in Brazil, they enlist the help of savvy riverboat captain Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson), who helps them escape a villainous German prince also on the hunt for the Tears. 

Key Release Dates

• Movie Reviews
• 3.5 star movies

Review: Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are fun, but not enough to make ‘Jungle Cruise’ see-worthy

• Copy Link URL Copied!

The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic . 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 .

Starting this Friday, if you’re willing to spend the time (a little more than two hours) and money (either the price of a theater ticket or a $29.99 Disney+ Premier Access fee), you can watch the new “Jungle Cruise” movie, a technologically newfangled, dramatically old-fashioned action-adventure inspired by the long-running Disney theme-park ride. 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.

I don’t mean to suggest that these are equivalent experiences exactly. 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. Enthusiasts of Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and the color orange, however, will probably want to spring for the longer, shinier, digitally enhanced version, perhaps hoping that, like Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies — the first one , anyway — it will succeed in turning a slow-moving boat ride into an energetic, nostalgia-tickling cinematic diversion.

And to be sure, this “Jungle Cruise,” serviceably directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ( “The Shallows” ), does reproduce some of the ride’s signature pleasures in elaborate computer-generated form: the leafy overgrowth, the exotic wildlife, the gently flowing stream. By that I also mean the stream of puns rattled off by the skipper, who is played by Johnson. That he represents an upgrade over the average Disney park employee — no offense, average Disney park employee — is hard to deny. And whether you’re wordplay-averse or (like me) think the whole enterprise should have been retitled “Pungle Cruise,” the mischievous wit that has always undergirded Johnson’s brawny physicality serves him well in this department. What a dorky, deadpan delight to hear him say things like “toucan play that game” or point out that certain rocks are “taken for granite.” (Certain Rocks too, surely.)

Being a full-length feature, of course, “Jungle Cruise” does have to traffic in niceties like plot, character and mythology, even if the result, scripted by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, is derivative to the point of desultory. Johnson is Frank, the wily captain of a rickety Amazon River tourist trap, trying to eke out a semi-honest living amid stiff competition from a local bigwig (Paul Giamatti). Blunt plays Frank’s latest passenger, Lily Houghton, an apt name for a high-minded English botanist who’s trying to find the “Tears of the Moon,” a legendary flower known for its astonishing healing powers. Fate brings these two singularly stubborn individuals together for a long and bickersome journey downriver, pitting Frank’s cynical self-interest against Lily’s naive idealism and pairing Blunt’s reliably withering eye rolls with Johnson’s famously expressive eyebrows.

The chemistry generated by all this ocular sparring is not negligible, and it powers this waterlogged star vehicle through its busy, semicoherent action sequences and squalls of narrative incident. It’s 1916 and World War I is raging, which at least partly explains Jesse Plemons’ over-the-top turn as Prince Joachim, a mustachioed German villain who will butcher any person or vowel that stands in his way. He’s determined to harvest the Tears of the Moon before Lily does, even if it means steering a U-boat down the Amazon in hot pursuit. And hot is the operative word, given the sweltering Brazilian temperatures, hinted at by the oppressive ochre tones of Flavio Labiano’s digital cinematography and the sweat beads you can practically see clinging to Paco Delgado’s costumes.

Speaking of which: Also along for the ride is Lily’s brother, MacGregor (Jack Whitehall), who has dapper tastes, packs way too many suitcases and, as the movie seldom tires of reminding us, is comically ill equipped for any kind of rugged living or heterosexual entanglement. But worry not: Once it’s done poking fun at an effeminate male stereotype, the script swoops in with a cautious coming-out monologue perfectly tailored to generate a fresh round of headlines celebrating and/or criticizing Disney’s latest LGBTQ milestone. This being Disney, of course, we’re quite a long way from, say, the family-unfriendly subversions of “I Love You Phillip Morris,” Ficarra and Requa’s joyous 2010 comedy of queer awakening. Even within these ostensibly punny parameters, the only jungle cruising that goes on here is all too literal.

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. As my Times colleague Todd Martens recently examined in a thoughtful, deeply reported piece , the Jungle Cruise ride, a Disneyland fixture since the park opened in 1955, recently underwent a significant overhaul that jettisoned its racist depictions of Indigenous people. 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. 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. That historical nod conjures some wishful Herzogian overtones in a movie otherwise conceived under the spell of “The African Queen” (itself a design influence on the original ride), Indiana Jones, “Romancing the Stone” and other films from an earlier era of cinematic adventure seeking.

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. “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.

‘Jungle Cruise’

Rating: PG-13, for sequences of adventure violence Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes Playing: Starts July 30 in general release; also available as PVOD on Disney+

More to Read

‘Avatar,’ ‘Coco’ attractions are coming to Disneyland — and other big news from D23

Aug. 11, 2024

In defense of Disney adults

July 18, 2024

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s joyous debut proves it was time for stale Splash Mountain to go

June 11, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in criticism for work published in 2023. Chang is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Review: In ‘Skincare,’ cutthroat competition in the L.A. beauty industry leads to a face-plant

Review: ‘Sugarcane’ unearths abuses of a Canadian school program meant for Indigenous children

Review: Well-intentioned ‘Rob Peace’ flattens out the complexity of a true story of race and fate

Entertainment & Arts

French star Alain Delon, whose films included ‘Purple Noon’ and ‘La Piscine,’ dies at 88

Aug. 18, 2024

Thanks For Rating

Reminder successfully set, select a city.

• Nashik Times
• Aurangabad Times
• Badlapur Times

You can change your city from here. We serve personalized stories based on the selected city

• Edit Profile
• Briefs Movies TV Web Series Lifestyle Trending Medithon Visual Stories Music Events Videos Theatre Photos Gaming

Vedaa box office collection day 4: John Abraham, Sharvari Wagh's film remains weak, to earn Rs 2.7 crore

Gulshan Devaiah thinks it was Janhvi Kapoor's ‘botched AMA session’ which sparked her criticism: 'Nobody deserves...'

Khel Khel Mein box office collection day 4: Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu's film remains very dull, to earn Rs 3.75 crore

Khel Khel Mein director Mudassar Aziz: ‘It is ridiculous to ask Akshay Kumar to prove his stardom even after 33 years’

'Stree 2', 'Gadar 2', 'OMG 2' and more: Are sequels or franchise movies the new 'hit' formula in Bollywood? Let's deconstruct this phenomenon! - EXCLUSIVE

Imtiaz Ali shares his English teacher told him that Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan had not understood his vision for Love Aaj Kal 2

• Movie Reviews

Movie Listings

Khel Khel Mein

Hocus Focus

Aliya Basu Gayab Hai

Ghuspaithiya

Auron Mein Kahan Dum T...

In pics: Stylish looks of Shivani Narayanan

Esther Anil wows in these gorgeous pics

Helly Shah's most attractive looks

Priyanka Mohan's Captivating Saree Elegance You Can't Miss

Best Insta pics of Bhojpuri celebs this week

Viral Pics Of Marathi Stars From The Week

Shruti Haasan dazzles as a fashion diva in every look

Nazriya Nazim rocks a new short hair look

Stunning off-screen appearances of 'Thiruchitrambalam' actress Nithya Menen

Aditi Shankar revolutionises ethnic fashion

Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillr...

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Th...

Demonte Colony 2

Raghu Thatha

Nanban Oruvan Vantha Pi...

Mazhai Pidikkatha Manit...

Mr.Bachchan

Purushothamudu

Sarangadhariya

Prabuthwa Junior Kalash...

Music Shop Murthy

Bhaje Vaayu Vegam

Adios Amigo

Level Cross

Agathokakological

Nadanna Sambavam

Little Hearts

Avatara Purusha 2

Chow Chow Bath

Hide And Seek

Somu Sound Engineer

Manikbabur Megh: The Cl...

Rajnandini Paul and Ama...

Chaalchitra Ekhon

Nayan Rahasya

Teriya Meriya Hera Pher...

Kudi Haryane Val Di

Shinda Shinda No Papa

Sarabha: Cry For Freedo...

Zindagi Zindabaad

Maujaan Hi Maujaan

Chidiyan Da Chamba

White Punjab

Any How Mitti Pao

Gharat Ganpati

Ek Don Teen Chaar

Danka Hari Namacha

Aamhi Jarange

Vishay Hard

Swargandharva Sudhir Ph...

Naach Ga Ghuma

Juna Furniture

Devra Pe Manva Dole

Dil Ta Pagal Hola

Ittaa Kittaa

Jaishree Krishh

Bushirt T-shirt

Shubh Yatra

• Jungle Cruise

Your Rating

Write a review (optional).

• Movie Reviews /

Jungle Cruise UA

Would you like to review this movie?

Cast & Crew

Jungle Cruise Movie Review : A bumpy adventure ride that just about sails through

• Times Of India

Jungle Cruise - Official Trailer

Users' Reviews

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Member 1016 days ago

i love adventure movies and this was amazing with such a great story i liked it

kangausarupraise 1021 days ago

I love this movie. I don't how many times I repeated it and I will...

Sherene 1033 days ago

Story line was a bit meah with knowing the MAIN characters were not going to die. The most irritating of this movie was Emily Blunt having fresh make up and lipstick all throughout the movie even after being immersed in water, with clean nicely placed hair. They are in a jungle for goodness sakes. And the MUSIC THROUGHOUT the movie really? Not a movie I would recommend to anyone

User Bhavsar 1053 days ago

game for a cinematic ride

Visual Stories

Entertainment

Raksha Bandhan 2024: How to make Restaurant-Style Paneer Butter Masala

​Benefits of consuming garlic (tips to eat without smelling bad)​

Quotes from top Gurus on how to be a winner

Alia Bhatt to Shraddha Kapoor: Let Bollywood divas help you decide what to wear on Raksha Bandhan 2024

How to make a protein-rich pizza offering 45 gms protein

How to make vrat-friendly One-pot Hariyali Paneer

Raveena Tandon's wanderlust photos will ignite your vacation cravings

News - Jungle Cruise

Emily Blunt says her kids "don't love watching" her on ...

'Jungle Cruise' sequel with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Bl...

Ryan Reynolds' action-comedy 'Free Guy' beats Hugh Jack...

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt open up about working to...

Dwayne Johnson was ghosted by Emily Blunt when he tried...

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt take fans for an adventu...

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Get reviews of the latest theatrical releases every week, right in your inbox every Friday.

Thanks for subscribing.

Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox.

Popular Movie Reviews

It Ends With Us

Borderlands

Sleeping Dogs

Deadpool & Wolverine

Modern Masters: SS Rajamouli

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly ...

Project Silence

Following Brouhaha Over Splash Mountain And Jungle Cruise, Another Disney World Ride Is Making A Similar Change

Disney World has made another significant change to a classic ride.

Despite it being an opening day attraction at Magic Kingdom using comparatively old technology, few lines at Disney World on any given day are as long as the one for Peter Pan‘s Flight. The attraction takes the classic dark ride concept and flips it upside down, using an elevated track so that the vehicles seem to fly through the air like Peter Pan. Fans will be glad to know that it has reopened today following a closure for refurbishment, but those who go on it will notice a significant change has been made.

Attractions Magazine revealed that the scene in the ride of the Never Land Tribe and Tiger Lily has been updated. The previous scene depicted the tribe sitting around a campfire looking stern while some members banged on drums.

The new version sees Tiger Lily and her great-grandmother during the tribe’s harvest celebration. The two women are dancing, accomplished by placing the figures on a turntable.

This is the latest move in what has been a systematic effort by Disney Experiences to update older attractions in ways that bring them more in line with modern cultural sensitivities. Splash Mountain was completely re-themed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The World Famous Jungle Cruise also saw big changes that removed African tribal characters and the “headhunter” known as Trader Sam.

What's New At Walt Disney World

What's Closed At Walt Disney World Right Now

Both of those changes were met with varying degrees of outcry by fans. Anytime the parks change, which is often, some are upset. The Splash Mountain case in particular had a lot of very angry fans, who are still furious even though the deal is done. Now, the Magic Kingdom version of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is already open . It was also announced last weekend at D23 that the Disneyland version will open in November.

The depiction of the Native American-inspired characters in Peter Pan has been a controversial case for a while. The fact that Disney World is now calling them the “Never Land Tribe” is particularly telling, considering in Peter Pan the movie they are referred to as “Injuns.” Watching the movie on Disney+ today viewers are met with a disclaimer before the film begins due to the insensitive depiction of the characters. It’s not a shock at all that this change was made.

When changes like this are made at one park it’s only a matter of time before they occur at any other park holding the same attraction, and that’s the case here as well. Disney has confirmed that the versions of Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris will see similar updates, though no timeline for when the changes will happen was given.

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.

I'm A Theme Park Expert Who Took An Actual Disneyland Family Vacation For The First Time In Years. Here’s One Thing That Was Worth The Money And One That Absolutely Wasn't

6 Disneyland And Disney World Attractions I'm Afraid We Might Lose To Make Room For What’s Coming

Following Prime Video's My Lady Jane Cancellation, Here's What The Executive Producers Told Us About Their 'Hopes And Dreams' For Season 2

Most Popular

• 2 ‘My Heart And Soul Is In There’: John Cena Reacts To Coyote Vs. Acme Being Scrapped
• 3 Yellowstone Season 5's Last Episodes Are Finally Coming, And I Can't Stop Thinking About These 5 Questions
• 4 Despicable Me 4 Director Shares Blunt Answer On If The Minions Will Ever Be Adapted For Live Action, And I’m In Complete Agreement
• 5 Rick And Morty: The Anime Is Wildly Different Than The Original Show, Here's Why I Like The New Vibe

‘One Piece Treasure Cruise’ English Localization Ignores Oda Eiichiro’s Canon As New Card Incorrectly Uses Male Pronouns For Yamato

• Share on Gab Gab
• Share on Facebook Facebook
• Share on Twitter Twitter
• Share on Flipboard Flipboard
• Share on Reddit Reddit
• Share on News Break News Break
• Share via Email Email

A year after One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda put the final nail in the coffin to the discourse over Yamato’s gender with confirmation that the Oni Princess did, in fact, identify as a woman, the English localization of One Piece Treasure Cruise has been found to still be referring to the heroine with male pronouns.

RELATED: Western Activists Lose Their Minds After New ‘One Piece’ Color Spread Appears To Definitively Debunk Transgender Yamato Theory

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary , a subsect of Western Twitter activists still believe that because Yamato is a tomboy, uses male pronouns, and at the end of the Wano bathes in the men’s bath, she must be a transgender man.

However, this take on her character ignores the fact that her use of male pronouns is based in both her being forcefully raised as a boy by her abusive father, Emperor Kaido of the Beasts, to fulfill his desire for a son, as well as her wish to follow in the footsteps of her hero Kozuki Oden.

To this end, since her introduction to the world of One Piece in 2020, the matter of whether Yamato identifies as a man or a woman was eventually put to rest by series mangaka Eiichiro Oda himself – twice, no less.

The first rebuttal came in the form of Yamato’s ‘Vivre Card’, an official profile written with approval from Oda, wherein the heroine was explicitly labelled as a woman.v

The second would occur roughly two years later when, in 2023, the young warrior was included in a cover illustration specifically highlighting the female character from across the franchise, as illustrated for the manga’s 1084th chapter.

RELATED: ‘One Piece’ English Voice Actor Michelle Rojas Called Out By Fans After Attempting To Push Debunked Transgender Yamato Theory

Unfortunately, it seems like Oda’s own words have been ignored by Bandai Namco’s English localization teams.

On August 10th, the English-language version of the One Piece Treasure Cruise mobile game kicked off its latest event, Clashing! Burning! Super Battles! VS Super Sugo-Fest! Battle of Onigashima .

As part of this event, the game introduced a new card for Yamato, its art based on a drawing Oda produced of the heroine as an Oiran (the highest ranking Japanese courtesan during the Edo period) for the official One Piece magazine.

Notably, in the original Japanese (as translated for BIC by Twitter user @ChernobylFruit), Oiran Yamato’s card, though it refers to her as “Kaido’s Son”, refrains from using any specific pronouns in its actual description.

“The appearance of becoming the best courtesan in Wano Country, Ccptivating the people of Wano with beauty that hides strength..Taking a breather with a kiseru – a Japanese smoking tobacco pipe – in hand,” reads the card.

However, in the English release, Yamato’s card instead and unmistakably refers to her as a man.

“Son of Kaido, here he appears as the best Oiran in the Land of Wano,” reacds the text on the localized version of her character card. “Yamato captivates the people with Wano with beauty that conceals his strength. Yamato takes a break by posing with a kiseru pipe with one hand.”

Interestingly, while ideology stands as the current speculated reason as to why this change was made, there exists the possibility that it may actually be, at least in part, the result of a machine translation error.

As noted by @nekorize, when ran through Google Translate, the machine learning tool replaces the gender neutral text with masculine pronouns – “He has become the most beautiful courtesan in Wano. He captivates the people of Wano with his beauty and hidden strength. He is taking a break with a tobacco pipe in hand.”

However, as of writing, it remains officially unknown as to just why, whether through human or machine hand, the English version of One Piece Treasure Cruise has chosen to continue pushing the false ‘Yamato is actually a man’ narrative, nor whether or not its localization was done with the assistance of any sort of translation tool.

NEXT: ‘One Piece’ Anime Censors Eiichiro Oda’s Original Design For Stussy’s Vegapunk Outfi

More About: Anime Manga Video Games

Read This Next

Ubisoft Hit With More Layoffs, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ And ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ Dev Cuts 45 From American Offices

By Bounding Into Comics

Leaked ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ Content Creator Agreement Bans Discussion Of Certain Topics Including “Politics”, “Feminist Propaganda”, And “Other Content That Instigates Negative Discourse”

Wine of the Week: Château Greysac Le Blanc de Greysac Bordeaux Blanc 2022

Dante’s Weekend Double – Week Three Of “Wrath Of August” Brings Two Throwbacks, ‘Point Blank’ And ‘Foxy Brown’

‘Baywatch’ Cast Reveals Dark Downside Of Starring On Hit Show – ‘Everybody Was Disposable’

By TheMix.net

Aniplex Announces ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie – Walpurgisnacht: Rising’ Now Delayed To 2025

Disney+ Subscribers To Get Exclusive ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ DLC: But Is It Worth the Giant Price Tag and Masculinized Kay Vess Character?

‘Skyblivion’ Project Nearing Completion: Trailer Gives Sneak Peak of Immersive Environments, New Side Quest Teases

Nashville Film Festival 2024 Slate Features Will Ferrell’s Will & Harper

By MovieMaker Magazine

Tom Cruise's Space Movie Gets Positive Update From Director Doug Liman

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Tom Cruise still plans to make a movie in outer space with Doug Liman. The filmmaker, who previously collaborated with Cruise on the films Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and American Made (2020), recently shared a brief update on their untitled action movie that is currently in development at Universal Pictures.

Speaking with Collider about his new movie The Instigators , starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, Liman confirmed that he and Cruise are both still attached to the untitled action movie set in space. "It's still a dream and a plan," he said. The project was first announced in 2020, with Universal reportedly set to give the film a $200 million budget. Cruise is set to earn upwards of $60 million for his role as both producer and star.

'Nobody Got Compensated': Road House Director Details Frustrations With Amazon's Switch to Streaming

Doug Liman further explains the controversy about Road House's release on Prime Video.

While plot details remain mostly under wraps, Universal Pictures Chairwoman Donna Langley shared in October 2022 that Cruise will play "a down-on-his-luck guy who finds himself in the position of being the only person who could save Earth." The movie is expected to take place mostly on Earth, but will send Cruise's character to space "to save the day." Both NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX company are reportedly involved with the film's scenes that will be shot in space, with Liman and Cruise expected to fly to the International Space Station as part of a future Axiom Space mission in a SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft.

Tom Cruise Is Currently Busy Finishing Mission: Impossible 8

After performing an epic stunt for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games closing ceremony , Cruise is back filming the untitled Mission: Impossible 8 , which is set to conclude the storyline that started in the previous film, 2023's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One . In the seventh M:I movie, Cruise's Ethan Hunt and the rest of his IMF team went on their most dangerous mission yet, searching for a two-piece cruciform key that can control an advanced AI known as The Entity. Dead Reckoning Part One ended with Ethan obtaining both halves of the key, with M:I:8 expected to focus on the IMF agents' attempts to stop the Entity before it's too late.

Mission: Impossible 8 Adds Twisters Actor

Shortly after Tom Cruise praised Twisters, one of the stars of the 2023 disaster movie has joined the cast of the next Mission: Impossible movie.

McQuarrie returns to direct Mission: Impossible 8 , having helmed the previous three installments in the franchise — Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), and Dead Reckoning (2023). While Universal and Liman's space movie is believed to be Cruise's next project after Mission: Impossible 8 , the actor is also developing three future films with McQuarrie — an original song and dance-style musical, an original action film with franchise potential, and a potential solo project featuring Cruise's Tropic Thunder character Les Grossman. A third Top Gun movie is also in early development at Paramount that would reunite Cruise with his Maverick co-star Glen Powell .

The untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film is scheduled to hit theaters on May 23, 2025.

Source: Collider

Mission: Impossible 8

Tom Cruise Was ‘Protective’ of Gina Gershon While Filming Her First Sex Scene, Even When She ‘Kneed Him’ in the Face: ‘I Just Broke His Nose’

By Zack Sharf

Digital News Director

• ‘Logan’ Co-Writer Says ‘People Warned Me’ About ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Screwing Up His Film’s Ending, but the Movie Was a ‘Huge Compliment’ Instead 2 days ago
• Halle Berry Would Direct ‘Catwoman’ Sequel and Tells Off the Haters: ‘Critics Said It Sucked Balls,’ but ‘Balls Aren’t That Bad’ 2 days ago
• ‘Despicable Me’ Director Says ‘God, I Hope Not’ When Asked About Live-Action Minions Films: That’s ‘Not Very Appealing’ 2 days ago

Gina Gershon appeared on “Watch What Happens Live” and was asked by host Andy Cohen if she ever hooked up with Tom Cruise . The two actors starred together in 1988’s “Cocktail,” where Gershon remembered nearly breaking Cruise’s nose during the filming of a sex scene. The moment just so happened to be Gershon’s first time shooting a love scene in a movie. The actor said Cruise “totally” took care of her while filming.

Related Stories

Content owner lawsuits against ai companies: complete updated index, popular on variety.

Gershon, meanwhile, was more of a newcomer to Hollywood movies at the time. Her fame increased in the 1990s with acclaimed performances in “Bound,” which Gershon recently revealed she was told not to do as the movie centered on a lesbian relationship. The actor said on the  “It Happened in Hollywood” podcast that her agents told her specifically that she “can’t play a lesbian” because it would tank her Hollywood career.

“It was a great script and I could tell they were incredible directors, but my agents were like, ‘We will not let you do this movie. You are ruining your career. You will never work again,’” Gershon said, adding that her agents said they could no longer represent her if she took the part.

Watch Gershon’s full appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” in the video below.

More from Variety

Sally field to star in ‘remarkably bright creatures’ adaptation for netflix, reality check: summer hot streak won’t dig u.s. box office out of deep hole in 2024, netflix, google team-up lets ‘emily in paris’ fans shop for her clothes, tessa thompson to star in netflix limited series ‘his & hers’ based on alice feeney novel, ‘borderlands’ blunder proves hollywood hasn’t mastered adapting video games to film, ‘man on fire’ series at netflix casts bobby cannavale (exclusive), more from our brands, conservatives are already working to enact their project 2025 agenda, actor aaron paul visits house of robb to talk about cars, caviar, and mezcal, peyton manning: ‘manningcast’ will be better with belichick, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, how to watch homicide: life on the street online.