Disney’s Jungle Cruise, inspired by the theme park ride of the same name, takes a typically family-friendly approach. It is a fantasy adventure story involving conquistadors, adventurers, ancient curses, and flowers with magical healing abilities.
Johnson does the job as a typical knave-at-first-glance-but-good-at-heart protagonist that populates such stories. But the real star has to be Blunt. The character is written well, and she brings a lot of heart and humor to the role. To the writers’ credit, they give Lily a lot to do, which is not always the case with female characters in similar movies.
Even Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann, who was considered a radical departure then for a female protagonist in a movie set in the early 18th century, does not appear all that much progressive in hindsight when compared to Lily.
Whitehall, who became famous after leading the cast of the British sitcom Fresh Meat, is predictably great here. The villain Prince Joachim, played by Jesse Plemons, is cartoonish, but in an entertaining way. This all works because Jungle Cruise does not take itself too seriously.
That’s it. Jungle Cruise is by no means a perfect movie. It has a few flaws that stop me from giving a wholehearted recommendation. But it is a fun, campy movie you can enjoy with the family and a diverting throwback to the 80s and 90s adventure films.