Jungle Cruise

Much like the Pirates of the Caribbean films before it, Jungle Cruise is a Disney movie inspired by one of their most famous attractions, and much like Pirates it does add more lore and mythology into its story than the ride had. Set in 1916, Dwayne Johnson plays Frank, a steamboat captain who gives tourists rides throughout the Amazon River, while Emily Blunt plays Lily Houghton, a botanist who hires Frank to help her and her brother trek the river in search of a mythical tree with healing properties. All throughout the adventure they have to contend with a German aristocrat, played by Jesse Plemons, who wants the tree to help Germany win the first World War and immortal conquistadors who have been cursed for hundreds of years due to their own search. The film has a mixture of many adventure stories, not just the Pirates series, but also the Indiana Jones and Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. While the story is familiar, some of the way it is told is still fun and does have some surprising moments that are cleverly hinted throughout. The cast, also involving Jack Whitehall and Edgar Ramirez, is fantastic with Johnson and Blunt's chemistry being spot on. While there are three people involved in the screenplay, it does have a good story with some witty lines, even if some jokes are a little corny but at least appreciated when some of them come from the ride itself. The action scenes are all well choreographed and exiting, though often falter due to a lot of heavy CGI use. Director Jaume Collet-Serra creates a modern action movie with some old school sensibilities thanks in large part to Flavio Labiano's cinematography and James Newton Howard's scoring. The idea of creating a movie based on an attraction may seem a little crazy, but Jungle Cruise is one of the exceptions that as long as you make the story fun and engaging then it shouldn't matter what it's based on. Over all: 96%

2021 top list so far:

1. In the Heights

2. Nobody

3. Black Widow

4. A Quiet Place Part II

5. Raya and the Last Dragon

6. Jungle Cruise

7. Cruella

8. Wrath of Man

9. F9

10. Old

11. Space Jam: A New Legacy