Jungle Cruise: Have you seen this somewhere before?

Movie Review: Jungle Cruise (2021) on Disney+

Have you seen Disney's Jungle Cruise, in theaters and on Disney+? You wouldn't be wrong if you thought you had seen it before. It's loosely based on Disney's theme park ride of the same name. And it brings back memories of John Huston's The African Queen (1951), although that was set in Africa and this is set in Argentina. Loose memories, because beyond the opening scenes of a jungle cruise complete with pun-spinning boat captain, faked nature attacks, and other things you might remember from your own adventure at Disneyworld, this story goes well beyond the quick romp on a controlled course. 

As the story goes, British adventurers Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) are on the hunt for a legendary arrowhead sought by Conquistadors during the conquest of South America. It is rumored to lead to a fabled tree of life that can heal all ills, which the Houghtons want to bring back to save their father. Their search also involves German Nazis who escaped Europe in the final days of World War II and headed to Argentina with a mysterious shipment. 

Arriving in South America, the Houghtons meet up with one Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson), who runs the fastest tour boat and has spent his whole life scouring the tangled jungle of rivers Emily and MacGregor intend to search hunting the arrowhead. He knows the territory, they have thousands of dollars in funds to help him get his boat out of hock and save his touring company. 

This film also has a lot in common with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), too, in style, substance, and tone. Just like Indy, Frank must guide a feisty woman through the jungle, battling Nazis (or their leftover stuff) and jungle natives to find a treasure. Danger lurks everywhere. There may be a giant warehouse involved. 

Jungle Cruise borrows from The African Queen in its ramshackle boat and its battle against a German ship (here it's a submarine) and its gritty captain. There is also a very similar river-rapids scene. 

Borrowing so much from other films and a tourist attraction, what's left for a film crew to do? Well, there is plenty. The cast is pretty good, including some fun scenes with Paul Giamatti as a financier eager to extort money from Frank Wolff's business. And there's lots of special effects as centuries old Conquistadors are reanimated from death in the jungle. Oh, and a pretty good chase scene in a mining tunnel (nothing as thrilling as the one in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). If you like puns, the jungle tour at the beginning is full of them and there are a few more sprinkled toward the end, but my experience is puns are an acquired taste.

So, this film is a mixed bag. Disney decided to make more money out of its theme park ride by making a movie out of it. This isn't an original idea. They borrowed a bunch of things from other films, also not an original idea. It was fun but not something to build an evening around. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are good in it, so there's that. I'd give it a C+ for Could Do Better.

Love & Mercy: If You're a Beach Boys or '60's Rock Fanatic You Might Enjoy It

Movie Review: Love and Mercy (2014)
Version: Library Borrow

Paul Giamatti is great at playing bad guys. He excels in Love and Mercy as the shady therapist Dr. Eugene Landy manipulating Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson in this bio pic of Wilson's struggles as the band's creative force with mental health issues. Equally good in his role is Paul Dano as a very young Wilson, who sings a good tune and performs well as the dominant leader of America's preeminent rock band creating the legend and beginning to show the signs of illness. John Cusack puts in a middling performance as the older, weaker Wilson under Landy's devious thumb. Elizabeth Banks is excellent as Melinda Ledbetter, the heroine who takes on Landy and saves Wilson's sanity and soul. Other characters come off as also-features in this sorry story.

That's the best that can be said for this film. You do get to enjoy the best of the Beach Boys classic music and watch it being created, albeit re-imagined in film, based on Wilson's autobiography. But the story is disjointed by the film's technique of jumping between the early days of the band and the "current" days of Wilson trying to stay afloat mentally. Nothing about the presentation seems real, until you get to the stills and news clips shown in the closing credits. The old fuzzy, graininess of the film is a put off in this age of HD clarity. There is a lot of conflict in the film to give it some teeth, but much of it arises from emotional drama, which can drain a film of movement. It simply doesn't work on its own.

If you are a Beach Boys or '60's rock fanatic, you might enjoy Love and Mercy for the music. In that case, sit back with the sound tuned up, close your eyes, and enjoy the ride. But for me, sorry to say, Love and Music was a bust. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.