I usually like these kind of adventure movies and I think that Jaume Collet-Serra is one of the best for hire directors as his movies are usually entertaining and well made so it's no surprise that I actually enjoyed this movie. It's everything you'd expect from a big budget summer movie, very light-hearted and fun with a lot of set pieces and non stop action. But, and this is a very big but, it's also very derivative, borrowing a lot from other similar movies, as the plot is essentially the same as 1999's The Mummy and thematically it's very much like Pirates of the Caribbean (no surprise here). I always marvel at the amount of money Disney can put into their projects, so it's no surprise that they didn't want to take more risks than necessary to bring this movie into fruition, hence the safe screenplay. The acting is fine throughout, with Jesse Plemons being the highlight as the villainous Prince Joachim. I have to say that, in my opinion, Dwayne Johnson was horribly miscast unfortunately, and although he does a fine job with the material as he's always charming, and his very bad jokes are a highlight from both the movie and the ride it's based on, he seems a bit too big and too old for this particular part. I guess he's part of the no more risks than necessary but I would've gone with a totally different kind of actor. So, in the end, I think the positives far outweigh the negatives and although derivative and a bit forgetful I still had a great time watching this and can recommend the movie.
Review of Jungle Cruise
