Disney has been trying for some time to find a successor to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ in terms of developing a great film franchise of attractions at its theme parks. The drama didn’t do well with the expected ‘Tomorrowland: The World of Tomorrow’, but I would be very surprised if they didn’t do well with ‘Jungle Cruise’.

Comparisons to ‘Indiana Jones’ are unavoidable, but watching it makes me remember more about ‘The Mummy’, the wonderful blockbuster by Stephen Sommers starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.

He knows what he wants

One of the keys is the dynamic between the protagonist and the characters themselves. It’s true that the development isn’t very deep, but there’s enough attention in the script signed by Michael Green, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa to effectively decipher their motivations, giving them all enough guns to shine through. film.

It’s clear that Dwayne Johnson, especially inspired when making jokes with questionable puns, and Emily Blunt, incredibly energetic and convincing in the role of a mischievous adventurer with clear ideas, are the big stars of the show and the characters they have. more backgrounds. Moreover, the chemistry between the two is undeniable, being one of the keys for ‘Jungle Cruise’ to pick a fun tone without ever losing the necessary balance so that the audience never thinks that he wants more from certain elements of the film. , but just enjoy what the trip has to offer Bac nord.

To do this, he chooses to use Blunt’s character’s letter of distrust against Johnson’s character, who doesn’t stop using any tricks to progress. Obviously, the way forward was to strengthen the bond between the two, without forgetting the curious factor that her brother suspected. Like John Hannah in ‘The Mummy’, Jack Whitehall fulfills a funnier function than anything – although there are retarded subplots out there that could give him more weight – but in ‘Jungle Cruise’ they even remember to give him the emotional factor that strengthens his character.

In fact, the emotional importance is something that applies to almost any character with real weight in the film. A very effective way to achieve a certain relationship with viewers, either to increase our sympathy for them or to give more nuance to one of the threats they have to face.

Everything in its place

That’s not to say that in ‘Jungle Cruise’ there’s also time for the almost cartoonish to be present every now and then, from the more controlled details like the protagonist’s “pet” to others where his tendency to overdo it is very well measured, in the case of the hilarious villain who played by Jesse Plemons. Something similar can be said in the case of Paul Giamatti, but it weighs much less in the film and is very localized in the early part of the function.

Instead, there are also some darker details, but there’s the domain of terror that Sommers featured in ‘The mummy’. Instead, Jaume Collet-Serra opted for a more lively approach, thus reminiscent of something more of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ saga, where the more sinister designs were more controlled and often oriented towards complementing the action instead of giving more specific weight to the individual squid game.

Of course, I had some flaws, I had to make that decision, because this is a film that knows very well what it is looking for. The main goal is to make the audience have fun, using the characters and the story to achieve it but without sacrificing every moment for the sake of the show.

And the strange thing is that Collet-Serra achieves this by creating at the same time a first-class show that is unquestionably visually, strong in narrative and seductive in plot. ‘Jungle Cruise’ belongs to the lineup of films we’ve enjoyed time and time again, with the specificity that he drinks from it but doesn’t become their slave. It’s not all here to serve empty homage or false nostalgia. Everything feels original in the style on offer.

That’s not to say that ‘Jungle Cruise’ is a blockbuster called upon to sweep the box office above all else, but that it can also be done by limiting oneself to meeting minimum requirements or with caution. Here we are before the example of the second group, a film that literally justifies leaving our cynicism at the entrance of the room and enjoying it as when we much younger. Obviously, it has issues – especially certain irregularities in the middle – and if you focus on them you can get rid of them, but the truth is I don’t think it’s worth it.

in short

‘Jungle Cruise’ is an excellent example of commercial cinema. A great adventure with echoes of ‘The Mummy’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ -though more of the first than the second-. To that you add a very well-chosen cast led by the charismatic Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, a solvent script and a director who knows how to put on a great show and doesn’t just try to deliver a feeling.