Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Jungle Cruise 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 4, 2021

Disney's world-famous theme park attraction comes to life in Jungle Cruise, a family adventure film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan, Non-Stop). The film incorporates many of the sights and sounds found on the ride and brings its own spirit of adventure -- and complex backstory -- to the screen in what is a fun, if not predictably superfluous, thrill ride. The film works well as disposable entertainment that feels like a mesh of Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with an Anaconda foundation. It's an interesting amalgamation that largely works, again not in some highbrow art form sort of way but as a fully satisfying escape for a moviegoing world hungry for something to distract from the realities of a reeling real world.

At the height of World War I, a race between the warring factions is underway to discover the location of an ancient, mysterious, and supposedly all-powerful weapon sure to turn the war's tide: tree leaves with supernatural restorative properties. Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) and her bumbling brother MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) spearhead an operation to retrieve it and secure the services of a veteran Amazon River guide named Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) and his ramshackle vessel, La Quila. Hot on their trail, however, is a deranged German dignitary, Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), who will stop at nothing to secure the tree's powers for himself and his country's cause.

The plot is familiar and relatively thin. Even as a significant twist is introduced later on, impacting the entire narrative, the story feels somewhat stale and on a flat trajectory, holding serve as a framework for essential characterization and the bigtime action delights and spectacles that define the movie well beyond the makeshift story. The film attempts to balance grounded narrative with over-the-top shenanigans, usually to effective impact, keeping the movie rolling even if it cannot help but stall here and there at 2+ hours in length. A few scenes ramble and a few others meander; the film could certainly use some tightening in the editing room, but as it is, bordering on excess for the content at hand, it proves to be an enjoyable romp that manages to balance story impact and visual effects, neither dominant but both complimentary in the movie's larger ebb and flow.

The film is certainly more superficial than it is artistically or intrinsically complex, but it doesn't need to be more than it is. It's a popcorn crowd pleaser at heart with ambitions that never stray from that reality. That focus is to be commended, and the sum total is quite the adventurously spirited escape. The production design manages great complexity and fine attention to detail -- practically and digitally -- between the ramshackle ship, the jungle and river setting, and some more complex set pieces in the final act. Performances are solid all around. Johnson is special in a role that doesn't allow him to bank fully on his physicality, instead challenging him to find a persona beyond the muscles. His stature is not often a key component in the film; it's more who he is, what he has done, and where he's headed that matters, along with his his chemistry-laden relationship with co-star Emily Blunt in what is one of the more satisfying screen combos of recent vintage. Jesse Plemons deliciously plays the part of an over the top German obsessed with harnessing great power.

Jungle Cruise 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Disney's 2160p/HDR UHD release of Jungle Cruise offers a modest upgrade over the companion and concurrently released Blu-ray, gaining a bit of sharpness and color depth to the experience. It's nothing radical but the differences do add up to a slightly improved picture overall. The picture adds some essential sharpness and clarity over the Blu-ray, which is itself quite satisfying for core structural integrity, bringing out crisper textures and more satisfying definition to the film's core visual elements, including the rickety boat, period attire, and facial features. The UHD squeezes out the last little bit of visual complexity that the Blu-ray cannot reach, making this, texturally, anyway, the superior of the two. The HDR color grading darkens the image, and by quite a bit. It holds to the bronze-ish color temperature and maintains the extreme warmth evident in the Blu-ray but this HDR grading is less about popping color dynamics and more staying faithful to the color spectrum while tuning the brightness level. The result is darker, yes, but with critically deeper blacks at night and more luxurious colors in daytime, albeit, again, within the film's by-design visual parameters. Dark scenes teeter on being too dark, but the added color density certainly helps push the image a bit ahead of the Blu-ray in light-saturated shots, scenes, and sequences. Whites are notably crisper and more lively, particularly various subtitled text. Skin tones are fine within the picture's color timing. Noise is managed a bit better on the UHD as well and there are no encode issues to report.

Jungle Cruise 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney brings Jungle Cruise to the UHD format with a rip-roaring and quite satisfying Dolby Atmos soundtrack. There is little evidence of the sonic neutering that has made Disney audio the bane of many an audiophile's existence over the past few years. The track is notably large, taking full advantage of the Atmos configuration. Better, it's not too shallow at reference volume and low end engagement and extension do not appear to be reduced or absent. While the track might not be a full-on powerhouse, it is well versed in the basics required of a big budget modern film. There are a number of examples of the track's willingness to engage the low end, a practice that has been hit or miss (mostly miss on various Disney releases over the past few years). A scene through raging waters in chapter 14 offers not only prodigious and precise surround content, it engages the low end with some superiority as well, maybe not quite so dominant as the best tracks but the output is certainly not wanting for significantly more power. Such holds true of every major action scene in the film; it's all both balanced and powerful and should leave audiences satisfied with the thrill-ride soundtrack. Ambient effects are just as crucial to the listen and again Disney's track does not disappoint. Jungle ambience comes alive with the added height channels, allowing the listeners to feel as fully enveloped into the sonically diverse world as current home audio allows. More immediately immersive sound elements are equally appealing, such as the excellent sense of submersion the track provides to a crucial underwater scene at the 91-minute mark. Musical spacing and clarity are first-rate, too, and dialogue is clear and well prioritized from its natural front-center home.

Jungle Cruise 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jungle Cruise's UHD disc contains no extras but the bundled Blu-ray houses "Expedition Mode," a handful of featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes. DVD and digital copies are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Expedition Mode: A fancy name for a pop-up trivia track.
• It's a Jungle Out There: Making Jungle Cruise (1080p, 12:58): A basic look at the theme park ride, the film's plot, characters, production details, and so on and so forth.
• Dwayne and Emily: Undoubtedly Funny (1080p, 5:10): A closer look at the film's lead characters and their chemistry both on the screen and off.
• Creating the Amazon (1080p 15:14): A more focused look at the many details and secrets behind the making of the movie: set pieces, props, special effects, and the like.
• Once a Skip, Always a Skip (1080p, 14:00): Real-life "Skippers" from the theme park ride share their stories of working on the attraction.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 15:56 total runtime): Included are MacGregor Drives the Boat, MacGregor Water Skis, Joachim and Nilo on the Dock, Frank Talks to Proxima & Lily's Nightmares, Sub Gets Stuck, Proxima Surprises MacGregor, Frank Gets the Cold Shoulder, Trader Sam and Lily Walk in the Jungle, MacGregor and Trader Sam Say Goodbye, Frank Makes Tea for Lily, and The Backside of Water.
• Outtakes (1080p, 2:25): Humorous moments from the shoot.

Jungle Cruise 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jungle Cruise satisfies as a popcorn muncher and that its ambitions never reach beyond puts it in a good place for family entertainment. It's easy on the eyes and ears, maybe a little dark in places for younger children but it's a solid enough crowd pleaser fit for most of the family. Disney's UHD delivers hearty video and audio along with a handful of extras. Recommended.