Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Jungle Cruise 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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jungle Cruise sails onto Blu-ray with a well-rounded 1080p transfer, albeit on that lacks the traditional "eye candy" characteristics if only because of the film's inherent visual design. Colors are predominantly earthy, with beiges and browns dominating the palette. Even natural greens and splashes of color in a market at the 16-minute mark, for example, push decidedly golden/amber/bronze. There's not a shot, scene, or sequence that escapes this dominant color timing exercise. It adds a vintage charm to the picture but at the expense of more expressive color punch and vitality. Skin tones are obviously greatly influenced by this. Black levels hold adequately deep. The picture is pleasantly sharp, capturing the fine details on the worn and weathered La Quila with tangible clarity and tactile definition, allowing viewers to appreciate the old controls and the battered wooden deck and siding for all of their production design magic. The picture is not as precisely razor sharp as some; there's sometimes a very mild murkiness in play, particularly in some hazy locales exacerbated by the warm color spectrum, that disallows viewers from seeing the absolute finest clarity on facial pores and hairs and even some costumes. Still, the picture looks very good overall, satisfactorily crisp and well defined as it is. Lower light shots reveal some noise but there are no other source or encode distractions of note. The Blu-ray looks very good within the picture's intended visual characteristics.

Jungle Cruise Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney brings Jungle Cruise to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack (the companion and concurrently released UHD features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack). The track is actually not half bad. The opening sequence brings with it some honest depth to cracking thunder and crashing waves, and even the music finds some engaging LFE usage. Still, one can sense a hint of flatness during some of the more prominent action scenes, including one involving a torpedo around the 36-minute mark. Overall, however, it fares better than any number of Blu-ray releases of recent vintage from Disney. The track is lively and vigorous in terms of surround extension as well, making full use of every speaker at its disposal to create a fully engaged sound field that sees everything from light jungle ambience to swooshing darts and machine gun bullets zipping around the stage. The track is well engineered and always engaging and immersive. Musical space is terrific. It's dominant along the front but folds in balanced surround activity for a total package listen. Clarity to all elements is excellent and there's no need to crank the volume far beyond reference, if at all. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.

Jungle Cruise Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jungle Cruise contains "Expedition Mode," a handful of featurettes, deleted scenes, and outtakes. DVD and digital copies are included with purchase.

• 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 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 Blu-ray delivers hearty video and audio along with a handful of extras. Recommended.