It was a welcome return of RealD 3D in the cinema the other day and the addition of 4DX for a ride on a Jungle Cruise with Disney’s latest movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Much like Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise is based on the popular Disney Parks ride as we are taken on a journey through the Amazon on the riverboat with a wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Johnson), intrepid researcher Dr Lily Houghton (Blunt) and her brother played by Jack Whitehall.
After a couple of sequences in London at the start of the film that reminded me of Indiana Jones and On Stranger Tides we are whisked away to the Amazon as Lily hires Wolff to take them on a quest to uncover an ancient tree that has healing abilities (much like the fountain of youth) in a hope of changing the future of medicine.
On their quest, they are confronted by the dangers of the jungle along with supernatural forces that reminded me so much of the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Jungle Cruise is certainly lots of fun, but it does go on and I found myself towards the last 20 minutes or so getting a little bored of the adventure, it is a fun film to watch for the most part, but some of the jokes and action sequences just seem to drag along for the rather simplistic storyline.
The film works well to bring the Disney ride to life on the big screen and I have to say that if I hadn’t seen the movie in 4DX 3D then I don’t think the excitement value would have been the same, the RealD 3D works brilliantly in Jungle Cruise not only giving the film some great looking depth but also some scenes that come right out at you.
There is a 3D scene with a snake that slowly moves from side to side before lurching forward towards the camera and I have to say it’s one of the best 3D scenes I’ve seen for a while, you really feel that the snake is coming out of the screen at you, there were several people in the audience that lept back when it happened.
As for the 4DX that is used brilliantly throughout the film with most of the effects being the water, which there is loads of as you travel along the Amazon river with the rapids, rain and more all splashing down on us, we get the wind effects, smoke for the explosions and fire, along with lightening flashing and we also get smells thrown in for good effects, such as the smell of engine oil and the smell of the fires burning. I have to say that the 4DX in Jungle Cruise is some of the best usages of the system I’ve felt in a long time.
Jungle Cruise may not be one of the best movies out there at the moment, but is certainly a lot of fun with the 3D and 4DX, but as I mentioned earlier I don’t think the movie would have been as much fun without the extra effects, the movie seems to pull in from so much that we have seen done before with those hints of Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure.
Jaume Collet-Serra directs the film, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramírez and Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. John Davis, John Fox, Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia, Dany Garcia and Beau Flynn are the producers, with Scott Sheldon and Doug Merrifield serving as executive producers. The story is by John Norville & Josh Goldstein and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, and the screenplay is by Michael Green and Glenn Ficarra & John Requa.
Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” is out now in cinemas and on Disney+ with Premier Access.
Jungle Cruise eyepopping 3D and 4DX
Movie title: Jungle Cruise (2021)
Movie description: Based on Disneyland's theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element.
Date published: July 30, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 2h 7min
Director(s): Jaume Collet-Serra
Actor(s): Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
