Jungle Cruise Parent Guide

It’s the middle of World War I and young botanist Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) is convinced that she can find a way to prevent much of the suffering and death that is ravaging the world. Her late father taught her the legend of the Tears of the Moon, a tree whose flowers have healing powers. If Lily can find the tree, its petals could save countless lives and possibly turn the tide of human history.

Obviously, a prize this great is not easily won. To guide her quest, Lily first steals an ancient artifact covered in mysterious markings that hold the key to finding the tree. With her brother (Macgregor played by Jack Whitehall) in tow, she then sails to Brazil and negotiates with ship’s captain, Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson) to take them upriver in his deceptively decrepit vessel. But the trip is perilous because cursed conquistadores haunt the Amazon’s shores, Frank has his own secrets, and an obsessed German prince (Jesse Plemons) is tracking them in his submarine…

There’s really only one question that matters when it comes to movies like this: “How does it stack up against the Indiana Jones films?” Harrison Ford’s intrepid archaeologist stands atop the light-hearted action thriller genre and while many movies have tried, few have succeeded in grabbing the same hold on pop culture. As for Jungle Cruise, it comes pretty close. Lily and Frank share Indy’s determination, nonchalance, and ability to crack jokes when danger threatens. (Frank also dishes out some truly terrible puns, but the less said the better.) The film is visually arresting and the action scenes offer high octane excitement, made all the better by the charm of the cast. The plot, however, is more Kingdom of the Crystal Skull than Raiders of the Lost Ark. The beginning of the film is all pulse-pounding excitement but as it delves into Frank’s backstory, it becomes increasingly ludicrous – although it can’t top the total insanity of the aliens’ skulls in Indy’s final film.

Given the genre, it’s no surprise that the movie’s biggest issue is violence. Non-stop, bone-crunching violence. There are countless fistfights and scenes where people are shot at with firearms and are stabbed with swords or knives. Since this is the Amazon, poison darts also make an appearance. But the worst for me are the snakes. Having giant serpents slithering through the jungle is bad enough, but it’s much, much worse when snakes erupt through the skin of one of the conquistadores. This film is filled with jump scares, moments of fantastical violence, and frequent scenes of extreme peril. Not frightening but still disturbing to some viewers, will be the movie’s stereotypical portrayal of the indigenous people in the film. The depictions are often favorable, but they hew to the “noble savage” trope, which is an improvement over more negative stereotypes, but still pigeonholes indigenous characters.

Negatives aside, Jungle Cruise provides teens and adults with an entertaining ride which manages to deliver some positive messages about loyalty and courage and having a meaningful life. Sexual content is minor, despite one scene where the dialogue operates on two levels, one of which has sexual overtones. In addition, MacGregor explains his loyalty to his sister as a reciprocal response to her own steadfast support of him as he faced the challenges of being gay in that era. Homosexuality is never mentioned but the point is clear. Whether or not you consider this scene a plus depends on your own sexual ethics.

For Disney, Jungle Cruise is a thrill-ride of a film that will fill its coffers and keep viewers thinking of the titular theme park ride, which is now being refurbished to remove the egregious racism. Given the mutually beneficial relationship between the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the films it spawned, I predict the same kind of relationship here. Be prepared for plenty of sequels. They’re even harder to kill than cursed conquistadores.