I know what you’re thinking.
Another movie based on a silly Disneyland ride?
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| Our heroes — counterclockwise, from top, Frank (Dwayne Johnson), Lily (Emily Blunt) and MacGregor (Jack Whitehall) — cannot believe what has just popped out of the water, in pursuit of their tiny boat. |
Yeah, well … scoff if you like, but this one is quite entertaining.
Granted, it borrows heavily from Pirates of the Caribbean, Raiders of the Lost Ark and 1999’s The Mummy; and granted, the third act gets needlessly chaotic; and granted, the film runs about 15 minutes too long. (Don’t they all, these days?)
No question: This is something of a kitchen sink endeavor, thanks to five credited screenwriters (and likely several more, behind the scenes).
But however familiar the wrapping, the contents make the package. And there’s no denying the combined charm of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, seasoned with the droll comic relief of Jack Whitehall. As ye olde peril-laden treasure hunts go, this one’s a corker.
The year is 1916, at the height of World War I. British researcher Lily Houghton (Blunt) and her brother MacGregor (Whitehall) are introduced while trying to persuade a roomful of stuffy academics to back an expedition to the Amazon jungle. She hopes to uncover the mystery behind an ancient tribal artifact, which is supposed to point the way to something reputed to have miraculous restorative powers.
The stuffy academics decline, of course. MacGregor looks and sounds like an aristocratic twit; as for Lily, she’s a woman, for goodness’ sake. Who’d pay attention to anything she believes?
Well, the stuffy academics should have clocked the fact that this quest also is of great interest to the Teutonic Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons), whose malevolent bearing screams “sinister” so blatantly, that he may as well have the word tattooed on his forehead.
Indeed, it doesn’t take long for Joachim to reveal his stripes.
Elsewhere, we meet charismatic Frank Wolff (Johnson), head of the Jungle Navigation Company — just himself, of course — and skipper of the dilapidated La Quila. He leads unwitting visitors to this scruffy Brazilian harbor community on sightseeing cruises along the Amazon, which are low on substance but high on humor (so he insists).
His “typical tour,” which we experience with his newest load of passengers, is this film’s direct nod to the eponymous Disneyland attraction. The homage is hilarious: same cheesy “special effects,” same awful jokes, same wincing puns, the latter delivered with a relentless lack of shame by Johnson.
Naturally, the resolute Lily winds up in the same tiny neck of the Amazon, her brother having followed reluctantly (his notion of adventure extending no further than cocktails on a seaside Blackpool pier). She seeks an experienced boat captain for their certain-to-be-perilous journey, but — of course — ultimately settles for Frank.
By this point, Lily has established herself as resourceful and impressively athletic, during a couple of cleverly choreographed action sequences. She isn’t exactly a warrior, given her tendency to charge recklessly into situations and then flail her way out, but her feisty pluck is welcome.
Frequently being rescued is a handicap left to MacGregor.
As is customary with such pairings, Frank and Lily can’t stand each other at first blush; he finds her rash and condescending, while she’s impervious to his genial charm. Or so she claims; Blunt and Johnson have a lot of fun with their flirty banter, and Whitehall’s foppish helplessness is equally entertaining. All three characters are well-sculpted, and clearly shaped to the actors’ strengths. What’s not to enjoy?
Things don’t remain frivolous for long: not with Prince Joachim hot on their heels, as Frank navigates their way up the twisty Amazon. These being enlightened times, we can safely assume that the story’s menace will be limited to Joachim and various dangerous animals; if indigenous tribes are to be encountered, they certainly won’t be one-dimensional villains.
Ah, but Joachim soon uncorks an even nastier evil, thanks to cursed characters who’ve clearly sloshed in from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (and, as a result, feel rather superfluous here).
Speaking of superfluous, Paul Giamatti pops up as gold-toothed Nilo, a local entrepreneur determined to put Frank out of business with his fleet of state-of-the-art boats. We assume, from Nilo’s prominent role during the first act, that he’ll play a similarly significant part in what follows … but no. After some chest-thumping and a mild skirmish, Nilo gets written out of the story. Which seems a waste, given the brio with which Giamatti plays the scoundrel.
Subsequent events range from silly to reasonably scary, with Plemons — who makes a terrific villain — ensuring we never forget that genuine peril is involved. (The PG-13 rating is well deserved.)
Stunt/fight coordinator Allan Poppleton inventively choreographs the assorted melees and action sequences; director Jaume Collet-Serra and editor Joel Negron maintain a crisp pace … until the lengthy third act, when things sag a bit (a frequent failing, in such films).
James Newton Howard’s score lends plenty of John Williams-style symphonic pizzazz to the onscreen action: actual music, instead of droning synth, and so refreshing.
Sure, this adventure is nothing more than frothy escapism, but that’s what we expect from summer blockbusters. This one delivers plenty of entertainment.
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