When beginning a jungle adventure movie there always seems to be a set cast of characters: the lone wolf man who doesn’t need anyone and wants the city girl to turn back, the strong independent woman there to take care of business, and the lovable oaf of a sidekick who is eventually a hero as well. After watching, re-watching, and carefully considering this movie, Jungle Cruise is no different. This film, while entertaining, was a cookie cutter example of every other jungle action movie prior.

The cast consists of Dwayne Johnson as Frank, Emily Blunt as Lily, Jesse Plemons as Prince Joachim, and Édgar Ramírez as Aguirre. The film opens with the double rejection of the proposed adventure by a group of cantankerous old men who believe Lily could never take charge of such an unladylike-like, dangerous situation. With the stereotypical stubborn woman's can't-be-stopped attitude, Lily steals a relic and ends up hanging out of a window meeting their first villain- a power hungry prince.

She escapes, finds the port where Frank is presented to be a swindling stubborn man giving people the “Jungle cruise of a lifetime”  who begrudgingly accepts the challenge of accompanying her and her brother through their journey- a pretty customary jungle movie so far.From here on the movie progresses through the general stages all jungle action movies do eventually reaching a wonderfully stale ending.

The actors do a fantastic job of creating entertaining interactions between their characters such as each time Lily accidentally punches Frank during a fight, and moving the storyline forward. Dwayne Johnson, as usual, portrays the perfect strikingly strong man who would be able to do combat with the jungle. Emily Blunt exudes strength and independence in how she manages her character. Together they do form quite the acting pair for the movie.

The special effects included within the movie surrounding fight scenes, daring stunts, and even a submarine making an appearance create a very convincing visual. Their design does embody what a jungle expedition would be like. Sadly, though the effects and actors do create a very good and convincing jungle movie, it is no match for the predictable plot line.

The ideas and interactions within the story itself are quite entertaining and do engage the audience to want to see what happens but this is combated by the predictable plot line to make the overall movie a little boring. While it may be entertaining for someone who has never seen a jungle movie before, for me Jungle Cruise was more of a Jungle snooze.