Jungle Cruise (2021)

Jungle Cruise is a rollicking adventure full of humor and heart anchored by Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's winning heroes.

While those parents who grew up with Indy and Romancing the Stone might have seen a lot of this stuff before, it’s right in the wheelhouse for movie-loving youngsters not quite ready to watch Nazis’ faces melt in "Raiders." For those kiddos, Johnson’s big lug and Blunt’s eager explorer offer an enjoyable welcome to the “Jungle.”

It is a fine adventure with two genuine movie stars that may very well become a rewatchable staple like the films it references. But on first watch, it mostly comes across as an earnest and safe homage.

An action vehicle that, in trying to do it all, does a little too much; Johnson and Blunt keep it afloat.

Absent cleverness, Collet-Serra offers some comfort for weary eyes, like the flashes of silent black-and-white footage of the stars shot with Lily’s newfangled movie camera. At the risk of sounding like a critic from a way-old demographic, Jungle Cruise works best when it leans in this more old-fashioned direction.