Disney’s movie version of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride made big money, so they’re going for gold with this classic attraction. Dwayne Johnson plays the wise cracking captain who’s hired by an intrepid researcher (Emily Blunt) to seek a magical tree with special healing powers deep in the Amazon. The supernatural forces and human heavies they encounter provide action beats. Unfortunately, (like so many current films) the staging and editing are so jumbled that much of it is a blur. Still, the pace never lags and there are sufficient scrapes to keep it rolling. Of course, the “opposites attract” chemistry between the leads is OK with Johnson landing numerous corny jokes and Blunt looking resplendent (even after going thru much grubby activity). To add comic fun is Jack Whitehall, as her prissy brother (not a stretch for the actor) and kudus to Disney for letting him be semi-subtly gay. Overall, this is about as much fun as the ride, only 2 hours longer, so families should find sufficient entertainment. Even so, this isn’t as big a score as the Pirates series.
(3 / 5)