It's no secret that Disney attractions and rides transfer to the big screen really well. Just take a look at the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise. Their next action-adventure blockbuster would be Jungle Cruise and when they added Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Emily Blunt to the mix, they knew they had a hit on their hands. Having a horror and Liam Neeson action filmmaker helm this family-friendly project was also the correct way to go, which brought those older and nostalgic elements from previous Disney live-action movies and used them in this new film that is fun for the entire family.
The amount of thrills, action and even romance just blossoms from its first frame till its last and is a remarkably good time. There's a lot of heart and soul in this Disney film, something that was frankly missing from every Pirates movie. Even the comedy and jokes in Jungle Cruise stand out and mix well with its scarier elements in a great way. Let's all hope Disney makes a sequel here.
For the full theatrical review: CLICK HERE.
Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Jungle Cruise swings its way to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray thanks to Disney with a 4K+Blu-ray+Digital Code set. The discs are housed in a black, plastic case with a cardboard sleeve. The artwork features Emily, Dwayne, and his feline pet aboard the boat. There is an insert for a Movies Anywhere digital code and another insert of Disney promos.
Jungle Cruise comes with a fantastic 2160p 4K UHD transfer with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 that is an upgrade from its 1080p Blu-ray counterpart. This is a great-looking live-action Disney action-adventure film that covers the entire color spectrum.
The color palette boasts a ton of different greens in the trees along the river along with their brown branches and dirt banks that back up to the water. The sandy locales along with the forest-like landscapes look beautiful and are rich with natural earthy tones. The costumes, especially that of the villain pops right off-screen with more primary colors of red and purple. A lot of the wardrobe consists of whites and variations of brown, but Dwayne's red neck scarf always looks excellent in all different types of lighting. The blue skies above are amazing as well that coincide with the amber filters down below that give the film its unique rustic appeal. The black levels at night time and in dark tunnels look exquisite and inky and the skin tones are rather natural if not a tiny bit on the amber side.
HDR10 enhances those detailed colors in the darker sequences, revealing more greens, browns, and reds at all times. This 4K image is a bit darker than the Blu-ray version but also gives way to better natural-looking colors that don't shine brightly as they would in 1080p. This 4K presentation is definitely the better option for viewing. The detail is sharp and vivid as well, revealing closeups that show individual hairs and stubble on the actor's faces, makeup effects, wrinkles, facial pores, and more. The textures in the wardrobe have great stitching and material that can be seen easily and even wider shots of the boat and forest showcase their natural splinters and textures of nature. Even Dwayne's feline pet looks incredible in all modes of lighting with its CGI appearance, never looking soft. There were also no instances of banding, aliasing, or video noise on this 4K image.
This release delivers an astonishing Dolby Atmos track that sounds better than most previous Disney audio options on recent titles. Usually with Disney releases, one would have to adjust the volume up a few points for normal listening quality, but that's not the case here. Sound effects are robust and loud at all times and provide some excellent directionality. One of the first scenes inside a library of books and artifacts provides some wonderful noises that zip and zoom across the entire speaker system with ease. This transitions into a bigger sound palette of explosions, gunshots, and more that provide more than enough bass on the low end of things. There's a great rumble to these larger moments that is completely satisfying.
The underwater submersion sequence has all the necessary acoustics and sound effects that create total underwater immersion. The boat chases and big attacks on the village are ripe with sounds that come from everywhere that never have an overbearing sound to them. The height speakers deliver with rain, thunder, and other natural elements from above on a consistent basis. The dialogue is clean, clear, and easy to follow along with in addition to all the action. This is atop notch audio option here.
There are about 66 minutes of bonus features included in this set, most of which is EPK fluff, but since it's Emily and Dwayne - it's a ton of fun to watch. There is also a cinematic mode where a text trivia track pops up and plays during the film.
Jungle Cruise is a ton of fun. Full Stop. This movie brings back that nostalgic adventure sense that older Disney movies once had and with The Rock no less. It's action, romance, and comedy are all what. makes Disney great and fun for the whole family. What a wonderful movie. This 4K image is stunning and the Dolby Atmos track is excellent. the extras are fun as well if they're mostly fluff pieces. Highly Recommended!
