Jungle

Jungle has some narrative limitations both in terms of giving the characters depth and in depicting the brutality of survival. Because of that we don’t feel – with the exception of a few scenes – extremely vulnerable together with the characters and as viewers we are rather in “adventure mode”, which is relatively entertaining and brings forth some interesting things (the wild river, the Indian woman, fire ants), especially in the second half. For me, however, the most powerful scene remains the dividing of the party into two groups, from which one feels... Which isn’t the best calling card for a wilderness survival drama. (22.01.2020)

Forest survival has always been one of my favourite themes, and once the forest is replaced by a treacherous jungle, the film immediately becomes a more exotic and attractive spectacle, with no shortage of dangerous animals, paranoia, wandering or an unpredictable wild river (one of the most intense moments). In places the film is also decently scary or slightly disgusting. The film is decently shot, is based on true events, stars Harry Potter and has a great soundtrack so for me a very enjoyable adventure spectacle. Greg McLean, so far, has never let me down. 75% (20.10.2017)

Greg McLean has mostly delivered B-grade or C-grade fare to viewers (though The Belko Experiment was worth watching, no doubt about that), but here he tackled a subject that would have suited an A-list treatment. In the end, it remains a decent B-grade effort. Enough of the letter rating talk. The film is based on true events, and I immediately had to look up the guy and read about him. Such a will to survive is rarely seen. The film is well-made, with a superbly naturalistic performance by Radcliffe, who fully immersed himself in the role and gave it a piece of his heart. This is evident in the final result. I liked the enigmatic Thomas Kretschmann, and I was constantly unsure of his intentions. The film also includes some disgusting scenes that will turn your stomach inside out—eating an embryo is bad enough, but they added a scene with a parasite as well. But such things are common if you get lost in the Amazon jungle. There are also some tense moments, like the one on the raging river. The ending is an emotional punch to the gut, even though no one knows what happened to the two who separated. It’s a two-sided coin—two were saved, and the other two disappeared without a trace. A sad story. Otherwise, the film is well-made, and I give it 74%. (01.06.2018)

A good film, and well acted, but I kind of got the feeling that it was exactly what you expect, except that it was very gritty in places. I liked that aspect, but I felt that even though it's something that someone has lived through, the film failed to properly convey the suffering they must have experienced to the viewer, and that's too bad. (26.01.2018)