Starting with a flashback of 1556, we see Don Aguirre (Édgar Ramírez), a Spanish conquistador with this troop trying to reach to the Lágrimas de Cristal tree. A petal of this tree is believed to cure all the diseases and lift every curse, hence is wanted by Aguirre to save his ill daughter. Things don’t go well and they get trapped as a curse that never allows them to leave the sight of the Amazon river.

Cut to 450 years later, we see Dr. Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt) escaping with a recently acquired artefact, which could back her years of research to prove Lágrimas de Cristal’s petals could be life-saving. She takes help from a mountain of bad jokes in a cruise ride skipper/adventurer Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson). In a ‘you see it from miles’ twist, he also is looking for the same tree paving the way for Lily to the end because how else would they fall in love?

Jaume Collet-Serra surprises with his polished attempt at such a visually majestic topic, after all, he’s known for scaring people off with his horror films. He gets back his chilly touch of designing panic around the plot in the second half of the film. He even lets his leads breathe in the air of love for some time by including a cute moment of Frank capturing Lily on her vintage camera. But, the story just restricts him to make this more than an ordinary jungle treasure hunt movie.

Notably, however, even though the stars' costumes (and a waterfall sequence) evoke the classic "The African Queen"—John Huston's comic romance/action film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn; worth looking up if you've never watched it—the sexual chemistry between the two is nonexistent, save for a few fleeting moments, like when Frank picks up the heroine‘s hand-cranked silent film camera and captures affectionate images of her.

At times the leads seem more like a brother and sister needling each other than a will they/won’t they bantering couple. Lack of sexual heat is often (strangely) a bug, or perhaps a feature, in films starring Johnson, the four-quadrant blockbuster king (though not on Johnson’s HBO drama "Ballers"). Blunt keeps putting out more than enough flinty looks of interest to sell a romance, but her leading man rarely reflects it back at her. Fortunately, the film's tight construction and prolific action scenes carry it, and Blunt and Johnson do the irresistible force/immovable object dynamic well enough, swapping energies as the story demands.

Jungle Cruise is a 2021 American fantasy adventure film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay written by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, and Michael Green. It is based on Walt Disney's eponymous theme park attraction. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Édgar Ramírez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti. It tells the alternate history of the captain of a small riverboat who takes a scientist and her brother through a jungle in search of the Tree of Life while competing against a German expedition and undead conquistadors. The film grossed $220 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the entertainment values but criticized the screenplay. A sequel is in development, with Johnson and Blunt set to reprise their roles. 

In 1556, Don Aguirre leads Spanish conquistadors to South America to search for the Lágrimas de Cristal[b] Tree, whose flowers cure illness, heal injuries, and lift curses. After many conquistadors die, the Puka Michuna tribe heals the sickened survivors with the Tree's flowers. When the tribal chief refuses to reveal the Tree's location, Aguirre stabs him and burns the village. The dying chief curses the conquistadors, making them immortal and unable to leave sight of the Amazon River without being dragged back by the jungle itself.

In 1916 London, Dr. Lily Houghton's Tears of the Moon research is presented by her brother, MacGregor, to the Royal Society. The Houghtons, hoping to revolutionize both medicine and the British War Effort, request access to a recently acquired arrowhead artifact, but the request is denied as the Tree is considered myth, and female scientists are disfavored. Though Lily steals it, believing the arrowhead and her old Amazon map are the key to finding the Tree, and narrowly evading Prince Joachim, who is equally intent on finding the Tree for Germany.

Arriving in Brazil, Lily and MacGregor search for a guide to navigate the Amazon River. They hire skipper Frank Wolff, who offers jungle cruises embellished with faked theatrical dangers and corny puns. He initially declines, citing the dangers of the river and jungle, but reconsiders upon seeing the arrowhead. Frank steals back his repossessed boat engine from his rival, Mr. Nilo, and the trio narrowly misses being hit by a torpedo launched at them by a trailing Joachim but luckily, his U-boat's propeller gets snagged by a loose wire which gives them enough time to escape.

In Frank's cabin, Lily finds photos and sketches of modern inventions, as well as research on the Tears of the Moon. She accuses him of seeking the Tree, but he insists he gave up long ago. They are captured by the Puka Michuna tribe, disguised as cannibals, but the tribe reveals they were hired by Frank and quickly releases them. Angered, Lily begins to doubt Frank. The tribal chief translates the symbols on the arrowhead, revealing the Tree's location and that it only blooms under a blood moon.

Meanwhile, Joachim locates the conquistadors, petrified inside a cave. He makes them agree to find the arrowhead for him in exchange for flowers. He diverts the river to free them and they are reanimated, though fused with elements of jungle plants and animals. They track down and attack the tribe where Frank is stabbed through the heart. Lily flees with the artifact, but vines pull the Spaniards away when they unknowingly loses sight of the river while pursuing her.

To the Houghton's amazement, Frank reappears alive. He reveals he is one of the cursed conquistadors, who wanted to help find the Tears to save Aguierre's paralyzed daughter. However, he sided with the tribe against Aguirre's rampage. After years of fighting, he trapped his vengeful comrades away from the river's view, petrifying them. Failing to find the tree after three centuries, Frank became a tour guide; while the artifact was later kept in a London museum.

Leaving MacGregor behind, Lily and Frank continue to La Luna Rota[c] Waterfall and uncover a submerged temple. Meanwhile, Joachim captures MacGregor and forces him to reveal Lily's location. Frank, the Houghtons, the Germans, and the Conquistadors all converge at the tree.

Discovering the arrowhead is a locket with a red gem inside, Lily places the two pieces into carvings in the bark, and the tree briefly blooms under the blood moon. As a fight ensues, Lily recovers one flower. The German soldiers drown, Joachim is crushed by falling rock, and Frank crashes his boat to block the river, petrifying himself and the rest of the Spaniards to save Lily. Realizing her true feelings for Frank, Lily sacrifices the flower to lift Frank's curse and restore his mortality, and he decides to leave the Amazon to be with her. The moon's last beam blooms a single flower, which Lily takes for research.

Upon their successful return to Britain, Lily becomes a full professor at the University of Cambridge, and rejects an invitation of membership from the Royal Society. She and Frank then explore London together.