Joachim's U-boat is a submarine that appears in the 2021 American fantasy adventure film Jungle Cruise, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and based on Walt Disney's eponymous theme park attraction. The U-boat is commanded by Prince Joachim of Prussia (Jesse Plemons), the main antagonist of the film, who pursues the protagonists Frank Wolff (Dwayne Johnson), Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt), and McGregor Houghton (Jack Whitehall) in their quest to find the Tree of Life in the Amazon rainforest during World War I.
Background[]
The U-boat is a German unterseeboot (undersea boat) of an unspecified model, presumably a Type U 31 or a Type U 43, which were both used by the Imperial German Navy during World War I. The U-boat has a dark gray hull with a red stripe and a black conning tower with a white cross. It is armed with two machine guns mounted on the port hole on the submarine's dorsal, as well as torpedoes and mines. The U-boat also has a periscope, a radio, and a sonar system.
The interior of the U-boat is decorated with various items that reflect Prince Joachim's personality and interests, such as paintings, books, maps, flags, medals, and a gramophone. The U-boat has a spacious cabin for Prince Joachim, as well as a smaller cabin for his loyal assistant Axel (Philipp Maximilian). The rest of the crew consists of several unnamed German sailors.
Role in the film[]
The U-boat first appears in Porto Velho, Brazil, where Prince Joachim arrives to meet with Trader Sam (Veronica Falcón), a leader of a local tribe who knows the location of the Tree of Life. Prince Joachim offers her money and weapons in exchange for her cooperation, but she refuses and warns him that the jungle will not let him find the Tree. Prince Joachim then reveals his true motive: he wants to use the healing powers of the Tree to help Germany win the war and make his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II proud of him. He also reveals that he has been tracking Lily Houghton, a British scientist who has stolen an ancient arrowhead that serves as a key to the Tree. He orders his men to capture Lily and her brother MacGregor, who have hired Frank Wolff, a riverboat captain, to take them to the Tree.
The U-boat follows Frank's boat, La Quila, into the Amazon River, where it encounters various obstacles and dangers, such as rapids, waterfalls, rocks, and hostile natives. Prince Joachim uses his machine guns, torpedoes, and mines to attack Frank's boat, but Frank manages to evade or counter his assaults with his wit and skill. Along the way, Prince Joachim also encounters Lope de Aguirre (Édgar RamÃrez), a cursed Spanish conquistador who has been searching for the Tree for centuries. Aguirre offers to ally with Prince Joachim against Frank and Lily, but Prince Joachim declines and insults him.
The U-boat eventually reaches the location of the Tree of Life, which is hidden inside a cave that can only be accessed during a lunar eclipse. Prince Joachim arrives before Frank and Lily and uses explosives to blast his way into the cave. He then used his radio to contact Kaiser Wilhelm II and inform him of his success. However, he is confronted by Frank, who reveals himself to be another cursed conquistador who was once Aguirre's friend. Frank fights with Prince Joachim while Lily tries to reach the Tree before the eclipse ends. Prince Joachim gains the upper hand and shoots Frank several times, but Frank survives due to his immortality. Frank then pushes Prince Joachim into a pit of snakes, where he presumably dies.
The fate of the U-boat and its crew is unknown after Prince Joachim's death. It is possible that they escaped or were captured by Trader Sam's tribe or Aguirre's men.
