Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
An eccentric scientist in the Amazon jungle rejects his research assistant for being a woman, but as bulldozers threaten their work on a potential cancer cure, they learn to collaborate and begin to fall in love.
Medicine Man is carried largely by its lush Amazon rainforest cinematography, which is genuinely striking and gives the film much of its visual identity. Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco deliver serviceable performances with some charm, though the opposites-attract dynamic feels formulaic. The plot is a fairly predictable blend of romantic comedy beats and adventure-thriller urgency, with the cancer-cure MacGuffin never fully convincing and the resolution feeling rushed and unsatisfying. The film treads well-worn ground in both its romance and its 'race against corporate destruction' narrative, offering little that feels distinctive or surprising.