3 movies open July 30 at Seattle-area theaters; here’s what soars — and sinks

★★★½ (out of four) “The Green Knight” (R; 125 minutes): Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s impetuous nephew and one of the Knights of the Round Table, makes a risky bargain with the Green Knight, a hulking forest creature, in this movie that’s more ruminative than exuberant. It’s also fully invested in making its own kind of magic, on its own time. And the casting’s splendid. Largely nonverbal and reactive to events, Patel serves the film valiantly. Full review here. Multiple theaters. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

★★ “Stillwater” (R; 138 minutes): The acting throughout is first-rate, led by Matt Damon as an American who travels to the French port city of Marseille on a quest to free his daughter (Abigail Breslin) from prison. The drama, which writer-director Tom McCarthy acknowledges is patterned after the case of Amanda Knox, aims for profundity but, by the end, dives into absurdity. Full review here. Multiple theaters. — Soren Andersen, Special to The Seattle Times

“Jungle Cruise” (PG-13; 127 minutes): This action adventure — inspired by the Disney theme park ride — stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt as a riverboat captain and a botanist who go in search of a legendary flower. Their chemistry powers this waterlogged star vehicle through its busy, semicoherent action sequences and squalls of narrative incident. It’s less an expedition than a simulation, a dispatch from a wild yet oddly pristine world where seeing is never close to believing. Full review here. (No star rating provided.) Multiple theaters and on Disney+ for a Premier Access fee. — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times