JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017)
Tagline: The game has evolved.
(Action, Adventure, Comedy) [PG-13]
Technically I am not sure if this is supposed to actually be the sequel to the original JUMANJI (1995) or if it’s the follow up to ZATHURA (2005), or it was just meant as a reboot to keep the series going, but it really doesn’t matter. We get a fully new cast and a whole new adventure.
In this one four high-school kids get sentenced to detention and fixing up an old junk room to put in a new computer lab. One of the first things they discover is an old video game and each agrees to play. The four are sucked into the video game and must complete the levels in it to return to the real world. Along the way, they are chased by an evil villain named Van Pelt who can control every animal in JUMANJI, but each is given special abilities based on the characters they choose when the game started.
The acting in this movie is pretty incredible overall, but Jack Black has to play a character who has a teenage girl named Bethany inside him and his performance by far stands out the most. Director Jake Kasdan does a great job on both sides of the game directing the younger talents as well as Dwayne Johnson (who plays the role of Spencer, or the game character Dr. Bravestone), Kevin Hart (who plays Fridge, or the game character Mouse Finbar, Karen Gillan (who plays Martha, or the game character Ruby Roundhouse) and Jack Black (who plays Bethany, or the game character Professor Sheldon). I liked all of the teens they had in this movie, but they don’t really get a ton of screen time in this. This is also another role where Shailene Woodley almost got involved but didn’t. She was originally slated to play Ruby Roundhouse, but Karen Gillan killed the role, which she also reprised in JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL.
Cinematically this movie is just mind-blowing and incredibly fun. We get everything from crazed motorcycle riders to giant man-eating hippos. For me this time around was light years better than the original movie which I liked, but to be honest, never even thought about buying. This one I wanted to buy after walking out of the theater. This isn’t a knock on Robin Williams's legacy, it’s more a note on the restrictions of the day and lack of humor I related to. There is quite a bit of CGI in this movie but it’s all done really well. There are really no slow parts in the movie. It introduces the younger cast quickly and gets into the Jumanji part of the film very early on. Pacing wise it’s almost perfect giving us some emotional moments, but not getting too overbearing.
I think the humor in this one is over the top great for the most part, but some of the scenes with Bethany discovering she’s got to go to the bathroom in Jack Black’s body is a bit out of place in the context of this movie. I don’t play a ton of video games, but I am assuming going to the bathroom in video games is almost never part of the game.
I have to give this movie a 6 out of 7. I really enjoyed it and never regret watching it given the chance. I also bought it, if that’s any indicator as to how much I liked it.
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