Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - Movie Review
A remake or a modern sequel to a classic movie is a trend that has many franchise fans react in two possible ways - cringe of regret or quivers of excitement. When I heard there was new Jumanji movie coming out, my reaction was the former. I am a huge fan of the original one from 1995, starring the great Robin Williams and when I saw the trailer of this 'sequel' for the first time, I was interested but wary. But I'm happy to say I was happy to be wrong about my hesitations for this film.
'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' remembers to keep two core elements of the original and the book that I haven't read, at its core: it's a game that kids/teens will play and will learn life lessons from through adverse and life-threatening adventures. Keeping that in mind, they have evolved Jumanji, or rather the game itself evolves to make itself attractive to the modern meaning of 'a game for kids'. Board game? Pfft. Video game! That's right, it is a video game, with an inescapable linear story line, character selection, cut scenes and fast-paced action with limited number of 'game lives'.
This time, we have four kids who get pulled into the world of Jumanji. First up, main man Spencer (Alex Wolff), a nerd with plenty of allergies and a fear of the outside world but he is brave soul underneath that frail physique. Next up we have Fridge (Ser'Darius Blaine), a big black jock who used to be Spencer's childhood friend but is now too cool for the dweeb crowd. Then there's the girls, first up is Martha (Morgan Turner) - a socially awkward nerd who sees no point in PE when one could be reading up on information, but she has a spine and will take on all challengers. The last piece of the group is Bethany (Madison Iseman), your usual Instagram-obsessed hot-white-girl who forgets that there are other people in the world and takes painfully staged selfies with the captions such as "Woke up like this".
At this point, you might be wondering that those actor names are none of the people on the billboards. Which is what I was just getting to. The four kids select their characters to play out the all-new 2018 version of Jumanji and that's where the big names 'drop in'. Spencer picked Dr. Smolder Bravestone aka Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, the strongest game character with no weaknesses which makes for an interesting change circumstance from his real physical form. That theme of role-reversal continues as Fridge picked Frank Finbar Zoology expert aka Kevin Hart after misreading his nickname 'Mouse' as 'Moose, whose weaknesses are speed, strength and cake. Bethany picked Prof. Shelly Oberon 'Curvy Explorer' who turns out to be Prof. Sheldon Oberon, aka Jack Black. The last character was the one picked by the last player to join the game. Martha picked Ruby Roundhouse 'Killer of Men' aka Karen Gillan whose special abilities include martial arts and dance fighting.
I've taken this long to tell you about the characters without giving away any key plot points in this review to fill you in on the details that make this film a very entertaining experience. Having only recently finished the entire Nathan Drake story line of 'The Uncharted' series on PS4, I was fresh on my modern adventure gameplay experience and that is what the new and evolved Jumanji offers. The difference is that if you die more than a certain number of times in Jumanji, you die for real. That and the fact that you can't quit the game. The only way to leave Jumanji is to finish the game. Simple but a good plot nonetheless. There is a lot of CGI action and large helpings of comedy and well-timed gags. Dwayne and Kevin are already a great screen pairing for action-comedy but we saw more of the Rock's acting this time, being a big guy on the outside and a tiny nerd on the inside. The support cast including the NPCs and the fifth player of the game (no spoilers to be given about the plot here) played by Nick Jonas are well written into the plot without feeling like a drag on the pace of the movie.
Yes, I also noticed that 'Welcome to the Jungle' was the name of the Dwayne Johnson movie from 2003 which had him dealing with a hostile forest environment and heavily armed bandits.
This is not necessarily a film for those looking for a nostalgia trip of the world of Jumanji shown in 1995 but it is definitely one for the modern gamers of today and introducing the new generation to an iconic movie franchise. 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' is a fun way to spend about 2 hours and having a good laugh. I'd rate this movie 8 out of 11 boomerangs.
'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' remembers to keep two core elements of the original and the book that I haven't read, at its core: it's a game that kids/teens will play and will learn life lessons from through adverse and life-threatening adventures. Keeping that in mind, they have evolved Jumanji, or rather the game itself evolves to make itself attractive to the modern meaning of 'a game for kids'. Board game? Pfft. Video game! That's right, it is a video game, with an inescapable linear story line, character selection, cut scenes and fast-paced action with limited number of 'game lives'.
This time, we have four kids who get pulled into the world of Jumanji. First up, main man Spencer (Alex Wolff), a nerd with plenty of allergies and a fear of the outside world but he is brave soul underneath that frail physique. Next up we have Fridge (Ser'Darius Blaine), a big black jock who used to be Spencer's childhood friend but is now too cool for the dweeb crowd. Then there's the girls, first up is Martha (Morgan Turner) - a socially awkward nerd who sees no point in PE when one could be reading up on information, but she has a spine and will take on all challengers. The last piece of the group is Bethany (Madison Iseman), your usual Instagram-obsessed hot-white-girl who forgets that there are other people in the world and takes painfully staged selfies with the captions such as "Woke up like this".
At this point, you might be wondering that those actor names are none of the people on the billboards. Which is what I was just getting to. The four kids select their characters to play out the all-new 2018 version of Jumanji and that's where the big names 'drop in'. Spencer picked Dr. Smolder Bravestone aka Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, the strongest game character with no weaknesses which makes for an interesting change circumstance from his real physical form. That theme of role-reversal continues as Fridge picked Frank Finbar Zoology expert aka Kevin Hart after misreading his nickname 'Mouse' as 'Moose, whose weaknesses are speed, strength and cake. Bethany picked Prof. Shelly Oberon 'Curvy Explorer' who turns out to be Prof. Sheldon Oberon, aka Jack Black. The last character was the one picked by the last player to join the game. Martha picked Ruby Roundhouse 'Killer of Men' aka Karen Gillan whose special abilities include martial arts and dance fighting.
I've taken this long to tell you about the characters without giving away any key plot points in this review to fill you in on the details that make this film a very entertaining experience. Having only recently finished the entire Nathan Drake story line of 'The Uncharted' series on PS4, I was fresh on my modern adventure gameplay experience and that is what the new and evolved Jumanji offers. The difference is that if you die more than a certain number of times in Jumanji, you die for real. That and the fact that you can't quit the game. The only way to leave Jumanji is to finish the game. Simple but a good plot nonetheless. There is a lot of CGI action and large helpings of comedy and well-timed gags. Dwayne and Kevin are already a great screen pairing for action-comedy but we saw more of the Rock's acting this time, being a big guy on the outside and a tiny nerd on the inside. The support cast including the NPCs and the fifth player of the game (no spoilers to be given about the plot here) played by Nick Jonas are well written into the plot without feeling like a drag on the pace of the movie.
Yes, I also noticed that 'Welcome to the Jungle' was the name of the Dwayne Johnson movie from 2003 which had him dealing with a hostile forest environment and heavily armed bandits.
This is not necessarily a film for those looking for a nostalgia trip of the world of Jumanji shown in 1995 but it is definitely one for the modern gamers of today and introducing the new generation to an iconic movie franchise. 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' is a fun way to spend about 2 hours and having a good laugh. I'd rate this movie 8 out of 11 boomerangs.
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