Jumanji The Next Level: Review by @Kush_Hayes
I was at that age, when the original Jumanji with Robin Williams came out, that I was over the idea of any family adventure films. So when they said they were making a new Jumanji 20 years later, it made sense to me, but the same attitude was there, that I dont need to be apart of that. And when it debuted it was up against the juggernaut that was Star Wars Episode 8. And as expected that edition of Star Wars dominated the box office for its first two weeks. And then something happened where everyone who wanted to see Star Wars, had seen it.
And then word of mouth started spreading, the new adventure comedy with Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Kevin Hart was really good. It got to the point where my own broadcast partner informed me that its pretty great even. This is the time where Moviepass is a thing, so gambling on time spent was very simple and to my delight would discover that Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle was fantastic. And thanks to all that word of mouth a rarity of a movie opening at number 2 or even 3 managed to claw its way up the ladder and claim a number one slot for three weeks into its five week run. It was only natural they would make another sequel and everyone couldnt be more excited to see the gang of Kevin Hart, The Rock, Jack Black and Karen Gillian.
Going into what is either Jumanji 2 or Jumanji 3, no one really knows, about a years has passed since the events of the previous movie. The gang has all moved on to college but remained as close as they could… with the exception of Spencer who has just hasnt recovered from, well, himself. In the game of Jumanji he was three times the man he is, strong as a bull and just full of confidence whereas in the real world, he is still insecure and cant help but get in his own way. The gang is reuniting for the holidays, but the experience of the game is still eating away at Spencer. When he comes home, he finds out his Grandfather Eddie, played by Danny Devito, is staying in his room, recovering from hip surgery. Theyre both pretty miserable. And Spencer seems to have found the old cursed video game console that started everything, going back into the game.
Wondering why Spencer hasnt replied to any texts or phone calls, Fridge, Martha and Bethany all go to Spencers moms house and discover that he has gone into the game. And go back in to save him. Unfortunately the game, still broken, not only takes just Fridge and Martha, but Grandpa Eddie and his friend Milo, played by Danny Glover. This leaves Bethany more confused than ever and she runs off to find Collin Hanks who had been a prisoner of the game for 20 years prior to the last movie.
Meanwhile in the game, with the exception of Martha, no one is in their correct avatar and the mystery of Spencers location continues into the second act. Fridge is now in Jack Blacks body, Grandpa Eddy is in The Rock, and Milo is being portrayed by Kevin Hart. Seeing The Rock and Kevin Hart do their respective Danny Devito and Danny Glover impressions are really fun, and incredibly well done showing the range these two have developed over the last ten years. In every film, including the last Jumanji, The Rock and Kevin Hart have only been caricatures of themselves. We’ll get some body swaps, and those are funny for a minute, but I wish we stuck to the scenario everyone is in, or since this movie is still more of the same from the last, just do more of the same.
We also get to meet Awkwafinas in dual roles, where her performances arent better than what she exhibited in This summers Oscar hopeful The Farewell, but still worlds better than what she delivered in last years Crazy Rich Asians and Oceans 8.
In the last Jumanji the big baddie was played by Bobby Cannavale who, through no fault of his own, was just there, this time its Game of Thrones Rory McCann, better known as The Hound to fans of the HBO series, and through no fault of his own, is again, just there.
My biggest complaint was the story resets itself after laying so much ground work to have The Rock and Kevin Hart focus their talents in a new direction. However our prime foursome, continue to have great chemistry, and while this edition didnt break any new ground, I think fans of the last movie will enjoy this, kids should definitely enjoy this, and theres always room for another edition in the near future, which should be just as enjoyable and based on how this ends even have real stakes, with real consequences.
Three out of Six Blueberries.
Rated PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language
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