Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle does present itself as a standalone sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams adventure and normally a long gap in between sequels generally results in the case of too little, too late. However, fortunately, in this case, this follow-up doesn’t quite hit game over status.
The movie opens 20 years after the events of the original with the game itself metamorphosing from a board game into a video game. Four high school teens which consist of a brain, an athlete, a princess, and a bookworm are forced to spend detention together cleaning out an old computer room. Yes, this does sound like The Breakfast Club only with a magical twist.
Once inside cleaning, they stumble upon an old video game called Jumanji and what a shock! They end up playing and get sucked inside its jungle landscapes complete with a series of changes to their bodies: The brain is now Dwayne Johnson, the athlete is now Kevin Hart, the bookworm is now Karen Gillian, and the princess is now Jack Black. Yes, the game introduces the concept of inter-gender role-play and for the most part, Black’s performance is one of the driving forces that keep this sequel from falling apart. I’m not about to go into what happens when Black’s character discovers the awesomeness of being able to go to the bathroom as a guy.
While in Jumanji, the four of them embark on a dangerous quest to restore a jewel back to a giant statue in order to get home. Of course, a video game movie wouldn’t be one without a nasty villain on their trail and this movie give us Russel Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale), a nice nod to the original movie for fans to surely get.
Joining them on their journey is another guy who also got lost in the game (Nick Jonas) who has acquired expertise and skills that will help the foursome out. Just wait and see what he does with a helicopter.
Johnson, Hart, and Black display terrific chemistry in this movie which combines funny dialogue, clever and inventive set pieces and manages to keep the charm and spirit of its original source material.
Having said that, I can’t say that it won’t replace the nostalgia factor some may have for the original film and it may dissolve from your memory bank once leaving the theater but there are worst ways to spend a December afternoon I guess.
Grade: B+
(Rated PG-13 for adventure violence, suggestive content, and some language.)
