Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Review

As a kid, I was more partial to Jon Favreau's "Zathura" than Joe Johnston's "Jumanji," but how does this requel (mixture of a reboot and sequel) fare twenty-two years after the original?

"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is directed by Jake Kasdan and in this movie, Dwayne Johnson plays Alex Wolff, Jack Black plays Madison Iseman, Kevin Hart plays Ser'Darius Blain, and Karen Gillan plays Morgan Turner. Nick Jonas and Bobby Cannavale also star as one of the other main characters and the antagonist respectively.

Despite being branded PG-13 by the MPAA, (Motion Picture Association of America) this is a good movie for families to see. It's actually more family-freindly than the original was. There's a fair amount of crude jokes and bad language, so I definitely wouldn't take any kid under the age of six, but any kid six or older should be okay to see this movie. It's not a perfect film for the family to see, but it's more family friendly than most films that are currently in theaters like "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." Just in case you parents want to know if this film is appropriate for your kid(s), check out the Kids-In-Mind article for specific details.

"Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is probably one of the most surprising movies I saw in 2017 and also one of the best theater experiences of that year. I cannot tell you how great it was to be in a theater full of people watching this movie. The audience I was a part of, laughed more than the audience that I saw "Thor: Ragnarok" with did. Where they laughed every now and in that film, here it was almost nonstop. I was laughing almost every minute of the movie and I did not anticipate that from this movie.

Beyond being a comedy, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is surprisingly thoughtful about its video game setting. I loved all the concepts that are done with it. The director and writers did not miss out on an opportunity to explore what it would be like to be inside a video game. In a genre that's infamous for having one bad film after another, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" can join Disney's "Wreck-It-Ralph" as the only other good video game movie. That would not be possible without great characters and fortunately for this film, the four main characters are just that.

The Four Leads

For as good as the four main stars are, it is really up to the young actor to essentially bookend the performances by the adults. When compared to other teenage actors staring in films today, these four surpass the work done by those actors. Once the movie begins, you're immediately thrust into their point of view and at times, their ideology tends to be very compelling. Perhaps it is because I am at the age, but I connected to these characters one way or another, particularly Alex Wolff's Spencer and Morgan Turner's Martha.

All four of them do good work and there was never a time in this movie, where I thought that they were doing a terrible job. With most films, it takes a while to get invested into the lead(s), but in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," I got engaged into these characters almost instantly. While I enjoyed them as their video game counterparts, I would have liked more time with the teen actors, although I understand that having more time would have disjointed the pacing of the film.

In the last two to three years, when it comes to Dwayne Johnson movies, sometimes it becomes The Dwayne Johnson Show, with all the other characters taking a backseat to whatever shenanigans The Rock is going to get into. I'm happy to report that this is one of the times where that doesn't happen. Shenanigans are bliss in this hour and fifty-nine minute runtime, but what's particularly fun about his character this time, is to see the actor impersonate a self proclaimed "nerd." I mean it's not too surprising if you saw "Central Intelligence," but even as someone that saw that film, I was still caught off guard by that choice of character. Of course, there were times where The Rock is beating up goons, but there's a great deal of heart and fun to his character and I feel that is unique to a Dwayne Johnson role.

You would think that the concept of a girl stuck in a man's body would eventually get tiresome, right?Not so, as Jack Black's impersonation of a teenage girl always found a way to be funny. Of course, a concept like that isn't too far off from the actor's most wackiest role, but it still managed to be interesting and when you think about it, that idea could have been a big burden on the film. It may have been inevitable for the character, but the penis and erection jokes were not needed for the character to be funny. I am not a fan of that type of humor and while it didn't ruin the movie, that type of humor keeps a lot of people seeing a really great movie.

I feel that if you have seen one Kevin Hart performance, you have seen them all. I don't need to tell you that he's funny or that he is often the highlight of the film, because you would know that already from the actor's other work. It doesn't change in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and there was some fun to be had with that personality, but of the four main characters, I enjoyed Kevin Hart the least.

Karen Gillian was the most interesting character to watch for me. I've only seen the actress play the dark and serious Nebula in the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so watching her play a character who was the exact opposite of that was the most impressive thing in the movie. I kind of expected it from the tone of the trailers, but it was still surreal to watch her in the actual movie. The change made the character more engaging to watch and she had the funniest moments for me.

Jonas/Cannavale

Famous singer/musician Nick Jonas joins the cast and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" marks the actor's first major film. In this movie, his role is almost the same as Robin Williams's Alan Parish from the original film. He was the first to discover the upgraded Jumanji and gets stuck in the game for, you guessed it, twenty years. (He even stays in the same house that Alan Parish built while he was in the game.) Like the other four characters, he has some special skills in the game, although they aren't as impressive as Spencer's "smoldering intensity" ability.

While the character is the least original of the group, Nick Jonas still surprised me with his ability to act and entertain. I've seen him star in several Disney Channel movies and he was not very good in those smaller films. Karen Gillian wasn't the only one to surprise. The very fact that Nick Jonas was able to entertain is mind-boggling, considering that I've seen him in terrible movies. Despite that, I didn't laugh at his dry attempts at humor. I felt that Jonas's acting was lacking for his jokes too be  funny, but luckily, that wasn't the case with the rest of his performance

The funny thing about this movie is that there's no weak link in the cast. Sure, Nick Jonas isn't always good, but even Bobby Cannavale was good as the film's antagonist. At first, you would think that having him really show up at the end would be a dumb move, right? Turns out you would be wrong. Just like a true video game villain, he doesn't show up at the end. He has a few scenes weaved in through the first two acts of the film, but this villain isn't involved until the third act. Anyone that's played any of the Mario games would know that you don't face Bowser until the end of the game. I applaud the writers for making that video game application to the movie and it makes the film even more ingenious than it already is.

Since he is a video game villain, Cannavale doesn't have to be dramatic  with his personal motivation or intricate backstory. Cannavale plays an alternate version of Van Pelt, the same antagonist from the first movie. Only this time, his inclusion isn't as compelling as in that movie which is the point. It isn't really a huge flaw that this guy is underdeveloped and by-the-book, because most video game villains are like that and that makes the film better than you think.

Score

Expectedly, Henry Jackman did not disappoint the score for "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." The man responsible for composing "Wreck-It-Ralph," "X-Men: First Class," and the later two Captain America films brought some great musical themes to the world of Jumanji.

Right from the start, the composer makes you instantly feel the gravity of the adventure the protagonists go on. The incorporation of African drums was a necessity to the film and it is incorporated throughout various moments in the game. There's also a sitar or two used in some of the more otherworldly scenes of the movie.

Like the first film, the score incorporates a spirit of dread into the dangers that these characters face and it worked. I was on the edge of my seat in some situations, so kudos to the score for getting me to feel that way during the film. Even while writing this review, I listened to the score and I got pumped really quick. This is a wonderful score and one of the best to featured in a film released in 2017.

Grade: B+

If you are going to the cinemas, and have already seen "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" multiple times, I highly suggest going to see "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." In some ways, this is a better movie than that film. This would be a great movie to see in a large group. I, however, would like to point out that this is not a "must-see in theaters" type film. If you choose to skip it in its theatrical run, that's okay. When it is available to rent or buy on i-Tunes, than you should definitely give it a shot.

For those of you that choose to see this in cinemas, you do not need to see it in 3D in order to have a great time. To tell the truth, that'll make the jump-scares even more potent. So if you are someone that doesn't want that, you probably shouldn't choose 3D. If you have an adoration for the format, go ahead, but if you want my advice, save your money and choose good ol' 2D.

As far as the necessity to watch the original "Jumanji" before you see its sequel, while it would be worth a revisit, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is as standoff of a sequel as you can get. If it weren't for a few name drops and easter eggs from the original, I wouldn't even call it a sequel.

Conclusion

This is my review of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." After reading this, do you plan on seeing this movie, or are you still not sure if it is worth your time? If you have seen this movie, tell me your thoughts on the film and my review in the comments section below. Feel free to suggest a film you want me to review next and share this with your friends and/or family. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.