Review of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (mild spoilers)

* * * B

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is the first direct sequel to the classic 90’s film Jumanji. An earlier adaptation of Zuthura, a young adult novel by the same author who wrote the original, 

Chris Van Allsburg, was unspectacular. I went in to Welcome to the Jungle with low expectations, having seen the premise (Jumanji has morphed into a video game, and the players are sucked in to the world as the game avatars they’ve chosen). I was pleasantly surprised.

Nerd Spencer (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and his former best friend turned jock Fridge (Kevin Hart) are sent to detention for cheating. They are joined by vain Bethany (Jack “Dewey” Black) and outcast Martha (Karen Gillan). Fortunately, this Breakfast Club sequel is interrupted by Spencer’s discovery of an old video game console in the donation box of the storage room they’re supposed to be cleaning out. The four choose their avatars, and in they go.

The story is fun. The second act, where the kids get used to being in their avatars bodies, having their skills, strengths, and weaknesses, and understanding the rules of the game, is funny. There is a Jumanji like twist, which I won’t spoil, then an over the top third act where the players must beat the final boss, which works well. In the denouement, we get to see the impact of their adventure on the players.

If you liked the original Jumanji–who didn’t?–I highly recommend this film. It’s quite different from the original, but still a worthy successor.

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