Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

How good is the latest Jumanji movie which comes more than two decades after the initial installment with a brand new star cast headed by a very much in-form Dwayne Johnson? Is this is a true-blue Jumanji sequel or is this an official reboot? Is this movie anywhere close to the first one in terms of thrills and chills? I guess we have enough questions to answer now so let's not wait any further and get started off with our movie review for Jumanji 2 (Welcome to the Jungle).

Plot: It's 1996 and Jumanji (the evil board game which siphons people in) finds itself buried in the sands of a beach having been thrown into a river at end of the first movie. The strange drum beats emanating from the game attract a passer-by and as luck would have it, he takes the game to his home and his teenage son. A board game doesn't mean much to a kid of the 90's who swiftly casts it aside. Jumanji then transforms itself into a video game. The transformation catches the eye of the teenager who plays the game out of pure curiosity only to trigger a sad turn of events.

It's the present day and four teenagers attending the same school find themselves in detention for various misdoings. Bored by the work, one of the teenagers picks up Jumanji from a shelf where items to be donated are placed. The mysterious video game soon attracts the attention of the group. They select the 'Avatars' present in the game and start it, only to be drawn into the strange land of Jumanji. Now in their avatars which are vastly different from their real-life selves the group must work together to find a way to complete the game and escape Jumanji.

All the leads from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle <Courtesy: Sony Pictures Entertainment>

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle trailer

The Good

• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is as reliable as ever in a role which fits him like a charm. Jack Black evokes laughs as a teenage girl stuck in the body of a stubby middle aged man (although his act gets a bit tiring towards the end). Kevin Hart does what he's hired to do i.e. be loud and get the laughs going. This is the first time I am seeing Karen Gillan on screen and I must say she looks gorgeous.

• Since we are essentially watching a game there is a significant amount of time spent on explaining the parameters of the game and the unique traits of each 'Avatar'. I felt this was very well done and extremely essential for enjoying the movie.

• The connectivity to the first part is one of the strong points of this movie. Sequels made after a long time don't usually work (read Independence Day 2) because the audience who liked the original are replaced by a newer generation who might not have been brought up with the folklore associated with the first part. Jumanji 2 overcomes this hurdle by spinning its own adventure independent of the first part. Thus, this movie can be watched as a standalone part without having to know too much about what happened in the first Jumanji film. It's also draws the fans of the original by starting right where the first part ended and also pays a very clever homage to Robin Williams' Alex Parrish character. A big thumbs up for that because the connectivity makes the series all the more watchable. 

• Live action adventure movies for the kids are a rarity. Jumanji was one of my favourite movies as a kid and I wouldn't hesitate a second before watching it again as an adult. Jumanji 2 is for the kids and you can watch it with the entire family.      

The Mediocre

• Suspense is one of the highlights and hallmarks of the first Jumanji. Every time the dice was rolled a cryptic clue would appear and I would be on the edge of my seat not knowing what to expect next from the dense jungles of Jumanji. There are some cryptic clues in this part too, but these clues don't last the length of the movie and the revelations (of the clues) aren't half as exciting as the first part. The lack of suspense is a minus for the sequel.

• The antagonist Russell Van Pelt, played by Bobby Cannavale (who reminded me increasingly of Vincent D'Onofrio's Edgar the Bug character from Men in Black, see the comparison below) just doesn't work. Bobby's character is the same as the one played (excellently) by Jonathan Hyde in the first part (I had to see IMDb to know that).

  

  Russell Van Pelt as played by Jonathan Hyde (Courtesy: IMDb)

  There are no similarities between both the characters neither in traits nor in appearance. Am I to deduce that the character was updated in the latest version of the game? Keeping the lack of similarities aside, the antagonist just doesn't do enough and has very little screen time to ever strike as a menacing foe to the heroes. The first part's Van Pelt was pure evil with an eagle like focus, the sequel's Van Pelt doesn't match up in terms of a threat and even looks a bit depressing.                                     

  

  Russell Van Pelt

  

  Edgar the Bug from MIB

• Jumanji was this board evil game which makes people play it at any cost. So, I accept it has somehow found a way to transform itself into a video game in order to attract and trap a new generation of unwitting players. Should I also accept its transformation from a "every player for themselves" format to a "group" format where you can only win as a group? I am no expert at video games, but I don't know of too many video games where participants must work together to win.  If you are a game looking to trap people wouldn't you want to have players play all by themselves rather than having them all play as a group? I know I am analyzing too much but having seen the first part this is one of the first questions which propped up in my mind. 

Conclusion: Movies like Jumanji 2 are the form of an escapist entertainment that one requires after a hard day's work. It might not be at the same level as the original but there's still a lot going on here to keep the viewer engaged. Plus, it's not every day you see a tightly coupled sequel which doesn't muck up the memory of the original. So, do go ahead and watch "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle". If it won't make your must watch lists it will not insult your time either.

Rated: Time Pass

Until Next Time,

Your Movie Buff,

J.J. Chaitanya