Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Sequels suck, as a rule. Reboots and remakes are often just as bad. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule but by and large they hold true. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was one of these exceptions.
Fresh, fast and funny, it both recreated the magic of the 1995 classic and surpassed it with an updated relevant video game take as well as a strong cast of minor and major characters. It excelled at being both a remake and a sequel. Justifiably, the sequel Jumanji: The Next Level, to the remade sequel had me quite excited.
For the most part the cast remained the same, with some notable additions. The avatars, Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart), Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) and Jefferson McDonough (Nick Jonas) are joined by a new character Ming (Awkwafina) and the scene stealer – a horse I affectionately call Black Beauty.
As the movie kicks off, the characters in the real world seem to have grown and stagnated, in fairly realistic paths. Spencer (Alex Wolff), despite moving to New York, is still a bit of a jerk. Martha (Morgan Turner) is still awkward and seems to be into Spencer primarily because of their shared awkwardness. Bethany (Madison Iseman) and Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain) are the only two who seem to have grown.
Missing Bravestone’s muscles, his smolder and his adventurous life, Spencer decides to go back into the game. And like typical teenage friends who haven’t seem him in almost a year, his friends follow. For some reason, which is never really explained, this time, the game seems to have created three additional characters and Spencer’s grandpa Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his friend Milo (Danny Glover) are pulled in. And just to spice things up, each avatar is now ‘played’ by a different kid.
The thing about the new Jumanji movies is that even though it’s the kids who become the avatars in the game, it’s the avatar actors that have to reflect the kids’ personalities in their acting.
And this is my first qualm with this movie. While Dwayne and Kevin do a great job of trying to pull off an impression of Danny Devito and Danny Glover, it always seems to fall short. Imbibing the mannerisms of iconic actors like the Danny’s, instead of just doing an impression is a Herculean task and while Kevin is better at it because of his comedy background, Dwayne’s seems forced.
However, the movie overcomes this with adrenaline-pumping action, lots of snide jokes and genuine improvements to the plot. There are also a couple of B-plots, like Bethany and Alex (Colin Hanks) becoming friends and Eddie and Milo overcoming years of silence to reconcile as friends.
With these poignant plotlines in the background along with the butchered and unnecessary self-esteem therapy Spencer seems to need, hijinks ensue.
Speaking of formerly multi-dimensional actors now reduced to flat archetypes, the villain this time is Jurgen the Brutal, played by Rory McCann. Yes, the guy who played The Hound on Game of Thrones, one of the most interesting characters, is distilled down to the most brutal tendencies of that role and they didn’t even try to be subtle with his name.
All in all, it’s a good movie for the family especially in IMAX, but not necessarily for young kids – some of the scenes are quite bloodcurdling, even if there is no blood. Its pitfalls are mostly overcome with the action and a handful of genuine character developing moments and for that, it earns its three stars.
