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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) in Movies
Jul 5, 2020 (Updated Jul 5, 2020)
There's a bit where Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson full on anime punches an ostrich. 6/10
To elaborate slightly - Jumanji: The Next Level isn't quite as fun as it's predecessor, mainly because it's pretty much a strikingly similar re-tread.
It's still a lot of fun with some imaginative set pieces, mostly decent effects, and a strong cast - Karen Gillan once again shows off just how much star quality she has.
It's fairly forgettable, but it's feel good. Kevin Hart spends half the film doing a hauntingly accurate impression of Danny Glover which never stops being amusing, and by the time the films increasingly absurd climax comes around, it's clear that you would have to be a bit of a Grinch to not take something positive away.
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
But I have to say that – given this low base – I was pleasantly surprised. It’s actually quite a fun fantasy film that I predict that older kids will adore.
Seriously kick-ass. Karen Gillan – or rather one of her stunt doubles – gets hands… er… feet on with an aggressive level-character.
Initially set (neatly) in 1995, a teen – Alex (Nick Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers) unearths the board game Jumanji where it ended up buried in beach-sand at the end of the last film. “Who plays board games any more?” he scoffs, which the game hears and morphs into a game cartridge. Cheesy? Yes, but no more crazy than the goings on of the first film. Back in 2017, four high-school teens – geeky Spencer (Alex Wolff, “Patriot’s Day“); sports-jock Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain); self-obsessed beauty Bethany (Madison Iseman); and self-conscious, nerdy and shy Martha (Morgan Turner) – find the game and are sucked into it, having to complete all the game levels before they can escape.
Bethany (Madison Iseman) wishing she had her phone out for a selfie of this.
But they are not themselves in the game; they adopt the Avatars they chose to play: Dr Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson, “San Andreas“); Moose Finbar (Kevin Hart, “Get Hard“); Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan, “Dr Who”, “The Circle“; “Guardians of the Galaxy“); and Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black, “Sex Tape“, “Kong”). Can they combine their respective game talents – and suppress the human mental baggage they brought with them – to escape the game?
Avatars all. Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan and Jack Black.
There was a really dark time-travelling angle to the storyline of the original film – the traumatic start of Disney’s “Flight of the Navigator” was perhaps also borrowed from the concept in the book by Chris Van Allsburg. An attempt is made to recreate this in the sequel. I felt the first film rather pulled its punches though in favour of a Hollywood happy ending: will this be the case this time?
The film delivers laughs, but in a rather inconsistent fashion – it is mostly smile-worthy rather than laugh-out-loud funny. Much fun is had with the sex change of Bethany’s character, with Jack Black’s member featuring – erm – prominently. The characters all have strengths and weaknesses, like a game of Top Trumps, and this also entertains. But the most humour derives from the “three lives and it’s game over” device giving the opportunity for various grisly ends, often relating to the above referenced weaknesses.
A weakness for cake… something many of us have, but not quite to this extent.
Given the cast that’s been signed up, the acting is not exactly first rate although Karen Gillan shines as the brightest star. But “it’s not bloody Shakespeare” so ham-acting is not that much of a problem and the cast all have fun with their roles. Dwayne Johnson in particular gets to play out of character as the ‘nerd within the hunk’, and his “smouldering look” skill – arched eyebrow and all – is hilarious. Rhys Darby, looking so much like Hugh Jackman that I had to do several double takes, also turns up as an English game-guide in a Land Rover, and Bobby Cannavale (“Ant Man“) is Van Pelt, the villain of the piece.
There has been much controversy over Karen Gillan’s child-sized outfit. But she is clearly a parallel to the well-endowed Lara Croft, and young male teens didn’t play that game for the jungle scenery! She is meant to be a hot and sexy video game character, and man – does she deliver! Gillan is not just hot in the film: she is #lavahot. This makes her comic attempts at flirting lessons (as the internally conflicted Martha) especially funny. Hats off to her stunt doubles as well, for some awe-inspiring martial arts fight scenes.
Seeing treble. Karen Gillan (centre) with her talented stunt doubles Joanna Bennett and Jahnel Curfman.
Fans of “Lost” will delight in the Jumanji scenery, surely one of the most over-used film locations in Hawaii if not the world!
Where the film gets bogged down is in too much cod-faced philosophizing over the teenager’s “journeys”. This is laid on in such a clunky manner in the early (slow!) scenes that the script could have been significantly tightened up. And as I said above the script, written (rather obviously) by a raft of writers, could have been so much funnier. Most of the humour comes from visually seeing what’s happening: not from the dialogue.
Directed by Jake Kasdan (son of director and Star Wars/Raiders screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan) it’s really not half as bad as it could have been and certainly not as bad as I feared: I would gladly watch it again. For it’s target audience, which is probably kids aged 10 to 14, I think they will love it. And, unlike many holiday films, the parents won’t be totally bored either (especially the Dads, for the obvious misogynistic reasons outlined above!).
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Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Dec 10, 2019
I was sceptical, being a HUGE fan of Jumanji. After they get to the tree house with a little shout out to Alan Parish (which i absolutely loved, melted my heart, felt like something so natural, to give a nod to the comedy legend Robin Williams.) It definitely didn't feel like an insult to the orginal, more like a tribute in a way. I glimspe into where Alan spent all those years.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) in Movies
Dec 13, 2019 (Updated Dec 13, 2019)
Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable enough, and i definitely did not hate it. But i found myself rolling my eyes as the same jokes and gags were repeated and rehashed.
With a great cast, you couldn’t help but wish for something more. As before Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart work well together and bring the characters to light. It didn’t hurt that Danny DeVito, Danny Glover and Rory McCann make appearances and bring their own elements of performance to add to the mix.
It was light and funny, my 10 year old most certainly enjoyed the humorous elements, but it was a sequel that could have been a remake of a remake.