Back in 1995, Robin Williams starred in a film that had an
original story, was reasonably good, included a lot of CGI’d excitement, and
was well-received by audiences in general.
However, that film aged pretty quickly, with the special effects looking
dated within that decade, yet still held a special place in most people’s
hearts especially after the loss of Robin Williams in 2014.
When it was announced that there was going to be another
movie—although it wasn’t said whether it’d be a sequel or a reboot—I thought it
was unneeded and didn’t think it would stand a chance with today’s
audiences. Sure, special effects have
advanced in the intervening years since the 1995 original, but the board game
aspect of the story and wild animals running rampant angle wouldn’t cut it.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was released last December
(2017) and although it received some very favorable reviews, I had no desire to
go out to the local theater to see it (choosing instead to see The Last Jedi or whatever else was
playing back then). But time passed, the
movies I’d been seeing lately on Netflix weren’t really doing it for me, so I
decided to see this one purely for shits-and-giggles.
So what did I think of it?
First…let me give you the breakdown of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle…
In a brand new Jumanji
adventure, four high school kids—Spencer (Alex Wolff), Fridge (Ser’Darius
Blain), Bethany (Madison Iseman), and Martha (Morgan Turner)—discover an old
video game console and are drawn into the game’s jungle setting, literally
becoming the adult avatars they chose—Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson),
Franklin “Mouse” Finbar (Kevin Hart), Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), and
Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan). What
they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji—you
must survive it. To beat the game and
return to the real world, they’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of
their lives, discover what Alan Parrish left 20 years ago, and change the way
they think about themselves…or they’ll be stuck in the game forever, to be
played by others without break.
Now, the film appears to try and pick up right where the
1995 film left off, but I think there’s a bit of a discrepancy here. At the end of 1995’s Jumanji, after the game is tossed into the ocean, I believe the
board game washes up on a beach in France, with the box halfway submerged in
sand. A couple of girls are walking up
to it, speaking French, so it’s assumed the game made the voyage all the way to
that country. In this new film, it’s the
same setup, only it’s been washed up somewhere in America. Maybe the French girls were vacationing in
America…? It’s just an observation…I
don’t mean to digress.
Aside from that, the story shows us that the game was found
by a father who gives the game to his son, Alex (Mason Guccione), who dismisses
it, mumbling to himself that nobody plays board games anymore. With that said and seeing how the teen
chooses to continue playing video games, it prompts the board game to transform
into a video game console. After he
notices this, he plugs it into his television and turns it on, grabbing the
joystick as he looks at the screen. The
film then cuts to the outside view of Alex’s window as we see a flash of light
that tells us something has happened in the room…but we don’t know what.
So…as the story goes on, we start at present day, centering
around four characters—two are likable, the other two are not—and how they end
up together in detention, which sets them up to find the Jumanji game (which
has made its way to the school’s basement somehow) and to be absorbed into
it. I do like that angle, having it
become a video game that sucks in the main characters. It’s a breath of fresh air and at least the
movie shows that it’s not just a cookie-cutter reimagining of the first
film. The teens’ actions certainly sum
up what most of us Gen-Xers had done throughout the 80s and 90s—being totally
engrossed in video games.
Once the teens get immersed into the game and the avatars
are revealed, that’s when the fun begins.
Seeing the main character of Spencer finding himself to be Smolder
Bravestone was amusing, especially when the real Spencer’s traits show through. Watching and hearing The Rock repeat “don’t
cry” to himself over and over when he first finds himself to be in this new
jungle world was pretty funny. Even more
comical was to see the character of Fridge—a huge high school football
player—end up as the diminutive avatar of “Mouse” Finbar. The laughs really start to come when you see
Jack Black embody the character of Bethany within the avatar of Professor
Shelly Oberon. Finally, the introverted
teen Martha turns into the kick-ass Ruby Roundhouse.
I like the certain tropes they throw in to show you that our
protagonists are really in the game by presenting the video game side
characters in a loop, repeating certain directions and explanations, not
interacting but just a program to get the players through to the next level. Also, the way each character finds the way to
display their strengths and weaknesses was a nice touch.
If you look back on the last few lines of the synopsis, it
really doesn’t ring true when watching the movie unfold. The only thing Alan Parrish (Robin Williams’s
character in the 1995 film) left behind was a jungle shack that he’d built with
his name carved in a piece of wood. The
shelter is of little importance in the movie and is glossed over fairly
quickly. Sure, they discovered it…in a
way…but it has no bearing on the story.
The last line on the summary…? I
won’t give away the characters’ dilemma, but it sure isn’t what’s said there.
If there was anything I didn’t like was the choice for the
villain of the game—Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale).
Though I don’t mind him in most parts he plays (he’s actually really
good in Ant-Man), I didn’t think he
had what it takes to be the dark and over-the-top villain he sets out to be in
this film. Also, another aspect the
filmmakers had gotten right tended to bite them in the butt at times. The featured rule of having side characters
within the game have limited conversations with the protagonists were sometimes
broken—sometimes not engaging with the characters freely, but sometimes they
did.
But these are just nitpicked observations and really don’t
take away from the fun you’ll have while watching this.
Directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk
Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Bad
Teacher, Sex Tape), he really
turns the adventurous story into a fun popcorn flick. Though I’m sure Kevin Hart and Jack Black
were probably hard to rein in, Kasdan takes this ensemble cast and makes them
work together cohesively. He takes
advantage of the chemistry worked within this group, both in the teens and the
game avatars, and brings the story together very well, never letting the action
let up for too long and nary a lull is felt.
What makes the film even more entertaining is the music by
Henry Jackman, who has scored the films of Kick-Ass,
X-Men: First Class, Captain America: Civil War. The music in Civil War was especially memorable and really brought that movie’s
feelings up front as the battles between friends raged on. With those other music compositions in mind,
it’s very obvious this man knows how to put feeling into a movie.
Let’s get right to it and let me give you my final “bit” on Jumanji:
Welcome to the Jungle…
As I’d mentioned, the fun is felt all the way and the laughs
keep coming. Whether it’s Jack Black
doing his best impression of a millennial teenaged girl or Kevin Hart using
self-deprecating humor, you’d be remiss if you thought this film was
boring. On the contrary, it doesn’t let
up and keeps the action going throughout with a lot of comedy. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was—and always will
be—a perfect action star with a little modest wit sprinkled in here and there,
yet shares the screen time with his co-stars equally. The movie is funny, action-packed,
over-the-top, and just a great movie to sit and watch while turning off your
brain.
Thanks for reading!
