Of the many classic children’s books that author Chris Van
Allsburg has written, one of his most famous is 1981’s Jumanji. The
story follows two kids named Judy and Peter as they come across a magical
jungle-themed board game named Jumanji that forces them to endure realistic
versions of the various obstacles that they come across in the game. Upon
publication, the book was so successful that it earned Van Allsburg his first
Caldecott Medal for being the year’s ‘most distinguished American picture book
for children’. In 1995, the book was adapted into a feature film by former VFX
artist turned director Joe Johnston that starred Robin Williams in the role of a
man who ends up trapped inside the game for 26 years. And while the film didn’t
necessarily do too hot with critics, it was a sizable hit at the box-office and
is still very much regarded as a beloved 90’s classic. Thus, it was that legacy
that made fans quite skeptical towards the announcement that a new take on Jumanji
was in the works, especially since it was first announced only a year after
Williams’ tragic death in 2014. And yet, instead of being a straight-forward
remake of the original, 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a
sequel that re-imagined the world of Jumanji as a video game that the film’s
main protagonists get sucked into. Upon its release, the film surprised many by
doing solidly with critics and managing some impressive staying power at the
box-office as it grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. And because of this, a
sequel was promptly put into development once again directed by veteran comedy
director Jake Kasdan and headlined by the quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin
Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. Sure enough, all this talent in front of
and behind the camera results in yet another highly entertaining popcorn flick
even if it does retread a lot of familiar territories.
It has been three years since high school students Spencer Gilpin
(Alex Wolff), Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner), Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson
(Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman) were sucked into the dangerous
world of the video game Jumanji and turned into the game’s eclectic
group of playable avatars. The four teens ultimately managed to escape their
predicament by coming together as a group, which effectively changed their
lives for the better once they got out. However, while his friends have all
managed to move on with their lives, Spencer finds himself having a lot more
trouble when it comes to re-adjusting back to life in the real world. Thus, Martha,
Fridge and Bethany soon discover that Spencer ended up ‘fixing’ the game
(which they had destroyed at the end of the previous film) and has gone back
into it, forcing them to go back in as well to rescue him. Upon their return,
however, they quickly realize that things are a bit different this time in the
world of Jumanji. While Martha reprises her role as dance-fighting
commando Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), Fridge ends up switching to the role
of cartographer/curvy genius Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black). And instead
of having Spencer and Bethany by their side out the starting gate, the two
learn that Spencer’s crotchety grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his
estranged friend Milo Walker (Danny Glover) have been sucked into the game as
well. Now Eddie inhabits the role of Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson),
the strong, muscular archeologist with the power of smoldering intensity, while
Milo becomes Bravestone’s ‘backpack guy’, zoologist/weapons specialist Franklin
‘Mouse’ Finbar (Kevin Hart). And so, Martha and Fridge are now forced to adjust
to the personalities of their new comrades as they set out to find Spencer and
Bethany, which involves them embarking on another adventure to save Jumanji
from an imposing new threat.
Jumanji: The Next Level is admittedly one of those
cases of a sequel that doesn’t try to deviate too far from the things that made
its predecessor the massive hit that it was. Namely, it retains almost the exact
same general plot structure of its predecessor right down to its main conflict
of the group trying to stop a bad guy who stole a mythical jewel. And just like
Welcome to the Jungle, most of this film’s humor is still based around how the main characters’ personalities are translated to their video
game avatars. That said, though, the best aspect of Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle was its humor, which means that The Next Level is just as
much of a top-notch comedic riot throughout. It also helps that this film
properly retains the solid character development that the lead quartet of
Spencer, Martha, Fridge, and Bethany gained in the previous film. Whereas the pre-game
sequences of Welcome to the Jungle were some of the weakest moments in
that film, those same moments flow a lot better in this film (as does the humor
in those parts) because of the main characters’ vastly improved camaraderie. In
other words, if there are two things that The Next Level does better
than its predecessor, it’s that the humor is a lot more consistent this time
around and the main characters get to start out as the endearing quartet that
they were at the end of the previous film. And while that technically means
that the new character development that they get in this film isn’t necessarily
as substantial as what they had in the previous film, it still results in
another entertaining adventure with a feel-good ending. Plus, despite its
adherence to the previous film’s formula, The Next Level does switch
things up in the best way that it possibly can by trading the previous film’s
jungle setting for fun, new action set-pieces in both the desert and the wintry
mountains.
It goes without saying that one of the best aspects of Welcome
to the Jungle was getting to see the lead quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Jack
Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan take on the personas of their real-world
counterparts, whether it was Dwayne Johnson acting like an easily scared nerd
or Jack Black embodying a self-absorbed teenaged girl. Sure enough, this
concept is once again handled brilliantly in The Next Level as each
member of the quartet gets to take on a new personality over the course of
their latest adventure. The hilarious results that stem from this are so
delightful, in fact, that I can’t even mention them all here (outside of Johnson
and Hart’s spot-on impressions of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, respectively) because
I’d be delving into spoiler territory. But just like before, these four have an
utterly phenomenal camaraderie that’s also well-reflected by their real-world
counterparts as Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman
all benefit greatly from the solid character development that they got from the
previous film. Meanwhile, Danny DeVito and Danny Glover are a fun pair of additions
to the ensemble (in their admittedly minor roles outside of the time their
characters spend in Jumanji) as is Awkwafina as the game’s newest
avatar, thief Ming Lightfoot. Unfortunately, as was the case with the
previous film, The Next Level’s biggest shortcoming is its villain, warlord
Jurgen the Brutal. Sure, it’s revealed that Jurgen was the one who killed Dr.
Smolder Bravestone’s parents in a ‘cut-scene’ flashback, but just like with
Bobby Cannavale’s Van Pelt from Welcome to the Jungle, Jurgen is adversely
affected by his generally limited role in the plot despite Game of Thrones alum
Rory ‘The Hound’ McCann’s best efforts in the role.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was easily one of the
most entertaining films of 2017. Sure, it may not have been the most
thought-provoking film to come out of the action-adventure genre, but the
phenomenal comedic performances from Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart,
and Karen Gillan effectively made it a good, old-fashioned crowd-pleaser. Thus,
while it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to its writing, Jumanji:
The Next Level dutifully retains everything that made its predecessor such
a big hit, resulting in an arguably superior follow-up. Even though it does
repeat practically every major story beat from its predecessor, The Next
Level does have the advantage when it comes to not having to deal with the
more awkward bits of set-up from Welcome to the Jungle. And because of
this, the whole film flows a lot better when it comes to its humor, pacing, and
overall camaraderie between its main characters. This, in turn, also helps when
it comes to the film maintaining the simple but effectively heartwarming
emotional beats that have always been an element of these films, like in the
original Jumanji when Alan Parrish learned about how much things changed
when he got sucked into the game. Because of all this, Jumanji: The Next
Level is another solid entry in this growing franchise, although I will say
that if they end up doing another one, they should probably try to do something
a little different story-wise. One way could involve the incorporation of elements
from the original book’s 2002 follow-up Zathura, which had a pair of
brothers go through a similar scenario but with a space-themed board game. That
book got an enjoyable albeit commercially underrated film adaptation in 2005 via
director Jon Favreau, and while Favreau did try to distance it from the original
Jumanji film since he wasn’t a fan of it, it could be fun to see a new
spin on Zathura that’s in line with what we’ve gotten from these last
two Jumanji films.
Rating: 4.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment