[Review] Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Ah, Jumanji -- the board-game-come-to-life classic that held a dear spot in many childhoods of the 1990s. This year's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has resurrected the ancient relic for -- not a remake -- but a many-years-later sequel, fit for modern times. And the film is exactly what you'd want from something like this: a fun, goofy, entertaining, and transportive adventure.

The plot summons four high school kids who get ahold of an old video game console and magically warp to the jungle while transforming into avatars played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black. From there, they learn that they must finish the game -- something about finding a mystical jewel and placing it in a jaguar mountain -- in order to return home. 

It's everything you'd expect: Frenzied confusion... lots of screaming and running from very large animals... stumbling through temple traps... and strategical solvings of mysteries and puzzles... Cinematically, there's also a couple of levels to it -- it's at once a fully immersive jungle quest, as well as a rousing video game template with built-in virtual attributes and features. It's quite clever actually. It gave me that same warmly nostalgic yet fresh feeling that I had when watching 2015's Goosebumps movie. 

The script is fruitful with funny, well-delivered one-liners (particularly from The Rock and Kevin Hart, who have proven to make a great team in the past). And there's an extra layer of comedy to it as the avatars essentially retain the polar opposite personalities of their original teen characters, which makes for some amusing slapstick and ironic follies. By the way, they have some awesome names too: Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Mouse Finbar, Ruby Roundhouse, and Professor Oberon. The supporting cast also sees Nick Jonas and Bobby Cannavale make some jocular appearances. 

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a good time at the movies. And quite frankly, there's a good chance I'll enjoy anything with The Rock (our future president) in it. This is no exception.

( 7.5/10 )

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