Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Movie Review: "Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019)

Director: Jake Kasdan
Year: 2019
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes

When Spencer returns to the world of Jumanji, his friends are forced to go back in to rescue him. They inadvertently drag Spencer's grandfather Eddie and Eddie's old business partner Milo along for the ride as they face a whole new series of challenges to escape Jumanji alive. 

In "Jumanji: The Next Level," Danny Glover and Danny DeVito star as former business partners who have many unresolved issues with each other.
In "Jumanji: The Next Level," Danny Glover and Danny DeVito star as former business partners who have many unresolved issues with each other. (Image Source)
Author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg's picture book "Jumanji" was first adapted to the screen back in 1995 by director Joe Johnston. Though that film has a fond place in the hearts and minds of many millennials, and though it is a decent enough movie, BigJ and I don't have a huge attachment to it. We did, however, really enjoy director Jake Kasden's 2017 sequel/soft reboot "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle." Since it was a box office smash hit, a sequel was immediately greenlit. Our only hope for "Jumanji: The Next Level" was that Jake Kasdan would make it as fun as the previous entry in what is now the "Jumanji" franchise. Since escaping the world of Jumanji the first time, Spencer (Alex Wolff), Martha (Morgan Turner), Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), and Bethany (Madison Iseman) have graduated high school and have moved on to college or other charity work abroad. Almost all of them are happy where they are in life except Spencer, who has lately been feeling like his weak pre-Jumanji self. Spencer, desperate to feel stalwart again, gathers up the remaining fragments of the Jumanji video game and reconstructs it,  hoping to be the extraordinary Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson) once more to regain his happiness and purpose. When the rest of the group realizes what Spencer did, they decide to go back into the game to rescue him, but inadvertently pull Spencer's grandpa Eddie (Danny DeVito) and Eddie's old business partner Milo (Danny Glover) in with them. This time around, Jumanji is different. Not only have their avatars changed, but so has the objective. They must also defeat a new foe, Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann), without losing all of their lives, so they can return back to the real world. 
Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black star as Franklin Finbar, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Ruby Roundhouse, and Professor Shelly Oberon in the 2019 sequel "Jumanji: The Next Level."
Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black star as Franklin Finbar, Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Ruby Roundhouse, and Professor Shelly Oberon in the 2019 film sequel "Jumanji: The Next Level." (Image Source)
Our biggest fear going into "Jumanji: The Next Level" was that the whole "going into a video game" concept and the shticks of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black acting like other people would have gotten stale by the second installment. Luckily, writer/director Jake Kasdan and writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg have switched things up just enough to the point where it feels new and remains fun for its entire runtime.

This time around, instead of pretending to be an insecure, germaphobic teenager, Johnson gets to act like a bitter, salty old Danny DeVito, who has some unresolved anger issues and is happy to be in a physically capable body like The Rock's. His smoldering good looks don't hurt, either, especially since Eddie fancies himself a ladies man. Kevin Hart's usual spastic shenanigans take a back seat in this installment as he now portrays Milo, a slow talker who always takes waaaaay too long to get to the point of his conversations. We think Hart does a terrific job emulating Danny Glover's leisurely vocal cadence, and Milo's long-winded speeches lead to many joyful moments for us (though they often spell danger for the people in the world of Jumanji). Jack Black does his best impression of Ser'Darius Blain's character Fridge, who is now upset that he' stuck in the body of "the old fat dude whose weaknesses include the sun, sand, and endurance." Madison Iseman's Bethany literally just gets to be a horse for most of the film, but damn if she doesn't play a good horse! The only person who doesn't get an avatar shake-up this time around is Martha, who still gets to play the game as Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), though she is no longer the insecure, self-conscious high school girl she once was. All of the returning actors get their moment to shine, and they all bring laughs and bring them often. We found ourselves smiling regularly while watching the gang get back together again, and we thought the addition of both Danny DeVito and Danny Glover added something extra special to this sequel. Speaking of excellent additions, Awkwafina also joins the cast this time around as a new player avatar named Ming Fleetfoot. Awkwafina offers many hilarious moments that had us in stitches. Her pitch-perfect delivery and various facial expressions really capture the spirit of whatever person might be filling her avatar. "Game of Thrones" star Rory McCann plays Jurgen the Brutal, the "big boss" villain in this sequel. While McCann is always an imposing figure in everything he's in, he doesn't get a whole lot to do here as the film's baddie (which was a similar complaint we had about Bobby Cannavale's character in "Welcome to the Jungle"). Finally, added to this movie is a little caveat that allows players to change their avatar mid-game, meaning the principal actors get to switch up their performance style. This opens the story up for more moments of action and body-switching hilarity.
Ming Fleetfoot (Awkwafina), Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) must make their way through sand and ice to defeat Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann) in the movie "Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019).
Ming Fleetfoot (Awkwafina), Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) must make their way through sand and ice to defeat Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann) in the movie "Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019). (Image Source)
Just like its predecessor, "Jumanji: The Next Level" is a wonderfully entertaining adventure film that provides great fun for the whole family. Everyone who enjoyed "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" will surely have an amazing experience watching this sequel. These are some of the best video game films Hollywood has offered. We can't believe we're saying this, but we can't wait for the third film (if they decide to make one, and it looks like there's $600 million reasons to do so)!

My Rating: 7/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.0/10
RT Rating: 71%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?

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