Movie Breakdown: Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle
Pre-Screening Stance:
Despite having a cast I generally like, I scoffed when Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle was announced. No one wants that! Then I saw the first trailer and actually found myself chuckling. Maybe I want that!
Post-Screening Ramble:
Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is slow to start, but once it finds its footing, it becomes one of the more fun films of 2017. Its story is pretty simple – the board game from the original movie transforms itself into a video game, and then four kids get sucked into it. Once inside they realize that everything is setup like an actual video game – there are levels, they have limited lives, each of their avatars have certain strengths and weaknesses – and then they get on with figuring out how to complete it so that they can go home. The film itself then harkens back to 1995’s Jumanji while tossing in a healthy bit of The Wizard Of Oz. In the game Spencer is a hulk of a man (Dwayne Johnson) and Martha is a badass (Karen Gillan), but in real life they’re both people who are rather unsure of themselves. Bethany’s avatar is a portly cartographer (Jack Black), but she’s actually the quintessential pretty girl who could really use a dose of humility. Fridge is a selfish, big time football player, but in Jumanji he’s a small guy (Kevin Hart) and he has to humble himself so that he can properly support everyone else. Obviously, it’s all a bit basic, but not only does this approach allow each character to grow, it also sets up a whole slew of funny scenarios. I laughed a lot. I also cheered quite a bit, too, because while the movie may be an overtly silly affair (complete with chunks of low brow humor and questionable CG), it has a lot of heart. Oddly enough, that’s how I think of the original film as well.
I was honestly surprised at how much I ended up digging Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. You should go check it out. By the way, even though the movie has some cursing and a handful of violent deaths, I’d still take the kids.
One Last Thought:
You know, I’d totally watch a whole movie that’s just Jack Black portraying a teenage girl. The man is really good at it. Who knew!?
