REVIEW: JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
On paper, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a cash grab, and in actuality, it definitely still is a cash grab. But it's a keenly executed, smart, genuinely funny, well-acted cash grab. Sony is about as subtle as The Rock's muscles, or Kevin Hart's brand of comedy. They could've recast Robin Williams' role and made the already CGI animals in the original even MORE CGI except this time Kate McKinnon is a kooky babysitter or Melissa McCarthy is a pesky neighbor next door. But no one would've shown up. How do you continue a property like Jumanji without blatantly ripping off what made the 1995 version magical?
Well, a lot like this. The original version was a board game, so the logical thing to do is make it a video game, but not like "Call of Duty." Instead it's a cartridge 90's game, looking depressingly like an artifact of ancient times. Introduce your four maintropes characters in a high school setting: the geek, the jock, the bimbo and the geek...girl. Don't let your audience dwell too much on the fact that these are as stock as it gets, have the video game transport them to the world of Jumanji. Get the stars of Central Intelligence, Kung-Fu Panda and a beautiful woman who you probably know from that thing you watched. Wrap it up as a Christmas release when it would've killed in 2017's weak summer.
That's a cynical, Sony executive's summarization, but the shock you might've experienced from seeing this movie's certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes is valid. Director Jake Kasdan really gets the most out of the video game setup, using the familiar characteristics of the genre to play on audience's expectations. Dwayne Johnson looks like he was sculpted from the gods, and they play on the fact that he looks so much like a video game character. The body swapping element of the film is its absolute strength, with Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan all absolutely devoting themselves to roles they could've easily phoned in. Black's consistent whine and Gillan's inability to be anything but an awkward girl trapped in a gorgeous, Lara Craftian body are the highlights. Nick Jonas also pops up in a suave, self-deprecating role, but I'm sad to report character actor treasure Bobby Canavale is wasted as a generic villain. Though it could be argued a generic villain is what Welcome to the Jungle is lampooning, Canavale's commitment to trying to sneer evil is a little cringy, and the actor deserves better.
It's a shame, because the ensemble of the four team members is strong, with an emphasis on team. It's not really a spoiler to laud that when most movies would make the characters go their separate ways before the climax when they join hands and beat the Big Bad, this movie does the opposite. Like real high school, these four teens live in their own bubbles. They'd never hang out together unless they all got detention. Instead of dividing them to make them appreciate the new friendships they made, the team actually learns to work together and begins to grow on one another...like real life! And like the original, there's still lots of CGI fun to be had, even if some of the creatures look like they belong in an actual video game. There were consistent laughs throughout each scene of the picture, and if they undercut some of the more emotional parts Welcome to the Jungle strives for, that's OK. This movie worked way more than it had any right to. What could've been an offensive insult to Joe Johnston's film and Robin Williams' legacy actually turns out to be a truly fun and breezy time at the cinema, with an emphasis on "welcome" in Welcome to the Jungle.
Rating: 3/4 stars.
Well, a lot like this. The original version was a board game, so the logical thing to do is make it a video game, but not like "Call of Duty." Instead it's a cartridge 90's game, looking depressingly like an artifact of ancient times. Introduce your four main
That's a cynical, Sony executive's summarization, but the shock you might've experienced from seeing this movie's certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes is valid. Director Jake Kasdan really gets the most out of the video game setup, using the familiar characteristics of the genre to play on audience's expectations. Dwayne Johnson looks like he was sculpted from the gods, and they play on the fact that he looks so much like a video game character. The body swapping element of the film is its absolute strength, with Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan all absolutely devoting themselves to roles they could've easily phoned in. Black's consistent whine and Gillan's inability to be anything but an awkward girl trapped in a gorgeous, Lara Craftian body are the highlights. Nick Jonas also pops up in a suave, self-deprecating role, but I'm sad to report character actor treasure Bobby Canavale is wasted as a generic villain. Though it could be argued a generic villain is what Welcome to the Jungle is lampooning, Canavale's commitment to trying to sneer evil is a little cringy, and the actor deserves better.It's a shame, because the ensemble of the four team members is strong, with an emphasis on team. It's not really a spoiler to laud that when most movies would make the characters go their separate ways before the climax when they join hands and beat the Big Bad, this movie does the opposite. Like real high school, these four teens live in their own bubbles. They'd never hang out together unless they all got detention. Instead of dividing them to make them appreciate the new friendships they made, the team actually learns to work together and begins to grow on one another...like real life! And like the original, there's still lots of CGI fun to be had, even if some of the creatures look like they belong in an actual video game. There were consistent laughs throughout each scene of the picture, and if they undercut some of the more emotional parts Welcome to the Jungle strives for, that's OK. This movie worked way more than it had any right to. What could've been an offensive insult to Joe Johnston's film and Robin Williams' legacy actually turns out to be a truly fun and breezy time at the cinema, with an emphasis on "welcome" in Welcome to the Jungle.
Rating: 3/4 stars.
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