Jumanji: The Next Level

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, Colin Hanks, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain, Rory McCann, Rhys Darby

Director: Jake Kasdan

Martha (Morgan Turner), Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain) and Bethany (Madison Iseman) are excited to be on break from college and to have the gang back together. Unfortunately, Spencer (Alex Wolff) is unresponsive and appears to be missing. When they go to find him, they realize he has actually kept Jumanji and gone back into the game. They decide to go back and get him, but the game is still slightly broken and sucks them into the game without letting them chose characters. Martha luckily ends up back in Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) however complicating things now Fridge has ended up in Shelly (Jack Black) while Mouse (Kevin Hart) and Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson) have two unwilling and confused occupants, Spencer's grandpa Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his old friend and business partner Milo (Danny Glover). While Bethany remains trapped outside the game, the group inside must find Spencer and save Jumanji again, this time from the evil Jergen the Brutal (Rory McCann).

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a spiritual sequel to 1995's Jumanji starring Robin Williams, was a massive and surprise breakout hit in 2017. While opening to a modest 36 million dollars, the film rode its positive word of mouth to a stunning 400 million dollars at the box office. Based on that, hopes for this sequel might verge on unrealistically high and won't sneak up on audiences like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did.

While it's not able to completely channel the energy and unexpected magic of its predecessor, the film is still a lot of fun thanks in large part to its game cast. Everyone is still on top of their game, with the standout and MVP continuing to be Jack Black. Once again handed a character that could prove problematic, Black is able to keep things light while maintaining the aspects and mannerisms of Fridge. While she doesn't slip into Nebula as much as she did in the first, Karen Gillan continues to kick all sorts of butt in the movie. Johnson, Hart, and Awkwafina, once she arrives on scene, all do a fantastic job in their mimicry of DeVito and Glover. Everyone seems to be having fun and that definitely infects the audience with the same feeling.

While some of the special effects don't look as polished as they should (you could argue they fit with the old school nature of the video game they are playing), the action scenes are pretty fun. The standout for me was one featuring mandrills and suspension bridges that the cast must cross to complete a level of the game.

The writers do end up digging themselves a hole pretty early that they almost don't escape. Taking Spencer, the main character and conduit for the audience, out of commission early forces them to put more focus on newcomers Eddie and Milo. While their constant bickering is amusing at times, the film focuses too long on their lack of comprehending that they are in a video game. It's funny the first time but when the joke is continually hammered in your face for the next half hour it gets tired fast and slows the energy down. Once Spencer's reason for going back in is revealed, it also doesn't really match what we saw in the opening of the film. It'll make sense when you see it but it just kinda looked like he was having a bad day.

While it doesn't reach the level (see what I did there) of the original, this is still a fun flick thanks to a winning cast with fantastic chemistry that will help you overlook its flaws.