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It’s been more than 20 years since an old board game came to life in Jumanji. But, lately, it seems as though theaters have been filled with sequels you never knew you needed—and in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a group of kids is transported to the game instead of the other way around.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle finds four very different teens trapped in a video game jungle after they find an old video game console while they’re cleaning out an unused room at school. Each one chooses an avatar before being sucked into the game, where they find themselves stuck in both a deadly environment and a completely unfamiliar body. Before they can return home, they’ll have to win the game—and they’ll need to work together and take advantage of each other’s differences to do it.
A lot has changed in the two decades since the original Jumanji hit theaters—so a lot has changed for this new Jumanji adventure, too. Instead of an old board game that comes to life, the story centers on a retro video game that brings the characters into a different world, which gives the lovably awkward and totally geeky gamer an advantage.
The story here is definitely action-packed, with the characters battling vicious jungle beasts and a band of bad guys on motorcycles. There’s some kind of danger around every corner—and that keeps the pace moving along.
Really, though, it’s the characters who keep things entertaining. Most of the humor comes from the fact that the avatars couldn’t be much more different from each character’s reality. The beefy football star becomes the diminutive sidekick. The shy girl becomes the gorgeous warrior. The self-absorbed teenage princess becomes an overweight middle-aged man. And the timid geek becomes the big, fearless hero. Each one has new abilities and new weaknesses. Most of the jokes revolve around these characters adjusting to their video game persona—and, for the most part, the humor is much more successful than expected. Though the hot teenage girl’s obsession with her new maleness quickly gets old, the rest is surprisingly amusing—and the cast manages to balance the action and humor well.
This new Jumanji probably wasn’t necessary—but it’s more entertaining than you might expect. The action may be a little too scary—and some of the jokes might be a little mature—for the youngest members of the family, but it’s a fun choice for holiday break viewing.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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