Jumanji: The Next Level

I didn’t expect much from Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in 2017.  I was pleasantly surprised. The feature was a fun adventure about four kids in the real world that inhabited the bodies of visually disparate avatars in a video game.  The joke was how their personalities were matched up.  For example, the shy nerdy boy (Alex Wolff) became a strong confident explorer (Dwayne Johnson) and a pretty but ditzy, self-centered girl (Madison Iseman) was reborn as a pudgy male archeologist (Jack Black).  The concept was both innovative and funny.  It wasn’t great art but it succeeded because it was entertaining.

Audiences loved the first film and positive word of mouth propelled a healthy run in theaters. It grossed over $962 million worldwide so it was only a matter of time before we got this inevitable sequel.  Once again Jumanji: The Next Level essentially relies on the very same gag with a slight twist.  The difference this time is that each protagonist is now inhabiting a different body in the simulated fantasy.  So Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan are all back but with the added “novelty” to act in a different manner.

The proceedings are essentially a tired rehash of the previous film, but there are bright spots.  The script also attempts to inject new life by adding 2 old people.  The scribes have introduced two characters in the real world.  Danny De Vito portrays Spencer’s grandfather Eddie and Danny Glover pops up as Eddie’s estranged friend.  They are both sucked into the video game adventure.  Their temperaments are good for a few laughs.  Also, breakout star and current “It Girl” Awkwafina plays an additional avatar within the video game.  Awkwafina stands out.  She’s a legitimately good actress so she’s effective at manifesting distinctive identities.  Kevin Hart downplays his more intense charisma by talking much slower which is rather amusing in itself.

However, the story is a complete snooze.  Actor Rory McCann impersonates this “Game of Thrones” style warlord named Jurgen the Brutal.  He’s stolen a necklace called the Falcon’s Heart and the gang must get it back and expose it to the sun so they may end the drought that has infected the land and yada yada yada.

A fresh idea can no longer captivate when it’s simply repeated with more clutter.  This narrative is undone by a screenplay that is content to check the boxes of a formula to safely produce another hit in the same vein.  Writers Jake Kasdan (who also returns as director), Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg barely tweak the formula to produce this generic hit.  The first half of the movie relies more on the characters so it genially coasts on the talents of its cast but in the 2nd half, the chronicle dwells far too long on a convoluted story.  I just didn’t give a care.  The final 30 minutes is a difficult sit.  The saga runs over two hours when it should’ve been a brisk 90 minutes.  So ultimately Jumanji: The Next Level turns out to be a level down from its predecessor.

12-12-19