Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan
Directed by Jake Kasdan

The Story:
In 1996, a teenager finds a Jumanji board game in the sand, and it turns into a video game and sucks him in.  In modern time, Spencer (Alex Wolff) is a scrawny nerd who's afraid of everything, and does homework for his former friend Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain), who's now a football star but not that smart.  Then there's Bethany (Madison Iseman), who's completely self-absorbed and constantly takes selfies, and Martha (Morgan Turner), a bookworm nerd who doesn't understand why gym is a necessity.

When the four of them land in detention, they find an old game console in the basement of the school and start to play, but then they're also sucked into the game.  When they awake in the game, they find themselves as the characters they chose - Spencer (Dwayne Johnson) is now a muscle-bound leader who has no weaknesses, Fridge (Kevin Hart) is a tiny African American who can't run fast distances and only serves to supply Spencer with supplies, Martha (Karen Gillan) is now a Lara Croft-like woman who's fluent in martial arts, and Bethany (Jack Black) is now an overweight middle-aged man who's a map expert.

They learn that, in order to get out, they must win the game of Jumanji and return the green gem to the jaguar statue and yell out the game's name - but they're being hunted by Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale) and his army, who want control of the gem themselves.  They're aided by Alex (Nick Jonas), the kid that disappeared years earlier, who's been stuck in the game for over twenty years.  As their lives dwindle, they must come to terms with who they are in the game and in the world, and learn to work together despite their differences in order to win the game.

The Synopsis:
When I first heard of this remake (or re-imagining, reboot, sequel, something), I wasn't too thrilled.  Robin Williams' 1995 "Jumanji" is a classic family action-adventure comedy that didn't require or need a sequel, and it looked formulaic and all-too-simple.  I said before even seeing this that we would see four things happen:
1. Dwayne Johnson's character would repeatedly remark on his muscles and stature - and he does
2. Kevin Hart's character would always comment on how short he is and that he should be more important - and he does
3. Karen Gillan's character would continually comment on how it doesn't make sense that she's dressed like that, and comment on her physicality - and she does
4. Jack Black's character would constantly complain about being an old fat man and talk about missing his phone - and he does

Still, despite the easily-definable character traits, the film was actually entertaining.  The actors have a great chemistry together (especially Johnson and Hart, who co-starred previously in "Central Intelligence"), the story is a fun throwback to classic adventure films (director Jake Kasdan is the son of Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote "Raiders of the Lost Ark"), there's classic nods to the rules of video games (having three lives, achieving harder-to-win levels), and even an important messages about accepting yourself, others, and using your weaknesses as strengths.

That's not to say the story is still simplistic - you know how it's all going to end way before the opening credits begin - but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the journey there.  The four actors offer loads of comedic moments (Jack Black being the obvious standout, having to act like a self-absorbed sixteen-year-old girl), and each character is fully developed and three-dimensional, even if they pander to their stereotypes.  Yes, the villain is awfully thin and I didn't even know his name until looking it up, and the CGI is laughably bad, but they weren't the main focus of the story - the story was about these kids who are on very different paths in life learning to work together.

It's no coincidence that the players and their characters are total opposites - it helps them to become more well-rounded in the real world.  While Spencer in the real world is a shy, quiet, nerdy kid who has fears of everything (especially squirrels), his character in the game is fearless, muscular, and a natural leader.  Dwayne Johnson epitomizes this perfectly - as he always does - by offering moments of pure hilarity when you don't expect (such as him being afraid of everything in the game, despite being the obviously biggest man there).  Spencer learns confidence and that not everything in the world is dangerous.

While Fridge in the real world is a popular jock who's not that smart and pretty much ignores his former friend Spencer, in the game he's a tiny man who's terrible at running, and his only traits are knowing everything about animals and carrying Spencer's supplies.  Kevin Hart plays to his strengths here, and even though they become increasingly one-note, he still offers enough humor to make it plausible - probably because he's not the main focus of the film.  Fridge learns humility and the importance of teamwork.

While Martha in the real world is a shy, quiet girl with no discernible athletic talents, in the game she's a literal man-killer, who's adept at all types of martial arts (including dance fighting) and is a knockout babe.  Karen Gillan blends the powerful and meek in a perfect blend, and in the film she learns self-confidence and to open herself up to other people and not be so cynical.

While Bethany in the real world is every type of pretty girl you've ever seen in high school - constantly taking selfies, talking about social media, dating the football star - in the game she's an older, fat man who has a keen intelligence for maps, something totally out of her element.  Jack Black shines here as he plays to the strengths of a sixteen-year-old girl (fawning over Spencer is downright hilarious), and teaching Martha how to be sexy is an absolute hoot.  Through the game, she learns that beauty isn't just what's on the outside, and there's more to the world than being pretty.

So the main characters learn an important lesson, they work together to win the game, and learn to use their weaknesses as their strengths, leading to important life lessons learned for the viewer through an adventurous trek through the jungle.

The Summary:
With a humorous cast with a strong bond, an adventurous story, and a recognizable brand-name, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" is a fun film that the entire family can enjoy.

The Score: A+