Many people thought there wouldn’t be a sequel after the remake of “Jumanji” came out.
This is mostly because at the end of the first movie the main characters destroyed the game system to ensure no one could go back in the game. However knowing movie studios, if it makes a lot of money, there’s always room for a sequel.
The movie begins one year after the first one. Everyone is in college and enjoying their lives, with the exception of Spencer. When the four main characters meet up to hang out during break, he flakes out because he feels out of place and insecure because he had just broken up with Martha.
He longs to go back to the time where he felt like a total bad ass, and that was when he was Dr. Bravestone in Jumanji. We quickly find out he kept the broken pieces of the game and decided to rebuild it.
This I thought was a great inciting incident for the movie. Spencer wants to feel like a total bad ass again, despite the game nearly killing him and his friends. Spencer going back into the game is what forces his friends to follow him and play the game again.
However, there’s a catch this time: two new people have joined the game. Spencer’s grandpa (Danny DeVito) and his friend Milo (Danny Glover) get sucked into the game along with Fridge and Martha while Bethany gets left behind.
The characters quickly realize that things are messed up. Everyone is a different character than they chose in the first movie, except for Martha. Fridge is now Professor Sheldon Oberon (Jack Black), Spencer’s grandpa is Dr. Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), and Milo is Franklin Finbar (Kevin Hart)
There’s a collection of new strengths and weaknesses for the characters, which to some extent are used for comedic effect and really don’t have an impact on the story.
I liked the fact that there are different levels to the game in this movie because it shows off what else Jumanji can do.
A highlight of the film is Johnson’s impression of DeVito and Hart’s performance as an old man.
As for the rest of the movie, it’s okay. The action scenes are okay at best. However, they were funny at times, especially when Johnson was involved.
The combination of Johnson’s and Hart’s performances is what made this movie worth watching. Their chemistry is what made me laugh during the movie.
This movie a major improvement over the last one. I smell another sequel coming on, and it seems like they aren’t hiding it this time.
This movie earns three stars out of five.
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected]