Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 2017
I never saw the original Jumanji, at least not all the way through. When a new version came out last year it wasn’t on my list of must see movies, but it got some pretty good reviews. Then I got a free copy and thought it would be something good to watch on the train on the way to work, which it is since it is a series of fairly short scenes and doesn’t make you think too hard. But after getting about halfway through I decided to watch the rest on my home theater, which was also good because it has great surround sound and has a wide aspect that fits the TV better than an iPad.
Anyway, this is a surprisingly good movie. The bookends of the movie involve 4 high school students in detention like Breakfast Club and touches on some of those themes of cliques and general high school awkwardness. The rest of the movie takes place in the game of Jumanji where the four are represented by avatars that make these stereotypes see the world from another perspective. The movie is well cast with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart who I liked in Central Intelligence and have a similar vibe here. There is also Jack Black who plays a portly cartographer avatar for a real life self-involved popular girl. He does a good job with this improv dream setup.
Not everything is great. The game doesn’t make that much sense (as a video game) and not all of the side characters work. And some of it is a little too easy, but there is a lot of action when the comedy gets tired and vice versa, plus some intrigue as the players and audience figure out how the game works and the strengths and weaknesses of each avatar come into play. This is a well made easy to watch, fun movie which are all too rare even though everyone enjoys them.
On Movies Anywhere the digital copy included extras which I assume were also on the disk. They were not great, more about the actors saying how fun it was than how this world was created and the effects done. But you do get some insight and it is worth it just to listen to Karen Gillan speaking in her native Scottish accent. I didn’t realize she also plays Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Written: 26 Jul 2018
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital