Sony Pictures
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.”
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” one more reboot/sequel in a string of movies being remade for a 2017 audience, but this time around we actually don’t mind.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in the film along with Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas. These stars play video-game-avatar versions of high school teens who managed to get trapped inside the Jumanji jungle. The movie has virtually nothing to do with the 1995 original, aside from the elements of Jumanji — a dangerous and sentient game that’s been stalking teenagers since at least the 1800s.
What’s hot
“Welcome to the Jungle” establishes its plot as a rehash of 1995’s “Jumanji” (which was based on a children’s book) in the opening sequence. We won’t spoil the way the movie makes the leap from board game to video game, but we will say that it sets the tone of goofy reboot fun from the get-go.
Sony Pictures
You can tell throughout this movie that The Rock and his co-stars had a blast filming it. There’s decent action, some funny gags, and a surprising amount of heart at the story’s core. “Welcome to the Jungle” is ultimately a testament to friendship, support, and finding confidence in your own strengths and weaknesses.
The movie cleverly uses video game terminology and tropes to guide its characters through the jungle. There are NPCs (non-player characters) who stick to a sometimes-annoying script, and fun action sequences resembling in-game combat.
The film’s villain is also well conceived for a family-friendly movie. His ability to control the animals of Jumanji’s jungle leads to several scenes with spiders, scorpions, and other creepy-crawly critters that will leave you shuddering.
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Another bonus? “Welcome to the Jungle” doesn’t actually use the Guns ‘n Roses song “Welcome to the Jungle” tune within the movie (something we worried would be an inevitable eye-roll moment).
To our delight, Nick Jonas is in the movie more than the initial trailers let on. He’s a fun addition to the crew and provides the story line’s deepest emotional points. Don’t get us wrong — even these deepest points are a bit shallow, but it’s still good work from Jonas in his first major feature film.
What’s not
“Welcome to the Jungle” toes the line of misogyny with one of its female leads (played by Jack Black) and the second woman, Martha, relegated to wearing short-shorts and using sexy “dance fighting” as a skill. Black’s “Valley Girl” voice isn’t nearly as offensive to young women as it might have been, though. Bethany winds up being a supportive and understanding character instead of a female burden on the team.
Sony Pictures
But we hoped the movie would do more than just be sightly self-aware of the trope of using impractically clothed, attractive women to fight the bad guys. And the Bechdel test scarcely gets passed, considering one of the women leads is turned into Jack Black within the first 15 minutes of the movie.
Then there’s the fact that “Welcome to the Jungle” contains a few too many jokes centered around male genitalia. One or two are pretty good, but it becomes a bit much after awhile. The penis jokes and Kevin Hart’s predictable comedy stylings make a lot of the movies gags feel like low-hanging fruit.
TriStar Pictures
The movie also makes almost no connection to its 1995 prequel. While the first “Jumanji” had a lot of heart and bigger stakes, “Welcome to the Jungle” feels like a hollow shell of what it could have been. There’s nothing akin to Robin Williams’ character Alan Parrish confronting his childhood demons and helping mentor a new generation of children being tormented by Jumanji.
But then again, maybe it’s best that the reboot/sequel chose to leave the elements of “Jumanji” unblemished. While we still enjoy re-watching the original, the sequel will be relegated to a “one viewing is good enough” rating.
The bottom line
If you want a dumb escape into an action movie this holiday season, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is serving just that on a silver platter. The movie is chuckle-worthy with beautiful jungle scenery and fun special effects. And Nick Jonas is in it! Really, there are far worse things you can do with your time.
Grade: B
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” arrives in theaters on December 20. Watch the trailer below.
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