Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Among some of the notable classics Robin Williams has starred in, one of the most under the radar entries is Jumanji. This fantasy adventure came out during the 1990s, a period of the late actors career where a lot of his family movies all looked alike in terms of whimsical tone, a man learning to grow up, plenty of innuendo jokes that adults would understand, physical comedic gags, child actors accompanying Robin Williams on his shenanigans, optimistic/heartfelt speeches that tend to sound similar to one another, and a lesson learned in the happy ending. Jumanji followed those aforementioned cliches and the audiences liked it for what it was. Two decades later, Sony has announced a new project acting as a sequel to the classic, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The marketing for it didn't make a strong case for most of the public despite the star power shown for the leads. After the critics were positive about this Christmas released film, I decided to see how this sequel holds up and I left the auditorium not only ecstatic but mad that I didn't watch this right after the disappointing Star Wars The Last Jedi to leave off that year on a happy note instead of frustration.

Thoughts on Jumanji (1995): This old product of the time follows a two siblings who find the Jumanji board game, unwittingly unleashes jungle trouble onto their town, and acquire the help of a man who was trapped in it when he was a kid to finish what they started. Having only seen this in the recent years and not having the childhood nostalgia a lot of others do, it follows the 90s cliches during that time but it would be ranked somewhere in the middle (nothing terrible but nothing great either). Robin Williams does do a lot of the heavy lifting on his own as the best actor here as his characters arc is handled fine enough to cover how uninteresting the kids are. The effects aren't that good and there's a little clashing of the goofiness with the harsh dangers. The actors who play the children are trying to elevate their roles, despite not being focused on that much since Williams was the main lead. They also tried shoehorning a romance with him and the girl he played the game with when they were kids but it's pretty forced and bland. I would recommend it just for Robin Williams and some legitimate good scenes in an okay film.⭑⭑⭑

Plot: The story takes place two decades after the events of the original classic where a group of high school teenagers in detention end up playing a mysterious video game "Jumanji" that transports them into its virtual programmed world and must complete their mission as their chosen avatars to get back to reality. While this does follow the predictable cliched adventure route most are familiar with, it manages to rise above the mediocre ones into one of the better by how clever its writing is around these characters and its environment. It takes advantage of what insecurities our four cliched teens are going through and puts them into avatar figures that put them into positions of good character growth to overcome their issues. The stories fast pace manages to help speed things alongside the comic relief antics from the interactions among these insecure teens in adult bodies. Overall while there are some minor issues with the story at points, the surprisingly clever writing manages to turn what could have been a dull throwaway flick into entertaining popcorn action.

Video Game Aspects: For those of you gamers, the world our main protagonists are transported into takes on the features of a bad video game. What's featured here includes the humorous usage of non player characters (NPC), a neat introduction of cutscenes, player strengths/weaknesses, and having the standard three lives. Because they have only three lives, you get to see each protagonist die in some pretty gruesome ways (if you dislike some of these actors, it can feel therapeutic such as watching Kevin Hart or Dwayne Johnson getting killed. It's almost like saying, "That's for making (insert bad movie actor did like Baywatch or Get Hard)"). One of the best aspects also presents that fear most people have when they have one life left, which is both the obvious metaphor for the lesson they are learning and kind of that intensity gamers can empathize with on their own experiences. There are some weird inconsistencies in the film but again the nature of this somewhat glitchy virtual world can explain it.

Characters: The people to focus on are Dr. Smolder Bravestone/Spencer (Dwayne Johnson), Professor Shelley Oberon/Bethany (Jack Black), Franklin "Mouse" Finbar/"Fridge" (Kevin Hart), and Ruby Roundhouse/Martha (Karen Gillian). Professor Oberon is the avatar that the self-absorbed popular Bethany controls whose research skillsets benefits the team. Jack is the best actor among the core four for his capabilities in managing to respectfully imitate a blonde selfish stereotype in terms of her mannerisms with the body of a middle aged overweight man with excellent comedic range. Ruby Roundhouse is the player character shy awkward Martha finds herself in complete with great martial arts skills and a skimpy outfit similar to Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Karen is another solid performer (a little underrated among the core 4) as she stands out for the shyness portrayed through her mannerisms both verbal and physical along with her scenes with Martha are worth watching for those funny results.

Dr Bravestone is an archaeologist and explorer archetype that the nerdy gamer Spencer becomes that comes equipped with the strength of The Rock and no weaknesses (basically the body of a Gary Sue with the mind and consciousness of a nervous nerd). Dwayne is one of the actors who's having the most amount of fun in a role different than what he's used to with some clever dialog and moments for him to be amazed at how good his body looks. Franklin Finbar is a zoologist and weapons specialist avatar that football jock Spencer becomes as he adapts to his new body and limitations that are there to test him on his own personal issues. Kevin is not only having fun with his chemistry with Dwayne but is surprisingly held back on his usual short jokes he's known for, which is great considering he's one of those comedians I'm not a fan of. One thing to note, however, is that both him and Dwayne occasionally tend to act more as themselves rather than as their teenage individuals, though to be fair with the former, his teenage counterpart doesn't have much personality or backstory much going for him so it's more understandable in his case. Dishonorable mentions go to Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough (Nick Jonas) and Russel Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale) for the miscasting choices on their roles in the story (even Harry Styles from the band One Direction did a better job than the former with his own performance in Dunkirk).

Overall Consensus: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is an enjoyable surprise that takes advantage of its talented lead cast, comedic banter, manipulation of video game elements, and solid fun action that manages to provide a great time. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🍿🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You want to see any of these previously mentioned stars die in gruesome ways. You are interested in see how it follows ups the 1995 classic. You are a gamer who likes seeing video game elements in projects similar to Scott Pilgrim vs The World. You enjoy good popcorn action films with funny humor. You don't mind predictable plots or cliches. You like seeing Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike films that use video game elements. You don't want your child to see some sexually suggestive jokes. You are annoyed with Breakfast Club premises. You are annoyed with seeing Sony's products in their projects.

Coming up next: The January Leftovers has presumably finished off the 2017 released movies in theaters with the satisfying comic relief and over the top action of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Now it's time to return to basics even further with a family friendly entry releasing into the United States next weekend. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will most likely be finishing off this month of reviews with the sequel to the charming 2014 British comedy family film, Paddington 2!!